Olicom CrossFire 8730, Reference Manual

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CrossFire 8730 Switch Reference Guide, DOC-7047 v. 1.1 Switch Overview
2. Switch Overview
This chapter explains how the CrossFire 8730 Fast Ethernet Translation Switch
improve network performance.
How the CrossFire 8730 Works
The switch contains the following main elements, as listed below:
•
Switching Bus—the architecture of the switch centers around the AXIS bus, a
520 Mbps switching fabric through which all switched ports communicate.
The AXIS bus is a partially asynchronous time division multiplexed bus used
for switching packets between heterogeneous LAN modules.
•
Token-Ring Ports—each port can attach to a classical Token-Ring segment or
to a dedicated station. Now users running basic applications are able to share
bandwidth, and users running bandwidth-intensive applications can receive
their own dedicated 16 Mbps port. Each dedicated port can also be set up in
full-duplex communication mode, so that each 16 Mbps port doubles to 32
Mbps.
•
Fast Ethernet Ports— each port can attach to a 10/100 Mbps Fast Ethernet
network or Fast Ethernet station.
•
Stack Link Module—the switch supports a stack link module that can be used
to connect two switches in a back-to-back configuration. Alternatively, up to
five switches can be connected together using and internal stacker module, and
up to eight switches can be connected together using the stack link module and
an additional switch stack unit. By connecting switches together through the
stack link module, the switches virtually combine to form a single unit,
providing scalability, simplified management, and enhanced performance.
Multiple Simultaneous Conversations
A limitation of a shared media LAN is that it supports only one packet at a time.
The CrossFire 8730 improve data throughput by supporting multiple,
simultaneous, full-duplex conversations. By using High-Speed bus switching
technology, the switch creates multiple data paths. These switched connections
between LAN segments last only for the duration of a byte transmission. New
connections are made “on-the-fly” between different ports on the switch for the
next byte.