GarrettCom ES42 Switch User Manual


 
ES42 Series Edge Switches Installation and User Guide (05/05)
traffic loads, even when the traffic activity is unbalanced across the ports. Since the traffic
on an operating network is constantly varying in packet density per port and in aggregate
density, the Magnum ES42 Series Edge Switches are constantly adapting internally to
provide maximum network performance with the least dropped packets.
When the Switch detects that its free buffer queue space is low, the Switch sends
industry standard (full-duplex only) PAUSE packets out to the devices sending packets to
cause “flow control”. This tells the sending devices to temporarily stop sending traffic,
which allows a traffic catch-up to occur without dropping packets. Then, normal packet
buffering and processing resumes. This flow-control sequence occurs in a small fraction of
a second and is transparent to an observer.
Another feature implemented in Magnum ES42 Series Edge Switches is a collision-based
flow-control mechanism (when operating at half-duplex only). When the Switch detects
that its free buffer queue space is low, the Switch prevents more frames from entering by
forcing a collision signal on all receiving half-duplex ports in order to stop incoming traffic.
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