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Quick Installation Guide
6
Connecting the Switch System
The CheetahSwitch Workgroup-3726M provides 24 RJ-45 ports on the base unit.
Each of these ports supports a connection to 10 Mbps Ethernet or 100 Mbps Fast
Ethernet, and supports full or half-duplex operation. The transmission speed for
each port is automatically set by the switch to match the highest speed supported by
the connected device. The transmission mode can be set for each port using
auto-negotiation (if also supported by the attached device). However, if the device
attached to any port on the switch does not support auto-negotiation, you can
manually configure the transmission mode via the console port on the rear panel, or
via an in-band connection (including Telnet, the Web agent or management
software).
Making a Connection to an RJ-45 Port
You can use straight-through twisted-pair cable to connect any RJ-45 (MDI-X) port
on the switch to any device that uses a standard network interface such as a
workstation or server, or to a network interconnection device such as a bridge or
router (depending on the port type implemented).
1. Prepare the network devices you wish to network. Make sure you have installed
10BASE-T or 100BASE-TX network interface cards for connecting to the
switch’s RJ-45 (MDI-X) station ports.
2. Prepare straight-through shielded or unshielded twisted-pair cables with RJ-45
plugs at both ends. Use 100-ohm Category 3, 4 or 5 cable for standard
10 Mbps Ethernet connections, or 100-ohm Category 5 cable for 100 Mbps
Fast Ethernet connections.
3. Connect one end of the cable to the RJ-45 port of the network interface card,
and the other end to any available RJ-45 port on the switch. All RJ-45 ports
support 10 Mbps and 100 Mbps Ethernet connections. When inserting an
RJ-45 plug, be sure the tab on the plug clicks into position to ensure that it is
properly seated. Using the switch in a stand-alone configuration, you can
network up to 24 end nodes.
Caution: Do not plug a phone jack connector into any RJ-45 port. This may damage the
switch. Instead, use only twisted-pair cables with RJ-45 connectors that
conform with FCC standards.
Notes: 1. When connecting to another compatible switch or hub, use straight-through
cable to connect to an MDI port on the other device. You may also attach to
MDI-X station ports at both ends if you use crossover cabling. (Refer to “Port
and Cable Assignments” on page 15 for a description of crossover cable.)
2. Make sure each twisted-pair cable does not exceed 100 meters (328 feet).
3. We advise using Category 5 cable for all network connections to avoid any
confusion or inconvenience in the future when you upgrade attached devices
to Fast Ethernet.
Restrictions on Cascade Length - The IEEE 802.3 standard recommends
restricting the number of hubs (i.e., repeaters) cascaded via twisted-pair cable to 4;
while IEEE 802.3u provides even stricter recommendations for Fast Ethernet.
Therefore, when cascading devices other than this switch, please refer to the
accompanying documentation for cascade restrictions. However, note that because