Allied Telesis IE200 Series - Manual (Page 21)

Chapter 1: Overview
AT-IE200 Series Installation Guide 21
10/100Base-T Twisted Pair Ports
The AT-IE200-6FT and AT-IE200-6FP switches have four 10/100Base-T ports.
Speed
The ports can operate at either 10 or 100 Mbps. The speeds may be set manually using the management
software or automatically with Auto-Negotiation (IEEE 802.3u), the default setting.
Duplex Mode
The twisted pair ports can operate in either half- or full-duplex mode. The duplex mode determines the
manner in which a port transmits data. A port set to half-duplex can either transmit or receive data at one
time, while a port operating in full-duplex can transmit and receive data at the same time. The best network
performance is achieved with the full-duplex setting, but not all network equipment is designed to support
that duplex mode.
The duplex modes, like port speeds, may be set manually using the management software or automatically
with Auto-Negotiation (IEEE 802.3u), the default setting.
The speed and duplex mode settings of a port may be set independently of each other. For example, a port
may be configured such that its speed is set manually while its duplex mode is established through Auto-
Negotiation.
Note
A switch port that is connected to a network device that does not support Auto-Negotiation and has
a fixed duplex mode of full-duplex should not set its duplex mode with Auto-Negotiation. A duplex-
mode mismatch in which a switch port and a network device operate at different duplex modes, may
occur. The duplex modes of switch ports that are connected to network devices that do not support
Auto-Negotiation should be set manually through the management software.
Wiring Configuration
The wiring configuration of a port can be MDI or MDI-X. The wiring configurations of a switch port and a
network device connected with straight-through twisted pair cabling have to be opposite, such that one
device is using MDI and the other MDI-X. For instance, a switch port has to be set to MDI-X if it is connected
to a network device set to MDI.
You may set the wiring configurations of the ports manually or let the switch configure them automatically
with auto-MDI/MDI-X (IEEE 802.3ab-compliant). This feature enables the switch to negotiate with network
devices to establish the proper settings, so that the ports on the devices are using different wiring
configurations.
Maximum Distance
The ports have a maximum operating distance of 100 meters (328 feet).