Four SuperStack II Switch 1100 or Switch 3300 units
can be interconnected to form a stack that offers unrivaled performance and management
features.
Each unit has a built-in connector at the rear of the unit called
the matrix port. Two units can be connected back-to-back with a SuperStack II Switch
matrix cable. To connect more than two units, a SuperStack II matrix module can be
inserted into the high-speed module slot of one of the units in the stack, and a matrix
cable can be used to connect to each switch in the stack.
Stacking provides the user with a plethora of benefits. These
include the ability to manage in excess of 100 ports as a single logical entity.
Configuration is therefore faster and simpler. Stacking also provides the user with the
optional resilient IP addresses across the stack. Thus if a failure should occur, the
resilient IP address can be used for management stacking using the SuperStack II Switch
matrix module and cable, keeping front panel ports free and increasing the number of
matrix ports in an aggregated system.
Management
Transcend® network management
All SuperStack II switches are managed by 3Com Transcend® network management and control
solutions. Transcend solutions give you end-to-end visibilityand control over all devices
in your network with two levels of management: 1) technologies, such as embedded
SmartAgent® software and RMON, within 3Com devices throughout the network, and 2)
centralized highly automated applications at the network center for monitoring,
configuring, and troubleshooting all devices in the network.
Ships with 3Com Transcend Network Supervisor
This PC-based application provides powerful, yet easy-to-use network management tuned to
the needs of small-to-medium enterprises. Network devices are automatically discovered and
network activity and stress monitored through an intuitive graphical interface focused on
the tasks and information all managers need to take control of their network.
Web-based management
Manage your switches with any Web browser, either through direct or dial-up connection or
across the LAN. This delivers ease of use and accessibility to network management
personnel and reduces in-service costs, but still with full security.
Security Disconnect Unauthorized Device (DUD)
LAN security architecture with DUD automatically disconnects unauthorized devices from the
LAN.
Roving Analysis Port (RAP)
RAP allows a network analyzer attached to any unit in a stack to monitor any of the switch
ports or virtual LANs (VLANs) in the stack. It also minimizes the time required for
problem determination and resolution and maximizes switch uptime, thereby lowering your
cost of ownership.
RMON support
Transcend softwares powerful combination of RMON (Remote Monitoring, a superset of
SNMP MIB II) and embedded SmartAgent software reduces the processing burden on your
management station, minimizes network traffic, and saves time by automatically monitoring
and analyzing your network. RMON tells you at a glance how the network is performing and
who is using it the most. And Transcend software gives you the added benefit of RMON
features in your network without the processing and memory costs usually associated with
RMON. See the At-a-Glance RMON Support table for details on RMON groups supported by
SuperStack II switches.
Class of Service (CoS)
CoS can be defined simply as a method for prioritizing various
traffic types. 3Com switches can support two methods of enabling CoS on Ethernet networks.
The first method is IEEE 802.1D (incorporating 802.1p), which enables eight levels of
prioritization; and the second method is 3Coms innovative PACE technology, which
allows the user to specify certain applications as high priority. A hardware feature, dual
queues, is used to exploit these traffic prioritization schemes; the dual queues
functionrequired for CoSwill automatically enable a second port buffer for
high-priority traffic thereby allowing the traffic to bypass lower priority data for
faster processing within the switch.
Traffic Management
Flow control
Flow control is an essential switch feature that eliminates dropped packets on congested
ports. To provide switch application flexibility, 3Com switches support flow control
schemes suited to both full- and half-duplex environments. Intelligent Flow Management
(IFM) is a solution designed to work in half duplex, for example, a hub aggregation
application. A solution using IEEE 802.3x is also supported and designed for full-duplex
connections, such as desktop switching; this method of flow control is set automatically
using the autosensing features of SuperStack II switches.
Broadcast traffic control
Traditional Ethernet switches suffer from the threat of broadcast storms that can
potentially bring networks to a halt. However, all SuperStack II switches can be
configured with broadcast storm protection to limit the number of broadcast packets
allowed to be forwarded by each port. This allows the SuperStack II switches to offer the
security of broadcast storm protection normally associated with a router while also
providing the protocol independence of a switch.
Network Availability
Backup power supplies
3Com gives you all the choices you need to ensure constant power to your stackable
switches. Both the Advanced Redundant Power System (ARPS) and the Uninterruptible Power
System (UPS) work with any SuperStack II switch. The ARPS is ideally suited as a backup
for individual power supplies in the SuperStack II units. The UPS fully protects your
SuperStack II system from the effects of brownouts or spikes that occur in outside power
lines.
Resilient links
3Coms simple and flexible resilient links technology ensures fault tolerance via
redundant connections to other network devices.
Spanning tree
Support for the industry-standard IEEE 802.1D spanning tree protocol is provided as an
alternative to resilient links. This protects against network loops and can be used to
provide redundant network paths.
Port trunking
Port trunking establishes backbone links by treating multiple parallel links as a single
network pipe. Trunking also provides link redundancy; traffic on any failed link
comprising a network trunk automatically switches over to the other links in the trunk.
VLANs
VLANs allow PCs, workstations, and other resources, including
printers and file servers, to be organized into logical, broadcast domains so that only
devices within the same domain can communicate with each other. 3Com switches allow users
to implement VLANs on their network using one of two schemes: IEEE 802.1Q, including GVRP,
which enables the auto-learning of VLANs, or 3Coms VLT. Both methods allow for the
configuration of VLANs based on ports and/or MAC addresses for maximum flexibility and
security. For 802.1Q VLANs, a port on a switch can be assigned to a VLAN; all other
switches learn about that VLAN when the switches automatically communicate that knowledge
via the GVRP protocol.
Switches supporting both VLAN schemes can be used to provide
seamless migration from VLT to IEEE 802.1Q environments that preserve investment in
current LAN developments and equipment.
Layer 3 Support
Multicast filtering using IGMP snooping
Multicast filtering enables the automatic configuration of filters for IP multicast
traffic, such as video and audio broadcasts, allowing advanced multimedia applications to
be delivered easily to the workgroup.
Layer 3 switching
Layer 3 switching is the implementation of routing protocols in leading-edge ASIC
technology. Routing performance is dramatically and cost effectively boosted to enable the
widespread deployment of intranets (IP-based networking).