Easy D-link hub/switch identification qeury

[TSMJ]

Hi
Just bought a D-link DFE-2624 off eBay (which says that it is a switch). On the front it says that its a hub and if you read this:

http://www.dlink.com.au/products/hubs/dfe2624/

you get the impression it could also be a switch... but I am unsure. When transferring files from a PC connected to a switch which uplinks to the D-link to which the server is connected, the collision LED is constantly on, suggesting the D-link is a hub... I'm confused.

The manual is located here:

http://www.dlink-intl.com/technical...281c6d8a11e482568ef00354129/$FILE/DFE2600.pdf

Can anyone shed any light on this?

Thanks in advance for spending the time to try and help me out.

Cheers! ;-)

 

[Suthern]

In the manual I found many refrences to 'hub', and one refrence to 'switch' that might intrest you. Copied below:

In the basic configuration, the 10Mbps and 100Mbps segments are separate
and do not intercommunicate. An optional DFE-260S switch module (included
with the DFE-2616x, DFE-2624x, DFE-2616ix, and DFE-2624ix) can
be installed in any hub in the stack, making it possible to transparently bridge
between the 10Mbps and 100Mbps segments. In a managed hub stack, more
than one DFE-260S module can be used to provide redundancy if the two
modules are both in the primary master hub segment..
Other add-in modules are also available, providing 100BASE-TX, or
100BASE-FX connections. DFE-2600 series hubs each have two slots for
accepting slide-in modules.

So apparently, the only switching going on is between 10Mbps and 100Mbps connections. (Not between any two peers using the same speed). Misleading.

They should have called the feature a 'bridging' feature, as this is really what it is having just 2 logical 'ports'.

I hope this clears things up a bit for ya!

-Suthern

 

[TSMJ]

Thanks Suthern!
Yep - you're right - it is a hub and I have contacted the seller who is happy to swap it for a 3Com switch for free! Its misleading how the only switching happens between the 10 and 100 mbps hub layers...

Thanks for oyur help