Overview of Data Interface Types of various vswitches

As the main connection device of LAN, Ethernet switches have become one of the fastest network devices widely used in applications. At the same time, with this rapid development, the functions of switches are constantly enhanced, the upgrade of the vswitch port and the continuous addition of the connection ports of various special devices to the vswitch also enrich the Interface Types of the vswitch, in order to give everyone a clear understanding of these interfaces, We have specially compiled an article on switch interfaces based on the materials:

1. RJ-45 Interface

This interface is our most common network device interface, commonly known as "crystal head", professional terminology for RJ-45 connector, belongs to the twisted pair Ethernet interface type. The RJ-45 plug can only be inserted along a fixed direction and is equipped with a plastic shrapnel with a RJ-45 slot stuck to prevent shedding.

This interface can be used in 10Base-T Ethernet, 100Base-TX Ethernet, and 1000Base-TX Ethernet. transmission media are all twisted pair wires. However, different bandwidth requirements apply to different media, especially for 1000Base-TX Gigabit Ethernet connections, at least five cat-5e lines should be used, and six cat-5e lines should be used to ensure stability and high speed.

2. SC Optical Fiber Interface

The SC optical fiber interface has been applied in the 100Base-TX Ethernet era. Therefore, 100Base-FXF is the abbreviation of the fiber word fiber, therefore, it is not widely used. Now the industry is vigorously promoting Gigabit Networks, while SC Fiber interfaces are gaining greater attention.

Many types of fiber interface, SC Fiber Interface is mainly used for local network switching environment, in some high performance gigabit switch and router provides this interface, it looks very similar to the RJ-45 interface, but SC interface appears more flat, its obvious difference is inside the touch, if it is 8 Fine copper touch, it is RJ-45 interface, if it is a copper column is SC Fiber Interface.

3. FDDI Interface

FDDI is the highest transmission rate among mature LAN technologies. It has the characteristics of the timing token protocol and supports multiple topology structures. The transmission media is optical fiber.

Optical Fiber Distributed Data Interface (FDDI) is a set of protocols developed by the American Organization for Standardization (ANSI) to send digital signals over optical cables. FDDI uses a dual-ring token, and the transmission rate can reach 100 Mbps.

CCDI is a variant of FDDI. It uses a twisted pair copper cable as the transmission medium, and the data transmission rate is usually 100 Mbps.

FDDI-2 is an extended protocol for FDDI, supporting voice, video and data transmission, is another variant of FDDI, known as FDDI full duplex technology FFDT), it uses the same network structure as FDDI, however, the transmission rate can reach 200 Mbps.

Because optical fiber is used as the transmission media with many advantages, such as large capacity, long transmission distance, and strong anti-interference ability, it is often used in the backbone network of man, campus environment, and multi-building network distribution environment, therefore, FDDI interfaces are common in backbone network switches. Now, with the popularization of GE, some high-end gigabit switches are also using this interface.

4. AUI Interface

The AUI interface is used to connect to a coarse coaxial cable. In the early days, the NIC was connected to a hub or vswitch to form a network.

The AUI interface is a "D" Type 15-pin interface, used in the ring plate network or bus network, can be used with external transceiver AUI-to-RJ-45 ), connect to the 10Base-T Ethernet.

5. BNC Interface

BNC is an interface specifically used to connect to a fine coaxial cable. The fine coaxial cable is also known as the "fine cable". Its most common application is the split display signal interface, that is, the interfaces of the input display are separated by the red, green, blue, and horizontal and vertical scanning frequencies, with less interference between signals.

Currently, BNC is basically no longer used in switches, and only a few BNC interfaces are available in some earlier RJ-45 Ethernet switches and hubs.

6. Console interface

Vswitches that can manage networks generally have a "Console" port, which is used to configure and manage vswitches. Connecting to and configuring a vswitch through the Console port is required to configure and manage the vswitch. Because other configurations can be implemented only by IP address, domain name, or device name, the newly purchased switch obviously cannot have these parameters, therefore, the Console port is the most common and basic switch management and Configuration Port.

The Console ports of different types of vswitches are located in different locations, some on the front panel, and some on the back panel. Generally, most modular switches are located on the front panel, while most fixed configuration switches are located on the rear panel. Both the top and the side of the port will have an identifier similar to "CONSOLE.

In addition to different positions, the Console port type is also different, the vast majority of switches are using RJ-45 port, but there are also a few using DB-9 serial port or DB-25 serial port.

DB-9 serial port
DB-25 serial port Whether the switch uses a DB-9 or a DB-25 serial interface or a RJ-45 interface, a dedicated Console line is required to connect to the serial port of the configuration side computer. The Console line corresponds to the different Console ports of the vswitch. There are also two types of Console lines: one is a serial line, that is, both ends are serial interfaces and both ends are master ports ), the two ends can be inserted into the computer's serial port and the Console port of the switch; the other is the two ends are RJ-45 joint RJ-45 to RJ-45) flat line. Since both ends of the flat line are RJ-45 interfaces, you cannot connect directly to the computer serial port, so you must also use a RJ-45 to DB-9 or RJ-45 to DB-25) of the adapter. Typically, such a Console line and the corresponding DB-9 or DB-25 adapter are randomly presented in the switch box.