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Magnum 6K32T & 6K32TRC Managed Switch Installation and User Guide 05/07)
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4.0 OPERATION
This chapter describes the functions and operation of the Magnum 6K32T &
6K32TRC Switch.
4.1 Switching Functionality
A Magnum 6K32T & 6K32TRC provides switched connectivity at Ethernet
wire-speed among all of its ports. The Magnum 6K32T & 6K32TRC support 10/100Mbs
for copper media and 10 or 100Mb separate traffic domains for fiber ports to maximize
bandwidth utilization and network performance. All ports can communicate to all other
ports in a Magnum 6K32T & 6K32TRC, but local traffic on a port will not consume any
of the bandwidth on any other port.
Magnum 6K32T & 6K32TRC units are plug-and-play devices. There is no
software configuring necessary to be done for basic operation at installation or for
maintenance. The only hardware configuration settings are user options for an UP-LINK
Switch (resides inside the unit) on the 6K8-RJ45 (modular port). Optional Half / Full
duplex mode and 10 or 100Mbps selection for the switched ports must be configured
through MNS-6K software per unit as per the requirement. The internal functions of both
are described below.
Filtering and Forwarding
Each time a packet arrives on one of the switched ports, the decision is taken to
either filter or to forward the packet. Packets whose source and destination addresses are
on the same port segment will be filtered, constraining them to that one port and relieving
the rest of the network from having to process them. A packet whose destination address
is on another port segment will be forwarded to the appropriate port, and will not be sent
to the other ports where it is not needed. Traffic needed for maintaining the operation of
the network (such as occasional multi-cast packets) are being forwarded to all ports.
The Magnum 6K32T & 6K32TRC Switches operate in the store-and-forward
switching mode, which eliminates bad packets and enables peak performance to be
achieved when there is heavy traffic on the network.
Address Learning
All Magnum 6K32T & 6K32TRC units have address table capacities of 4K
node addresses suitable for use in larger networks. They are self-learning, so as nodes are
added, removed or moved from one segment to another, the 6K32T & 6K32TRC Switch
automatically keeps up with node locations.