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Chapter 2: Network Planning
Introduction to Switching
A network switch allows simultaneous transmission of multiple packets via
non-crossbar switching. This means that it can partition a network more efficiently
than bridges or routers. The switch has, therefore, been recognized as one of the
most important building blocks for today’s networking technology.
When performance bottlenecks are caused by congestion at the network access
point (such as the network card for a high-volume file server), the device
experiencing congestion (server, power user or hub) can be attached directly to a
switched port. And, by using full-duplex mode, the bandwidth of the dedicated
segment can be doubled to maximize throughput.
When networks are based on repeater (hub) technology, the maximum distance
between end stations is limited. For Ethernet, there may be up to four hubs between
any pair of stations; for Fast Ethernet, the maximum is two. This is known as the hop
count. However, a switch turns the hop count back to zero. So subdividing the
network into smaller and more manageable segments, and linking them to the larger
network by means of a switch, removes this limitation.
A switch can be easily configured in any Ethernet or Fast Ethernet network to
significantly boost bandwidth while using conventional cabling and network cards.