D-Link DGS-2208 User Manual page 9

Section 2 - Product Overview
Gigabit Ethernet Technology
Gigabit Ethernet is an extension of IEEE 802.3 Ethernet utilizing the same packet structure, format, and support
for CSMA/CD protocol, full duplex, flow control, and management objects, but with a tenfold increase in theoretical
throughput over 100Mbps Fast Ethernet and a one hundred-fold increase over 10Mbps Ethernet. Since it is compatible
with all 10Mbps and 100Mbps Ethernet environments, Gigabit Ethernet provides a straightforward upgrade without
wasting a company's existing investment in hardware, software, and trained personnel.
The increased speed and extra bandwidth offered by Gigabit Ethernet are essential to coping with the network bottlenecks
that frequently develop as computers and their busses get faster and more users use applications that generate more
traffic. Upgrading key components, such as your backbone and servers to Gigabit Ethernet can greatly improve network
response times as well as significantly speed up the traffic between your subnetworks.
Gigabit Ethernet enables fast optical fiber connections to support video conferencing, complex imaging, and similar
data-intensive applications. Likewise, since data transfers occur 10 times faster than Fast Ethernet, servers outfitted
with Gigabit Ethernet NIC's are able to perform 10 times the number of operations in the same amount of time.
In addition, the phenomenal bandwidth delivered by Gigabit Ethernet is the most cost-effective method to take advantage
of today and tomorrow's rapidly improving switching and routing internetworking technologies.
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.
D-Link DGS-2208 User Manual 9