I NTRODUCTION
This section describes the features of the 8-port
10/100/1000Mbps Gigabit Ethernet Switch, as well as giving
some background information about Gigabit Ethernet, Fast
Ethernet and Switching technology.
Gigabit Ethernet Technology
Gigabit Ethernet is an extension of IEEE 802.3 Ethernet utilizing
the same packet structure, format, and support for CSMA/CD
protocol, full duplex, flow control, and management objects, but
with a tenfold increase in theoretical throughput over 100-Mbps
Fast Ethernet and a hundredfold increase over 10-Mbps
Ethernet. Since it is compatible with all 10-Mbps and 100-Mbps
Ethernet environments, Gigabit Ethernet provides a
straightforward upgrade without wasting a company’s existing
investment in hardware, software, and trained personnel.
The increased speed and extra bandwidth offered by Gigabit
Ethernet is essential to coping with the network bottlenecks that
frequently develop as computers and their busses get faster
and more users use applications that generate more traffic.
Upgrading key components, such as your backbone and
servers to Gigabit Ethernet can greatly improve network
response times as well as significantly speed up the traffic
between your subnets.