Page 3 September 2001
PCs can be interconnected without a performance bottleneck in the
aggregation switch.
•
Data Center Switch: The PowerConnect 5012 can interconnect
Gigabit Ethernet capable servers at full wire speed. Particularly in
multi-tier architectures consisting of Web/Presentation, Application
and Data tiers, high-speed network connectivity across the tiers can
provide a significant performance impact.
•
Workstation Connectivity: The PowerConnect 5012 is ideal to
connect a group of Gigabit Ethernet capable workstations to the
network. Many workstation applications can benefit significantly
from Gigabit Ethernet solutions, e.g. by reducing file transfer times.
•
Multi-Layer Hosting Solution: The PowerConnect 5012 can
effectively provide Gigabit Layer 2 connectivity for a high-
performance hosting solution that utilizes Layer 4-7 devices like the
Dell PowerApp™ family of solutions for load balancing and caching.
Features and Benefits
The features and benefits of the PowerConnect 5012 are shown in Table 3.
Table 3
Features, Functions and Benefits of the PowerConnect 5012
Feature
Function
Benefit
Total Switching
Capacity of 24 Gbps
Enables full wire-speed
Gigabit switching across all
ports
Take full advantage of the
Gigabit speed of workgroup
switch uplinks and servers
Built-in Copper
Gigabit Ethernet Ports
Provide 10-times higher
bandwidth than Fast
Ethernet ports
Helps to eliminate performance
bottlenecks at critical traffic
aggregation points and servers;
use Gigabit Ethernet with
standard Cat5 cabling
Optional Fiber Gigabit
Ethernet Ports
Accommodate various
types of fiber interface
modules (e.g. 1000SX,
1000LX; modules sold
separately)
Flexibility to use fiber media if
large distances have to be
covered by the network
VLAN
Combines a number of
ports into separated, virtual
sub-networks
Allows for limitation of broadcast
domains as well as improved
security
IEEE 802.1p Priority
Utilizes separate
transmission queues for
low and high priority traffic
Ensures low-latency delivery of
time critical network traffic, e.g.
traffic associated with voice or
video communication
Link Aggregation
Groups up to eight ports
together into a single, high-
bandwidth trunk
Increases bandwidth for critical
network links (e.g. uplinks to a
network backbone) and creates
link redundancy
