Re: Problem with connection of EtherExpress Pro100 to a 10/100 switch

On Thu, 16 Oct 2003, Ricardo Jorge da Fonseca Marques Ferreira wrote:

> To: Donald Becker <[email protected]>
> Cc: [email protected]
> Subject: Re: [eepro100] Problem with connection of EtherExpress Pro100 to
>     a 10/100 switch
> 
> On Thursday 16 October 2003 22:23, Donald Becker wrote:
> > The, uhmmm, "uplink" port?
> > Try using a regular cable instead of the cross-over cable you are
> > currently using.
> 
> Uh, no. The switch has no special uplink port.
> It supports uplink on any port.
> This is the page of the switch:
> http://www.longshine.de/produkt/switches/sw16dn.htm

Errrmmm, not from the data sheet in the URL.  It doesn't have the
auto-crossover feature that is common on GbE and is just starting to appear
on 10/100 equipment.

Don't confuse "supports uplink on any port", which any switch should do,
with "automatically detects uplink cross-over".


BTW, I think auto-crossover is wonderful.  Like DHCP auto-negotiation, it
moves Ethernet even closer to zero-configuration.
I see only two problems:
  - The transition as people expect the new features from the old equipment.
  - Having a single Uplink port and only straight-through cables
    discourages creating loops.   (But we still need 'spanning-tree'
    since "discourage" is not "makes physically impossible".)


-- 
Donald Becker				[email protected]
Scyld Computing Corporation		http://www.scyld.com
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