Atm/Token-Ring Lan Switch Modules (8272) - IBM Nways 8265 Product Description

ATM/Token-Ring LAN Switch Modules (8272)

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IBM 8265: Product Description
The ATM/Token-Ring LAN Switch (8272) modules, by using Token-Ring MAC
addresses and source route descriptors to forward Token-Ring frames between ports,
provides a high-performance switching solution.
The module provides direct ATM backplane connectivity allowing segments of
Token-Ring LAN users to be interconnected to other Token-Ring LAN segments via
LAN switching or high-speed ATM switching.
The modules are offered in two- and three-slot versions (Feature Codes 5208 and
5308), with the following characteristics:
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8 frontal Token-Ring (4Mbps or 16Mbps) ports with RJ-45 UTP/STP connectors
(UTP cabling Category 3, 4, or 5 is supported)
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UFCs working with fiber optic cables allow the connection of LAN segments up to
two kilometers (1.25 miles) from the 8265 using multimode fiber cabling. The
ports can be used as ring-in/ring-out connections. Up to four UFCs are supported
on the three-slot version (two on the two-slot version).
The following UFCs are available, and may be installed in any combination:
– 4-port UFC for UTP or STP cabling
– 2-port UFC for fiber cabling
– 1-port ATM multimode fiber/Token-Ring II UFC for fiber cabling.
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Full compliance with IEEE 802.5 standard
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Variable switching mode:
– Cut-through mode, where the frames are forwarded as soon as the address
has been received
– Store-and-forward mode, where frames are checked before being forwarded
– Adaptive mode, which offers the benefits of both cut-through and
store-and-forward modes.
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Virtual switch capability - which allows a single physical LAN to be divided into two
or eight virtual switches.
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Full duplex support - provides 2 independent paths, each with a bandwidth of
16Mbps per port.
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Tokenpipe support - allows multiple ports (up to four) to be connected together
between two 8272 modules.
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MAC addresses - up to a maximum of 1790 Token-Ring MAC addresses per port
and 10 000 per module are supported.
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Transparent bridging and filtering.
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Source route switching - based on source route descriptors rather than MAC
addresses.
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Source route bridging - allows frame transport between Token-Ring segments
with different ring numbers.
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Auto-sense/auto-configure capabilities - to automatically configure the port to the
network characteristics.
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Statistics - the 8272 modules keeps statistics on a per-port, per-station, or entire
module basis.
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Token Probe - a port can be defined to monitor other ports.
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Management - either via the service port or from an SNMP management station.