Age-old ethernet equipment

From: Iggy Drougge <optimus_at_canit.se>
Date: Thu Mar 29 08:40:04 2001

Pete Turnbull skrev:

>On Mar 29, 6:39, Iggy Drougge wrote:

>> I see. I really must create a lot of small networks now, so that I may
>> saturate all those ports.

>Well, they would really all be the same network -- they'd be all one
>collision domain (any packet or collision appearing on one port would be
>seen on all the others. That's what a repeater does).

True, but at least they will look like that and there won't be a dozen unused
ports.

>> What management would be involved with a repeater? All other hubs and
>> repeaters I've used have been entirely automatic.

>Partitioning segments deliberately, eg to lock out a faulty host -- maybe
>one that's jabbering, or responding to things it shouldn't -- or an
>intruder. Monitoring traffic levels (counting packets, octets, collisions,
>etc). Monitoring traffic types (unicast packets, multicast packets,
>broadcast packets). Keeping a list of MAC addresses seen. Since all this
>is usually done by talking to the repeater (or whatever) over the network,
>the repeater itself has to have an IP address, and so there are ways to set
>that up (setting it by hand, or telling it to use bootp/dhcp) or upgrade
>the firmware, or set passwords for read/write operations.

That monitoring seems interesting.

>> I'd think so too, but I heard on Usenet that old repeaters (the kind
>which
>> actually call themselves repeaters =) could slow down modern networks.
>Don't
>> ask me how, though.

>I don't see why, if you're talking about repeaters. Old switches might
>well be slow, since they work on a store-and-forward basis. A repeater
>("hub") works on the bit level; a switch works at the packet level and
>looks at the type and addressing of each packet before passing it on.
> Newer switches use ASICs to do this in hardware at wire speed, older ones
>use more conventional processing (or a combination).

I would think so too. Any other opinions?

>> >> What does partitioning actually entail?
>>
>> >See above. Some more modern 3Com hubs also have the capability to split
>> >the unit into segments (eg, the SuperStack II PS 40 hubs and others can
>> >have 4 segments) but assigning ports to different segments isn't usually
>> >called partitioning.
>>
>> IOW it's just a glorified OFF switch. =)

>Partitioning, is, yes. Segmenting isn't, it's just a way of making one
>big(ish) hub do the job of a few smaller ones.

I was rather hoping it had that ability.

--
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Received on Thu Mar 29 2001 - 08:40:04 BST

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