User manual

Network Planning
9
NXA-ENET24 Hardware Installation Guide
Network Planning
Introduction to Switching
A network switch allows simultaneous transmission of multiple packets via non-crossbar switching. This
means that it can partition a network more efficiently than bridges or routers. The switch has, therefore,
been recognized as one of the most important building blocks for today’s networking technology.
When performance bottlenecks are caused by congestion at the network access point (such as the
network card for a high-volume file server), the device experiencing congestion (server, power user, or
hub) can be attached directly to a switched port. By using full-duplex mode, the bandwidth of the
dedicated segment can be doubled to maximize throughput.
When networks are based on repeater (hub) technology, the maximum distance between end stations is
limited. For Ethernet, there may be up to four hubs between any pair of stations; for Fast Ethernet, the
maximum is two; and for Gigabit Ethernet the maximum is one. This is known as the hop count.
However, a switch turns the hop count back to zero. So subdividing the network into smaller and more
manageable segments, and linking them to the larger network by means of a switch, removes this
limitation.
A switch can be easily configured in any network to significantly boost bandwidth while using
conventional cabling and network cards.
Application Examples
The PoE switch is not only designed to segment your network, but also to provide a wide range of
options in setting up network connections. Some typical applications are described below.
MAX A/V Network
The switch is an excellent choice for mixed AMX equipment such as PoE enabled
NXA-WAP 200 G wireless access points, and non-PoE devices such as AVMs, Breakout Boxes and
MAX. You can easily build on this basic configuration, adding direct full-duplex connections to AVMs,
Breakout Boxes and WAPs. When the time comes for further expansion, just connect to another hub or
switch via one of the switch’s Fast Ethernet or Gigabit Ethernet ports.
In the figure below, the switch is operating as a MAX A/V network for a small LAN.
It is providing dedicated 1000 Mbps full-duplex connections to MAX, 100 Mbps full-duplex
connections to the Master, AVMs and Breakout Boxes. In addition, connected wireless access points are
receiving PoE power from the switch.
The switch automatically identifies the devices requirements, i.e., power for the WAP200G and network
priority for MAX streams to the AVMs so no configuration is required by the installer.