Cabletron Systems switches - Manual (Page 95)

Fast Ethernet Workgroup Design 7-9
Fast Ethernet
Figure 7-3. Fast Ethernet High-End Department Solution
Fast Ethernet as a Backbone
Due to the high throughput provided by Fast Ethernet, it is conceivable that the
technology could be used as a backbone solution to interconnect a series of
workgroups. The Fast Ethernet switch will act as a device collapsed backbone for
the network. The design process is exactly the same as that depicted above, in
which connections were designed between multiple workstations over a Fast
Ethernet switch, but the connections in the backbone solution are made to
workgroups rather than individual stations.
Design Example
As an example of the methods used to design a switched Fast Ethernet backbone
network, let us examine the design process of a Network Designer at a small
magazine publishing house who intended to replace the existing Ethernet
backbone (shared thick coaxial cable) in the facility depicted in Figure 7-4 with a
device collapsed backbone using switched Fast Ethernet.
NOTE
Due to the short maximum distances of Fast Ethernet
segments, Fast Ethernet is sometimes unsuitable for
interconnecting workgroups in a widely-dispersed enterprise
network.
Stations (14)
Facility Hub
FN100-16TX
2094n23