Connectivity; Full Duplex Switched Ethernet; Smarttrunk - Cabletron Systems 2E48-27R User Manual

Chapter 1: Introduction
1.3.1

Connectivity

The 2E48-27R connects to Ethernet networks or workstations through 24
ST fiber optic ports on the front panel. These ports support multimode
fiber optic cables at lengths up to 2 kilometers. The ports are IEEE 802.3
10BASE-F compliant.
The 2E49-27R connects to Ethernet networks or workstations through 24
ST fiber optic ports on the front panel. These ports support single mode
fiber optic cables at lengths up to 5 kilometers. The ports are FOIRL
compliant.
All of the devices have two front panel slots (ports 25 and 26) for optional
Fast Ethernet Interface Modules to support an uplink to 100 Mbps Fast
Ethernet backbones or a high speed connection to a local server. There is
also space for an optional HSIM to provide additional connectivity to
various networking technologies.
1.3.2

Full Duplex Switched Ethernet

Each switched Ethernet port supports full wire-speed Ethernet
communications and can be configured to operate in Full Duplex
Switched Ethernet (FDSE) mode. FDSE allows each port to provide a
dedicated 20 Mbps bandwidth for file server or high-end workstation
connections. The optional Fast Ethernet ports provide up to 200 Mbps of
bandwidth.
1.3.3

SmartTrunk

SmartTrunk, also referred to as SmartTrunking, is Cabletron Systems'
terminology for load balancing or load sharing. SmartTrunk technology
provides an easy-to-implement mechanism to group, or aggregate,
multiple physical links together to scale the backbone bandwidth beyond
the limitations of a single link. All links are user-configurable so
administrators can scale the backbone bandwidth by adding SmartTrunk
links. The SmartTrunk benefits are as follows:
• All purchased bandwidth is used.
• Distributed, resilient links increase reliability and performance.
• Multiple technologies are supported within a single trunk for
maximum flexibility.
1-4 2E48-27R/2E49-27R User's Guide