D-Link DGS-2208 User Manual - Page 9

Section 2 - Product Overview Switching Technology Switching is a cost-effective way of increasing the total network capacity available to users on a LAN. If an Ethernet network begins to display symptoms of congestion, low throughput, slow response times, and high rates of collision, installing a switch to a network can preserve much or all of the existing network's cabling and workstation interface card infrastructure, while still greatly enhancing the throughput for users. A switch is a viable solution even if demanding applications, such as multimedia production and video conferencing, are on the horizon. The most promising techniques, as well as the best return on investment, could well consist of installing the right mixture of Ethernet switches. A switch increases capacity and decreases network loading by dividing a local area network into different LAN segments. Dividing a LAN into multiple segments is one of the most common ways of increasing available bandwidth. If segmented correctly, most network traffic will remain within a single segment, enjoying the full-line speed bandwidth of that segment. Switches provide full-line speed and dedicated bandwidth for all connections. This is in contrast to hubs, which use the traditional shared networking topology, where the connected nodes contend for the same network bandwidth. When two switching nodes are communicating, they are connected with a dedicated channel between them, so there is no contention for network bandwidth with other nodes. As a result, the switch reduces considerably, the likelihood of traffic congestion. For Ethernet networks, a switch is an effective way of eliminating the problem of chaining hubs beyond the "two-repeater limit." A switch can be used to split parts of the network into different collision domains, making it possible to expand your Ethernet network beyond the 205-meter network diameter limit for 100BASE-TX networks. Switches supporting both 10Mbps Ethernet and 100Mbps Fast Ethernet are also ideal for bridging between existing 10Mbps networks and newer 100Mbps networks. Switching LAN technology is a marked improvement over the previous generation of network hubs and bridges, which were characterized by higher latencies. Routers have also been used to segment local area networks, but the cost of a router, the setup and maintenance required, make routers relatively impractical. Today switches are an ideal solution to most kinds of local area network congestion problems. D-Link DGS-2208 User Manual 9