Basics of LAN Switching

Abstract

As the inexorable demand on bandwidth, efficiency, and speed of network keeps on increasing so does the quest for better (and better) solutions. For a number of years, network managers have tried to segment the network using bridges in order to split an overloaded segment or collision domain. However, bridges are limited by the number of ports, thus limiting them from providing a flexible micro-segmentation (a term used for splitting a single collision domain into two or more collision domains). The idea is simple: let’s have as many ports as we need, and have them configured such that each port provides a segment and delivers the high speed and efficiency that are traditionally not available to bridges. Therefore, the idea of switching technology is developed as a means of coping with these problems faced by network managers. Switching technology is making existing systems more powerful, while at the same time facilitating the migration to faster networks. It enables some key benefits over traditional LAN bridged and routed networks. First, a 10/100 switch with 24 ports, an existing 10 Mbps, or a 100 Mbps shared Ethernet can be changed to a dedicated bandwidth 10/100 Ethernet. This can be done without modifying any software or hardware, but just by implementing a switched network design. Secondly, the network can easily be managed using “RMON”, a remote monitoring capability of the switch. Thirdly, a server can use two or more switching ports to provide dedicated 300 Mbps or more for traffic coming into the server.