Verview Of The; Using The Pathbuilder Switch In Your Network; Using Ethernet Lan Interfaces - 3Com 3C8S5007 - SuperStack II PathBuilder S500 Switch User Manual

1
Using the
PathBuilder Switch
in Your Network
Using Ethernet LAN
Interfaces
O

VERVIEW OF THE

S
WITCH
This chapter provides an overview of the PathBuilder
describes how it is used in a network.
The PathBuilder switch maintains connectivity among small, midsize, and
large branch offices and the corporate LAN.
The PathBuilder switch provides the ability to connect to a wide variety of
WAN services and serves as a WAN aggregation point. It accommodates
extensive virtual port tunneling capabilities with encryption, data
compression, and high-speed processing.
When used at a central site, the PathBuilder switch supplies high-speed,
scalable performance for WAN concentration, virtual private network
(VPN) tunnel termination, and efficient bandwidth utilization. For more
information about VPN configurations, see Chapter 5.
The PathBuilder switch concentrates T1/E1 or T3/E3 internet traffic at the
central site, which enables the creation and maintenance of multiple
secure tunnels through the public network to many remote locations
simultaneously.
User authentication and internet firewall options can be configured on
the PathBuilder switch. Or, when the traffic load is high, these services
can be off-loaded onto other devices, which allows the PathBuilder
switch to function solely as the primary tunnel switch for your enterprise.
In addition, the PathBuilder switch is supported by extensive
statistics-based network management facilities in the Transcend
application.
All models of the PathBuilder switch provide connection to two Ethernet
LANs using either 10BASE-T or 100BASE-TX Ethernet.
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