Kalpana EtherSwitch EPS-2015RS

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ETHERNET SWITCHING PERFORMANCE FOR YOUR WORKGROUP

The Kalpana EtherSwitch' EPS-2015 RS is a stackable 15-port Ethernet switch that increases the throughput and flexibility of departmental and workgroup 1OBase-T networks. Specifically designed to complement the low-cost connectivity of stackable hubs, the EtherSwitch EPS-2015 RS provides network managers a cost-effective way to boost 1OBase-T throughput among hubs and to servers while conserving valuable rack space.

The EtherSwitch EPS-2015 RS establishes a matrix of paths among the device's 15 Ethernet Packet Processors (EPPs), each of which supports either half- or full-duplex Ethernet. In half duplex mode, the EPS-2015 RS utilizes Kalpana's parallel LAN technology to support up to seven simultaneous 10 Mbps conversations for an effective network bandwidth of 70 Mbps. In full-duplex mode, the EPS-2015 RS provides up to 15 conversational pairs for a total of 150 Mbps bandwidth. In combination with Kalpana's EtherChannel, multiple EtherSwitches can be stacked to provide up to 60 switched ports. When combined with Kalpana's NetWare Loadable Module, the EtherSwitch can provide balanced network traffic to servers.

Unique to Kalpana's Ethernet switching technology is "on-the-fly" switching, which reduces packet-latency time to 40 microseconds as compared to 1,200 microseconds by store-and-forward devices. This capability allows Ether- Switches to be cascaded to deliver 60 switched ports without risk of network time-outs and sluggish response times.

ENHANCED FEATURES

Full Duplex Ethernet

Ethernet was originally conceived as a half duplex technology since it was designed to operate on coaxial cable. With the advent of the 1OBase-T wiring standard,full-duplex operation became possible. Full-duplex Ethernet increases Ethernet's throughput by creating two collision-free 10 Mbps data paths-one for transmitting and the other for receiving-on a single unshielded twisted-pair wire segment. Full-duplex essentially doubles point-to-point Ethernet communication to 20 Mbps.

Multiple switched full-duplex connections to a server can yield server performance improvements from 20% to 70%, depending on the num- ber of EtherSwitch-to-server connections. Because today's server architecture typically limits maximum throughput to 30 to 40 Mbps, three full-duplex EtherSwitch connections to the server are capable of yielding a throughput equal to that of a 100 Mbps adapter.

For Novell NetWare environments, further network performance can be obtained with the use of Kalpana's NetWare Loadable Module (NLM). This NLM allows network traffic between a NetWare server and the EtherSwitch EPS-2015 RS to be evenly distributed across half- duplex or full-duplex network adapters, such as IBM's Etherstreamer, Compaq's NetFlex, and Cogent's EM945 EISA FDE. The network manager can thus scale the bandwidth to,the server as network demands dictate.

EtherChannel

As traffic increases between a departmental EtherSwitch and a data-center EtherSwitch, the collision rate on the 10 Mbps segment between the two switches often causes unacceptably long response times. EtherChannel eliminates Ethernet LAN bottlenecks between EtherSwitches by providing multiple 20 Mbps connections. The user assigns from two to seven ports to an EtherChannel Assigning seven full-duplex ports to EtherChannel provides a "fat- pipe" connection of 140 Mbps.

Address Filtering

Address filtering allows network managers to restrict specific nodes on the network from communicating with other nodes on a port-by-port basis. The network manager restricts communication by specifying up to 30 destination Ethernet addresses to be filtered at the source port. Ethernet addresses can be unicast, multicast or broadcast addresses. Address selection is done at the network management console.

Spanning Tree Protocol

The EPS-2015 RS supports the IEEE 802.ld Spanning Tree Protocol and the Bridge Management Infonnation Base (MIB) for management. The protocol was developed to provide path redundancy in a network configuration while preventing undesirable loops.

Virtual EtherSwitch

The EtherSwitch EPS-2015 RS can be partitioned into up to seven virtual LANS, or domains, for increased network flexibility. Each domain is a logical group of EtherSwitch ports that behaves as a standalone switch. Ports within one domain at no time communicate with ports within another domain.

FUNCTIONAL DESCRIPTION

Switching Network Architecture

The EtherSwitch EPS-2015 RS reduces contention-and thus improves overall network performance-by establishing a matrix of paths between the EPS-2015 RS's 15 ports. All of these paths can be switched simultaneously to handle communications between ports. Each EtherSwitch EPS-2015 RS port can connect to:

Two Models Available

A standard EPS-2015 RS and an enhanced version are available. The standard version includes support for SNMP and Spanning Tree Protocol. The enhanced version adds support for Full Duplex Ethernet, EtherChannel, Virtual EtherSwitch, and Address Filtering. Both models provide for downloadable code via a serial connection using the X-modem protocol or in-band using bootp with Trivial File Transfer Protocol support.

SPECIFICATIONS

  Ports                       15 ports, 1OBase-T, RJ-45; I AUI port
  Buffers per port            256 full-size packets per port
  Addresses                   1,700 addresses per port, 6,000 per system
  Address table               Transparent, automatic self learning
  Software updates            Flash PROM-serial line via X-Modem;
                              in-band via bootp/FFTP
  Filter/forward rate         223,200/ 223,200 packets per second
  Switching delay             Typically 40 psecs from first input bit to
                              first output bit
  Protocol                    Transparent to all higher level protocols
  compatibility               such as NFS, XNS, IPX, TCP/IP,
                              DECnet, and AppleTalk
  Network                     SNMP: MIB 11, Bridge MIB, and Kalpana
  management                  extensions
                              RS-232 out-of-band support
  Line voltage                85-265 volts 47-75 Hz; I Amp
  Dimensions                  Length 13.25" (33.6 cm); width 17" (43
                              cm); height 1.75" (4.4 cm)
  Weight                      8.75 pounds (4 kg)
  Environmental               10' C to 40' C, humidity to 90% non-
                              condensing
  Emissions                   FCC Class A, EN55022 B, VCCI Class I
  Safety                      UL, C-UL, TUV
  Warranty                    One year from date of purchase
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