New Mini Switches from Lantronix

As high-bandwidth applications such as groupware and video become more desirable, the need for greater bandwidth in the workgroup follows. Shared 10 Mbps Ethernet cannot keep up with these more intensive applications data; every delay results in unsatisfactory performance. For many years 10BASE-T Ethernet has been delivered to the desktop with hubs. Now, technology is available to cost effectively bring switching to the desktop and bring 100 Mbps Ethernet there as well. These technologies rescue the network manager who is facing increasing demand without a large budget for new cabling or large hardware purchases.

Ethernet switching provides an instant boost to performance in workgroups previously built around hubs. Hubs allow only for sharing of an Ethernet segment, meaning each end node can only get a small percentage of a 10 Mbps Ethernet. Under average conditions (~40% load), this shared bandwidth amounts to about 2.5 Mbps for data. If a single node wanted to run a video application requiring a steady stream of 1.5 Mbps, it would most likely not be able to do so unless most of the other users were inactive. Ethernet switches, on the other hand, allow the individual segments to approach more closely the full bandwidth available on the Ethernet by reducing collisions, allowing only necessary traffic on each segment. On a switched Ethernet with only a single end node, that end node gets dedicated bandwidth which translates to much more than the 1.5 Mbps required for a smoothly running video application.

These technologies have been extensively applied in backbone applications where the high costs could be amortized over a large number of users. This has moved the network chokepoint from the central site to the work group, where historically these products have been too expensive to deploy. Now, however, new lower cost semiconductors and components have allowed Lantronix’s engineers to design products that are more inexpensive (by an order of magnitude) than previous switch products. This low pricing allows the network manager to install them in the workgroup in places where unmanaged mini-hubs are located or are planned for the future.

The LMS Mini Switches

The Lantronix LMS Mini Switches are designed to bring Ethernet switching and 100 Mbps Ethernet to the workgroup and desktop environments. As Ethernet switches, the LMS products filter unnecessary packet traffic from each segment allowing each end node to achieve maximum throughput on its segment. Using a store-and-forward architecture, the LMS products also filter bad packets from each segment, thereby increasing network efficiency. All of the LMS mini switches are self-learning, capable of discovering the network topology and appropriately forwarding and filtering network traffic just seconds after initial installation. Installation of the LMS unmanaged mini switches is extremely easy, with no configuration or setup required. Simply plug them in and start enjoying faster network performance. All LMS mini switches support half or full duplex mode on each port. With support for 8,192 Ethernet addresses, the LMS products can fit into almost any network topology.

See Lantronix on page 2.