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If you are setting up a network for the first time, or if you already have a
10/100 BaseT network without Gigabit capability, you may be wondering
which PC should have the Instant Gigabit Network Adapter installed in it for
best performance. In either of the above situations, we recommend that you
set up your network in the configuration shown below (Configuration A).
The Instant Gigabit Network Adapter is installed in your File Server (or your
Internet gateway) and connected to your Workgroup GigaSwitch using the
provided cable, which is in turn connected to the rest of your network. If you
do not have a File Server or Internet gateway, the Adapter should be installed
in the PC that is most often accessed on the network.
Where to Install the Instant Gigabit Network Adapter
Configuration A
Note: Use the crossover
cable provided to connect
directly to your Instant
Gigabit Network Adapter or
to an Uplink port on your
Gigabit hub or switch.
nates the need to purchase new hardware, rewire and reconfigure an entire
site all at once. This scalability factor ensures that Fast Ethernet will not fall
obsolete to upgrades in speed standards and maintains use of all your old
equipment until you decide to buy speedier replacements.
Scalability allows you to budget for your networking needs over time.
Now networks can run fast and slow segments at the same time for different
users and departments.
Switches also feature full-duplex data transfer, meaning that all computers
on the switch can “talk” to the switch at the same time. Plus, switches can
send and receive data simultaneously to all connections, whereas a hub can-
not. A hub simply works with one computer at a time and only sends or
receives data, since it cannot handle two way communication.
In addition to full-duplex transfer, your Switch surges your network with
dedicated bandwidth to each node. For instance, if you connect five com-
puters to your EtherFast 10/100/1000 8+1 Workgroup GigaSwitch, then each
computer will get a dedicated bandwidth of 100Mbps at full duplex transfer.
If you run 5 computers from a 100Mbps hub, then each computer will only
share a part of the 100Mbps bandwidth.
A network without a switch is called a shared network because every node
on the network competes for a fraction of the total bandwidth. In a shared
network, data packets are randomly broadcasted to all stations until they
discover their intended destination. Consequently, considerable time and
bandwidth is wasted on data packets swimming along network lines before
they find their correct address. A switch, on the other hand, looks at the
address for each data packet and delivers it directly to the correct destination.
Gigabit Ethernet is ideal for deployment as a backbone interconnect between
10/100BASE-T switches, and as a connection to high-performance servers.
With the addition of Gigabit Ethernet, Ethernet delivers scalable solution
(10/100/1000 Mbps) for the LAN from the desktop to the workgroup, and the
backbone.
Instant Gigabit Series
EtherFast
®
10/100/1000 8+1 Workgroup GigaSwitch Starter Kit
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