Specifications

Installation and Startup 2-25

Connecting to the Switched 100BaseTX Ports

You can connect the 100BaseTX ports (Ax and Bx) to 100BaseTX-compatible network

devices, such as hubs, servers, routers, and other switches. All connections between the

switch and the attached device(s) must be within 100 meters.

You must provide the Category 5 cable(s) to connect any of these ports to the other

100BaseTX device(s). Because these ports are internally crossed, they require a crossover

cable to connect to hubs or other switches. When connecting to workstations, servers, or

routers, these ports require a straight-through cable.

Note Category 5 cable is required for 100BaseTX trafﬁc. The 10BaseT ports can use

Category 3 and 4 cables, but these cables do not work for the 100BaseTX ports.

Always observe these general rules when connecting devices: Use a straight-through cable

to connect two ports when one of the ports is designated with an X. Use a crossover cable

to connect two ports when both ports are designated with an X.

The default duplex mode of these ports is autonegotiate. To change the duplex mode of

these ports to half-duplex, full-duplex, or full-duplex ﬂow-control operation or to allow

autonegotiation to determine the optimum conﬁguration, use the switch manager,

management console, or SNMP. (See the “Changing the Port Settings” section on

page 3-15 or the “Port Conﬁguration Menu” section on page 4-44.)

Note Duplex-mode autonegotiation is supported on the 100BaseTX ports only, not on the

100-Mbps ﬁber-optic ports or on the 10BaseT ports.