D-Link DFE-550FX User Guide - Page 9

D-Link DFE-550FX Adapter IEEE802.1p Priority Tagging With the growing number of network applications, local area networks (LANs) must deliver data for a wide variety applications. Email, file transfers, database queries, voice over IP (VoIP), videoconferencing and multimedia must all be delivered to the enduser's. Some of the traffic, such as video-conferencing, is timecritical. A slight delay in packet delivery can result in noticeable degeneration of video and audio quality, while other traffic, such as Email will not be noticeably affected by tiny delays. The large number of programs run over today's networks can impede the ability to deliver time-critical data. Even if available bandwidth is not usually a problem on your network, during peak hours bursts in network traffic can result in the delay of time-critical traffic. IEEE802.1p defines eight levels of prioritization for Ethernet packets. High priority packets will be sent through a network using 801.2p-compliant switches first. Lower priority packets will be transferred when bandwidth is available. When properly setup, this ensures that time-critical data arrives on time and is not affected by other traffic. IEEE802.1Q VLANs The IEEE802.1Q VLAN can help improve network performance and security by segmenting the network into different VLANs. IEEE802.1Q VLANs can limit broadcast traffic to a single VLAN which prevents the effects of broadcast storms and provides additional security for your network. To set up GVRP VLANs, which supports dynamic registration, the adapter should be connected to a switch with GVRP VLAN capability. For VLANs to function, the computer in which this NIC is installed must be using Windows 95 or later. 2