A Core Competence Product Evaluation
Product Overview
The Port Switch Hub Model 40 is a managed Ethernet
repeater with Port Switching capabilities. The
unit has the same look and feel as other SuperStack II products.
RJ-45 port terminations are located on the front-panel for easy access.
Port and LAN Segment Status LEDs provided on the front-panel
allow you to observe port status (enabled, disabled or partitioned,
no link detected) and segment status (traffic/no traffic, and
collision) and packet activity.
The 12-port 10-BaseT unit we tested (depicted above, at the
top of the stack) has two
expansion slots which can be fitted with
additional transceiver types to accommodate
mixed physical media (coax or fiber-base Ethernet)
environments. A 24-port version (also depicted above) is
also available (for other models, visit 3Com).
You can stack as many as ten hubs through two
cascade ports located on the rear-panel.
One of the 10 BaseT ports can be switched
from MDI to crossover (MDIX) to allow
connections to other hubs and network elements.
On our 12-port unit, Port 12 can be switched from MDI to MDIX and can be used
for either an endstation or an uplink to a switch or hub.
Other ports can be used as uplinks to a switch (e.g., a
Switch 1000)
if you use a crossover cable (MDIX).
A redundant power supply can also be added.
The 19" unit is a stackable and comes with footpads, but
brackets are also provided for rack mounting. 