Are my 3COM 3300 over linked?

[redbearduk]

Hi,

I am looking into performance problems on a relativley large factory site that uses 3300 switches.

The original plan indicates that all 3300 stacks are linked back to a core 4950 by either fibre or, in the case of the server room stacks, copper.

I have found that one area of the site breaks this convention. The link extends from a fibre module in the back of a 3300 stack in the server room (presumably because it is 100Mbit and the 4950 only has 1Gb modules) and from their passes to second 3300 containing a dual fibre module, the second port of which travels on to a third 3300.

4950--copper--3300stack--fibre--3300dualfibre--fibre--3300

I have always tried to limit each network to three hops (star formation). Could this extended connection be my problem? What are the maximum number of uplinked 3300's allowed in line? Does the dual fibre in and out connection constitue a 'hop'?

Other spurs are simply

4950--fibre--3300stack

The reason I am suspicious is because the problem experienced typically happens on a Friday afternoon, at which time, coincidentally, some factory floor PC's are ghosted to the network as a backup process. These factory PC's are linked via the switch with dual fibre on this spur.

Thanks in advance for you attention.

 

[gatoradeguy]

we had similar problems when ghosting. performance was significantly brought down during the ghosting. this problem was not solved b/c of time and money constraints and ghosting was done on a seperate network of switches. one thing to try is possibly trying not to multicast when ghosting.