Types of switches Network switch

1 types of switches

1.1 form factors
1.2 configuration options

1.2.1 typical switch management features

types of switches

a rack-mounted 24-port 3com switch


form factors

switches available in many form factors, including stand-alone, desktop units typically intended used in home or office environment outside wiring closet; rack-mounted switches use in equipment rack or enclosure, large chassis units swappable module cards; din rail mounted use in industrial environments; , small installation switches, mounted cable duct, floor box or communications tower, found, example, in ftto infrastructures.

configuration options

unmanaged switches – these switches have no configuration interface or options. plug , play. typically least expensive switches, , therefore used in small office/home office environment. unmanaged switches can desktop or rack mounted.
managed switches – these switches have 1 or more methods modify operation of switch. common management methods include: command-line interface (cli) accessed via serial console, telnet or secure shell, embedded simple network management protocol (snmp) agent allowing management remote console or management station, or web interface management web browser. examples of configuration changes 1 can managed switch include: enabling features such spanning tree protocol or port mirroring, setting port bandwidth, creating or modifying virtual lans (vlans), etc. 2 sub-classes of managed switches marketed today:

smart (or intelligent) switches – these managed switches limited set of management features. likewise web-managed switches switches fall market niche between unmanaged , managed. price lower managed switch provide web interface (and no cli access) , allow configuration of basic settings, such vlans, port-bandwidth , duplex.
enterprise managed (or managed) switches – these have full set of management features, including cli, snmp agent, , web interface. may have additional features manipulate configurations, such ability display, modify, backup , restore configurations. compared smart switches, enterprise switches have more features can customized or optimized, , more expensive smart switches. enterprise switches typically found in networks larger number of switches , connections, centralized management significant savings in administrative time , effort. stackable switch version of enterprise-managed switch.



typical switch management features

a couple of managed d-link gigabit ethernet rackmount switches, connected ethernet ports on few patch panels using category 6 patch cables (all equipment installed in standard 19-inch rack)



turn particular port range on or off
link bandwidth , duplex settings
priority settings ports
ip management ip clustering
mac filtering , other types of port security features prevent mac flooding
use of spanning tree protocol (stp) , shortest path bridging (spb) technologies
simple network management protocol (snmp) monitoring of device , link health
port mirroring (also known as: port monitoring, spanning port, span port, roving analysis port or link mode port)
link aggregation (also known bonding, trunking or teaming) allows use of multiple ports same connection achieving higher data transfer rates
vlan settings. creating vlans can serve security , performance goals reducing size of broadcast domain
802.1x network access control
igmp snooping




^ tech specs sample hp web-managed switch . archived original on december 13, 2007. retrieved 2007-05-25. cs1 maint: bot: original-url status unknown (link)