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Document ID: DDSE-452JTG

PC Server 315 - Fast Ethernet Hubs

Applicable to: World-Wide

New hubs are available to support a variety of Fast Ethernet LAN configurations. These hubs can be divided into two basic types: shared and switched. 100/10 PCI Ethernet adapters can be used with either type of hub for 10 Mbps or 100 Mbps operations.

Shared Hubs

In a shared network environment, servers are connected to hubs. A repeater is built into each port of the hub. All ports of the repeater hub share a fixed amount of bandwidth, or data capacity. A 100 Mbps shared hub means that all nodes on the hub must share the 100 Mbps or bandwidth. As stations are added to the hub, the effective bandwidth available to any individual
station becomes smaller.

All nodes must operate at the same speed, either 10 Mbps or 100 Mbps. Fast Ethernet repeaters provide 100 Mbps of available bandwidth, ten times more than what is available with a 10 BASE-T repeater.

Repeaters use a well established, uncomplicated design, making them highly cost-effective for connecting workstations in a workgroup.

Switched Hubs

In a switched network environment, each port uses a fixed, dedicated amount of bandwidth. Network bandwidth is not shared among all stations. Each new station added to the hub receives access to the full bandwidth of the network. Data is sent only to the port that leads to the correct workstation.

If a new workstation is added to a 100 Mbps switching hub, the new workstation receives its own dedicated, 100 Mbps link that does not affect the 100 Mbps bandwidth of other workstations. Switching hubs can effectively increase the overall bandwidth available on the network, significantly improving performance.

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	Document Category	Networking
	Date Created	12-02-99
	Last Updated	12-02-99
	Revision Date	12-02-2000
	Brand	IBM PC Server
	Product Family	PC Server 315
	Machine Type	8638
	Model
	TypeModel
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	Reverse Doclinks and Admin Purposes