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______________________Appendix D Frequently Asked Questions
Appendix D
What is a switch and what does it do?
Switching hubs are low-latency devices that allow you to maximize the
bandwidth of a network using concurrent access within the unit. Switches allow
you to segment LANs, connect LANs of different speeds, or extend the collision
domain of an existing LAN.
What's the difference between a repeater and a switch?
A repeater is a device that extends the diameter of a network by regenerating and
forwarding received Ethernet packets. It repeats incoming signals to all other
ports on the device.
Like a repeater, a switch can also extend the diameter of a network. However, a
switch can also extend the collision domain of a network, like bridging a 10Mbps
Ethernet LAN with a 100Mbps Fast Ethernet LAN.
A switch can also be configured to operate in half-duplex or full-duplex mode,
whereas a repeater can only operate in half-duplex mode.
Repeater (Shared Bus)
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Collision Domain 1
Kingston Technology Company
Frequently Asked Questions
Switching fabric isolates each of the shared buses
(repeaters) into its own collision domain.
Switching Fabric
Repeater (Shared Bus)
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Collision Domain 2
See the illustration below.
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KNS800/WG User's Guide - Rev. B01
Repeater (Shared Bus)
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Collision Domain 3
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