
EOTec 2104 User Manual
General Features and Capabilities
EOTec 2104 Switch Tools
In some applications it may be desirable or required to adjust the Weed Ring Switch
parameters for proper or best operation. The EOTec 2104 Switch Tools software utility is
provided to make these adjustments. Using the
Auto-Find Switches
feature in the
utility, you can pick from a list of detected ring switches and load custom configurations
via Ethernet. The auto-find feature eliminates the hassle of loading via a serial
connection and the overhead time spent assigning IP addresses. Refer to the on-line
help or Chapter 3 of this manual for details on using the EOTec 2104 Switch Tools.
Port Configuration
Weed Ring Switches auto-negotiate port settings. In most applications, port settings are
best left in the default
Auto
connection mode. For special situations, you can use the
Fixed
setting to restrict communications to only 10 or 100 Megabits per second, with
either full or half duplex. Flow control can be enabled or disabled as well. Port
configuration settings are adjustable using the EOTec 2104 Switch Tools.
Fault Tolerant Rings
A network backbone wired in a ring-type topology is one of the best choices for a fault-
tolerant network. By default, Weed Ring Switches are factory preset to have one ring
enabled. Factory presetting a ring configuration lets you skip the step of using the
EOTec 2104 Switch Tools to enable your rings so you can have the convenience of plug
and play operation. To change the ring configuration in the switch, simply launch the
EOTec 2104 Switch Tools and specify a pair of ports for your new enabled ring. The OK
LED will be green if all enabled rings (one or two) for this switch have continuous ring
integrity.
For a ring to function, all switches in the path of the ring must have Ring support. Do not
connect rings within rings. Only simple non-overlapped rings are allowed. Two active
rings cannot share a network segment. It is possible to join two rings together by
configuring two rings in a single switch. The ports used for each ring must be distinct, so
that no network segment is shared by both rings.
Refer to Chapter 4,
, for information and illustrations on valid ring
topologies.
General Features and Capabilities
This section summarizes the features and capabilities of the EOTec 2104 Ring Switch,
in alphabetical order.
10BaseT and 100BaseTX Auto-detection
Standard Ethernet (10BaseT) has a maximum speed of 10 Mbps (half duplex mode) or
20 Mbps (full duplex mode). Fast Ethernet (100BaseTX) has a maximum speed of
100 Mbps (half duplex mode) or 200 Mbps (full duplex mode).
68