Model Fs518 Switch Overview - NETGEAR FS518 Installation Manual

Installation Guide for the Model FS518 Fast Ethernet Switch

Model FS518 Switch Overview

The NETGEAR Model FS518 Fast Ethernet Switch with Gigabit uplinks is an autosensing 10/
100 Mbps switch with two Gigabit uplink interfaces. This high-performance switch is developed
primarily to be used as a segment switch, even though it is priced as a desktop switch.
All of the UTP ports on the Model FS518 switch can adapt automatically to the speed of the
connected network or the PC, and the ports can operate at either 10 Mbps or 100 Mbps. In
addition, each port can automatically negotiate with the connected device to operate in full-duplex
mode. If the connected device is operating in half-duplex mode only or does not have the
capability to participate in the negotiation process, the port will default to half-duplex mode.
The Model FS518 switch can be used to partition a 10 Mbps or 100 Mbps network to enhance the
capacity of the network to support advanced applications. In addition, the switch provides a link
between traditional 10 Mbps networks and faster 100 Mbps networks. By installing a Model
FS518 switch, a user can connect any 10 Mbps or 100 Mbps device to the switch without worrying
about the running speed of the device. The Model FS518 switch provides a built-in upgrade path;
you can remove a 10 Mbps connection and replace the connection with a 100 Mbps connection
with little or no change to the rest of the network.
The Model FS518 switch can be effectively used to join multiple 100 Mbps Fast Ethernet
segments and to extend the reach of the network. Copper-based Fast Ethernet networks have a
network diameter of up to 200 meters. The Model FS518 switch can be used to join these
200-meter segments to enable them to function as a single logical network. With one Model FS518
switch, the reach extends to 400 meters.
The Gigabit Ethernet uplink ports on the Model FS518 switch can be used to connect to the
network backbone and shared network resources such as servers at 1000 Mbps. The full-duplex
1000BASE-SX ports allow users to connect at high speed to a wiring closet or server located from
2 to 525 meters away.
All 10/100 ports can autonegotiate the duplex mode with the connected device. If negotiation fails,
the ports default to half-duplex mode. Gigabit fiber ports will advertise their full-duplex operation
and negotiate flow control with the connected device. If negotiation fails, the ports will default to
full-duplex mode and no flow control.
Because the Model FS518 switch is an ISO media access control (MAC) layer device, the switch is
network protocol independent and compatible with all popular networks such as the Internet or
TCP/IP, NetWare, DECnet, Microsoft NETBEUI, and LANTASTIC.
Introduction 1-3