NETGEAR FE508 - Hub User manual

M-FS508NA1
September 2000
NETGEAR , Inc.
4500 Great America Parkway
Santa Clara, CA 95054
USA
Phone: 1-888-NETGEAR
E-mail: [email protected]
www.NETGEAR.com
Installation Guide for
the Model FS508 Fast
Ethernet Switch

ii
© 2000 by NETGEAR, Inc. All rights reserved.
Trademarks
NETGEAR™ is a trademark of NETGEAR, Inc. Windows® is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation. Other
brand and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders. Information is subject to
change without notice. All rights reserved.
Statement of Conditions
In the interest of improving internal design, operational function, and/or reliability, NETGEAR reserves the right to
make changes to the products described in this document without notice.
NETGEAR does not assume any liability that may occur due to the use or application of the product(s) or circuit
layout(s) described herein.
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Declaration of Conformity Statement
Note: This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a ClassA digital device, pursuant to
Part 15 of the FCC rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference when
the equipment is operated in a commercial environment. This equipment generates, uses, and can radiate radio frequency
energy. If it is not installed and used in accordance with the instruction manual, it may cause harmful interference to
radio communications. Operation of this equipment in a residential area is likely to cause harmful interference, in which
case users will be required to take whatever measures may be necessary to correct the interference at their own expense.
EN 55 022 Statement
This is to certify that the NETGEAR Model FS508 Fast Ethernet Switch is shielded against the generation of radio
interference in accordance with the application of Council Directive 89/336/EEC, Article 4a. Conformity is declared by
the application of EN 55 022 Class A (CISPR 22).
Bestätigung des Herstellers/Importeurs
Es wird hiermit bestätigt, daß das NETGEAR Model FS508 Fast Ethernet Switch gemäß der im BMPT-AmtsblVfg 243/
1991 und Vfg 46/1992 aufgeführten Bestimmungen entstört ist. Das vorschriftsmäßige Betreiben einiger Geräte (z.B.
Testsender) kann jedoch gewissen Beschränkungen unterliegen. Lesen Sie dazu bitte dieAnmerkungen in der
Betriebsanleitung.
Das Bundesamt für Zulassungen in der Telekommunikation wurde davon unterrichtet, daß dieses Gerät auf den Markt
gebracht wurde und es ist berechtigt, die Serie auf die Erfüllung der Vorschriften hin zu überprüfen.
Warning: This is a Class A product. In a domestic environment, this product may
cause radio interference, in which case, the user may be required to take appropriate
measures.

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Voluntary Control Council for Interference (VCCI) Statement
This equipment is in the first category (information equipment to be used in commercial and/or industrial areas) and
conforms to the standards set by the Voluntary Control Council for Interference by Data Processing Equipment and
Electronic Office Machines that are aimed at preventing radio interference in commercial and/or industrial areas.
Consequently, when this equipment is used in a residential area or in an adjacent area thereto, radio interference may be
caused to equipment such as radios and TV receivers.
Customer Support
For assistance with installing and configuring your NETGEAR system or with post-installation questions or problems,
contact your point of purchase representative.
To contact customer support or to purchase additional copies of this document and publications for other NETGEAR
products, you can contact NETGEAR at the following numbers:
Phone:
Australia 1800-787-638 Korea 00308-11-0319
Austria 00800-06384327 Netherlands 0800-023-0981
(00800-0-NETGEAR) New Zealand 00800-1233-4566
Denmark 808-82179 Norway 800-12041
Canada 1-888-NETGEAR Singapore 001-800-1233-4566
Finland 0800-111-036 Sweden 0200-298-298
France 0800-77-17-53 Switzerland 00800-0638-4327
Germany 00800-06384327 (00800-0-NETGEAR)
(00800-0-NETGEAR) United Kingdom 020-7216-0014
Hong Kong 001-800-1233-4566 United States 1-888-NETGEAR
Japan 0120-66-5402 All Other Countries [phone]
World Wide Web
NETGEAR maintains a World Wide Web Home Page that you can access at the universal resource locator (URL)
http://www.NETGEAR.com. A direct connection to the Internet and a Web browser such as Internet Explorer or
Netscape are required.

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Contents v
Contents
Chapter 1
Introduction
Benefits of Using Switching Technology .........................................................................1-1
Types of Ethernet Switches ............................................................................................1-2
Model FS508 Switch Overview .......................................................................................1-2
Features .........................................................................................................................1-3
Chapter 2
Physical Description
Front Panel .....................................................................................................................2-1
Fast Ethernet Ports ..................................................................................................2-2
Normal/Uplink Push Button ......................................................................................2-2
LEDs ........................................................................................................................2-3
Rear Panel ......................................................................................................................2-4
FDX/AUTO Duplex Toggle Switches ........................................................................2-4
Chapter 3
Applications
Desktop Switching ..........................................................................................................3-2
Segment Switching .........................................................................................................3-3
Extending a Network ......................................................................................................3-4
Bridging from 10BASE-T to 100BASE-TX Networks ......................................................3-5
High-bandwidth File Servers ..........................................................................................3-6

vi Contents
Chapter 4
Installation
Site Preparation ..............................................................................................................4-1
Package Contents ..........................................................................................................4-1
Installing a Switch ...........................................................................................................4-2
Installing the Switch on a Flat Surface .....................................................................4-2
Installing the Switch in a Rack .................................................................................4-3
Connecting Devices to the Switch ..................................................................................4-4
Verifying Installation ........................................................................................................4-5
Chapter 5
Troubleshooting
LEDs ...............................................................................................................................5-1
FDX/AUTO Duplex Toggle Switches ...............................................................................5-1
Installation ......................................................................................................................5-2
Cabling ...........................................................................................................................5-2
Network Adapter Cards ..................................................................................................5-2
Configuration ..................................................................................................................5-2
Switch Integrity ...............................................................................................................5-2
Appendix A
Technical Specifications
General Specifications ................................................................................................... A-1
Appendix B
Connector Pin Assignments
RJ-45 Plug and vista RJ-45 Connector ......................................................................... B-1
Appendix C
Cabling Guidelines
Fast Ethernet Cable Guidelines .....................................................................................C-1
Cable Lengths ...............................................................................................................C-2
Cable Specifications ......................................................................................................C-2
Twisted Pair Cables .......................................................................................................C-3
Patch Panels and Cables ........................................................................................C-4
Index

Figures vii
Figures
Figure 2-1. Front panel of the Model FS508 switch ....................................................2-1
Figure 2-2. The vista RJ-45 connector with built-in LEDs ..........................................2-2
Figure 2-3. Rear panel of the Model FS508 switch ....................................................2-4
Figure 3-1. Using the Model FS508 switch for desktop switching ..............................3-2
Figure 3-2. Model FS508 switch used as a segment switch ......................................3-3
Figure 3-3. Using the Model FS508 switch for network extension .............................3-4
Figure 3-4. Bridging 10 Mbps networks to 100 Mbps networks .................................3-5
Figure 3-5. High-bandwidth file server connection .....................................................3-6
Figure 4-1. Attaching mounting brackets to the Model FS508 switch ........................4-3
Figure B-1. RJ-45 plug and vista RJ-45 connector with built-in LEDs ....................... B-1
Figure C-1. Straight-through twisted pair cable .........................................................C-3
Figure C-2. Crossover twisted pair cable ...................................................................C-3
Figure C-3. Category 5 UTP patch cable with male RJ-45 plug at each end ............C-4

viii Tables
Tables
Table 2-1. LED descriptions ......................................................................................2-3
Table B-1. RJ-45 plug and vista RJ-45 connector
pin assignments ...................................................................................... B-2
Table C-1. Electrical requirements of Category 5 cable ...........................................C-2

Introduction 1-1
Chapter 1
Introduction
Congratulations on your purchase of the NETGEAR
™
Model FS508 8-port Fast Ethernet Switch.
This switch is part of the NETGEAR 500 Series product family. The switch provides you with
a low-cost, high-performance network solution and is designed to support power workgroups
operating at either 10 megabits per second (Mbps) or 100 Mbps.
This guide describes how to install and use the switch. It includes physical configuration
guidelines for connecting multiple 10 or 100 Mbps hubs and for connecting 10 or 100 Mbps Fast
Ethernet stations, PCs, and servers.
Benefits of Using SwitchingTechnology
A majority of installed networks today are based on shared network technology. With this
technology, a number of users or groups of users share a total available network bandwidth (or
network capacity) of 10 Mbps, 100 Mbps, or other amounts of network bandwidth. For example,
with a total of 10 users, the average bandwidth available to each user on a 10 Mbps network is
calculated as 10/100 Mbps, which equals 1 Mbps of bandwidth per user. On a 100 Mbps (Fast
Ethernet) network, the average bandwidth available to each of the 10 users is 100/10 Mbps, which
equals 10 Mbps of bandwidth per user.
Ethernet switches significantly increase network throughput by segmenting network traffic. They
check traffic coming in to each port to learn which network device is located on which segment.
Based on this information, switches forward cross-segment traffic only to the appropriate segment.
The traffic will not show up in the other segments since it is filtered out. In this way, network
capacity is fully reserved for traffic destined for that segment only, and other segments will not
be saturated with unnecessary traffic.

Installation Guide for the Model FS508 Fast Ethernet Switch
1-2 Introduction
Ethernet switches provide private, dedicated, 10 Mbps (or 100 Mbps) capacity to each connected
PC/server or hub/workgroup segment, which is significantly higher than in a shared environment.
The higher bandwidth enables applications such as multimedia, imaging, video, or high-
performance client-server functions among users who are spread out over the network.
This improvement is accomplished very easily, with no change to the desktop (the network
interface cards or software and the network wiring). As a result, the performance upgrade and the
applications it enables are obtained very quickly and at a low cost.
Types of Ethernet Switches
Ethernet switches can be classified in different ways—as desktop switches or as segment switches.
A
desktop switch is designed to support one or a few PCs per port. It is generally used when the
individuals need the full 10 Mbps network throughput to support the applications. Often, these
switches support only a single MAC (media access control) address per port, have high-speed
100 Mbps ports to connect to fast servers, and are relatively inexpensive compared to a segment
switch. A
segment switch , in contrast, is designed to support an entire workgroup on each port,
with each port having significant memory buffering and supporting thousands of MAC addresses.
Switches can also be classified by speed. As the name suggests, 10 Mbps switches support only
10 Mbps connections. Similarly, 100 Mbps switches support only 100 Mbps connections. Usually,
10/100 Mbps switches have primarily 10 Mbps ports with one or few 100 Mbps ports.Autosensing
10/100 Mbps switches support 10 Mbps or 100 Mbps connections on each port and are the most
versatile and adaptive type of switches.
Model FS508 Switch Overview
The Model FS508 switch is an autosensing 10/100 Mbps switch. This feature-rich switch is
developed primarily to be used as a segment switch, even though it is priced as a desktop switch.
All eight ports on the Model FS508 switch can adapt automatically to the speed of the connected
network or the PC, and the ports can operate at either 10 Mbps or 100 Mbps. In addition, each port
can automatically negotiate with the connected device to operate in full-duplex mode. If the
connected device is operating at half-duplex mode only or does not have the capability to
participate in the negotiation process, the port will default to half-duplex mode.A manual override
duplex toggle switch is also provided to force any particular port to operate in full-duplex mode.