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®
Instant EtherFast Series
EtherFast 10/100
Auto-Sensing
Hubs
Use this guide to install these
Linksys products:
EtherFast 10/100
EtherFast 10/100
16-Port Rack
5-Port Hub
Mountable Hub
(EFAH05W)
(EFAH16)
EtherFast 10/100
EtherFast 10/100
8-Port Hub
24-Port Rack
(EFAH08W)
Mountable Hub
EtherFast 10/100 (EFAH24)
16-Port Hub
User Guide
(EFAH16W)
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COPYRIGHT & TRADEMARKS Copyright © 1998 Linksys, All Rights Reserved. Instant EtherFast is a registered trade- mark of Linksys. Microsoft, Windows, and the Windows logo are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. All other trademarks and brand names are the property of their respective proprietors. LIMITED WARRANTY Linksys guarantees that every EtherFast 10/100 Auto-Sensing Hub (Workgroup Models: 5, 8, and 16-Port; Rackmount Models: 16 and 24-Port) is free from physical defects in mate
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Contents Introduction 2 About Fast Ethernet 3 Planning Your Network 4 Installing the Hub 5 LED Indicators 6 Optional Fiber Optic Expansion Modules 7 Mounting the Hub 7 Connecting Nodes to the Hub 7 Uplinking the Hub 8 Uplinking the 5-Port Hub 9 Powering On and Resetting the Hub 10 Appendix Twisted Pair Cabling 11 Installing Add-On Modules 12 Fiber Optic Modules 13 100BaseTX Distance Extender Module 16 Specifications 18 Customer Support 19
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Introduction The EtherFast 10/100 Auto-Sensing series of hubs from Linksys is the fastest, most economical way to build or expand an enterprise 100Mbps network! Ready to run right out of the box, each 10/100 hub lets you con- nect computers or other nodes together in seconds, with auto-sensing ports that automatically adjust to either 10Mbps or 100Mbps speeds -- mix 10BaseT and 100BaseTX hardware together any way you like! Combine low-cost 10Mbps computers with high-speed Fast Ethernet workstat
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About Fast Ethernet As the demand for desktop video, multimedia development, imaging, and other speed-intensive applications continues to rise, the need for high per- formance, fault tolerant LAN technology will become more critical. Standard Ethernet, which has been the most popular networking technolo- gy to date with a maximum data throughput of 10 Megabits per second, is becoming insufficient to handle the latest video, multimedia, and other speed-intensive client/server LAN applications
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Planning Your Network The rules that govern how nodes and hubs are distributed across a network are important to ensure the integrity of your data. Cabling specifications, distance limits, and other topology rules must be followed in order to avoid collisions or data loss. The Auto-Sensing Hub is equipped with RJ-45 ports that can automatically adjust to either 10Mbps or 100Mbps speeds. Each port can operate at either speed, completely independent of the other ports’ speeds, and can be connected
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Installing the Hub Carefully remove the hub from its packaging. Make sure that you received all of the items listed below. If any items are missing or damaged, contact your Linksys dealer for replacement part(s). · EtherFast 10/100 Auto-Sensing Hub · AC Power Adapter and/or a Power Cord, (with rackmount models) · User Guide and Registration Card If you purchased a rack mountable Auto-Sensing hub, your package also includes rack mounting hardware suitable for securing the hub in a stan- dard hub
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LED Indicators Power Indicates that the hub is receiving power. 100/10 Col Indicates if collisions are being encountered at 100Mbps and/or 10Mbps. Some collisions are normal. If your network seems to be experienc- ing high collision levels, verify that your cabling is good, and that there are no cabling coils, cross-overs, or breaks. 100 ON if a given port is operating at 100Mbps; OFF if the port is running at 10Mbps. Link/Act ON or flickering if a given port is sending or receiving data;
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Optional Fiber Optic Expansion Module The Auto-Sensing 16 and 24-Port rack mountable hubs each come with a fiber optic expansion slot which accepts an optional 100BaseFX fiber optic module for connecting to high-speed fiber cabling. If you purchased an optional fiber optic expansion module, set it up by following the setup instructions included in the Appendix of this guide, (page 13). Mounting the Hub Each rack mountable hub is equipped with mounting holes that can be used to secure it in a s
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Connecting the Auto-Sensing Hubs to Other Hubs, Switches, or Routers Like most hubs, the Auto-Sensing Hubs can be uplinked to 10Mbps or 100Mbps hubs, stackable hubs, switches, or routers. The front of each hub has an Uplink port for this purpose. If you are connecting the hub to a Fast Ethernet hub, router, or switch, remember that Fast Ethernet rules only allow two hubs to be connected together, or cascaded, within a single repeater domain. To uplink the hub, simply connect a regular straight-t
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Uplinking the 5-Port Hub The EtherFast 5-Port Auto-Sensing Hub has a special switched uplink port with it’s own distance extension capabilities. If you are mixing 10Mbps and 100Mbps hardware on your 5-Port hub, the hub can be uplinked to other 100Mbps hubs at a distance of 5 meters (16.4 feet) -- just like other hubs. However, if all ports on your 5-Port Auto-Sensing hub are running at 100Mbps, then the uplink port automatically becomes capable of sending data over an uplink cable of up to 100
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Powering On the Hub Desktop Model The hub comes with both a power adapter and in some instances, an AC electrical cord. Plug the power adapter’s plug into the hub’s power jack. Plug the provided AC electrical cord into the power adapter. Finally, plug the other end of the electrical cord into a standard AC electrical outlet. The hub will put itself through a series of diagnostic tests -- which shouldn’t take more than just a few seconds -- then begin scanning the ports for live nodes. The instal
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Appendix Twisted Pair Cabling There are different grades, or categories, of twisted-pair cabling. Category 5 is the most reliable and widely compatible, and is required for Fast Ethernet. You can buy Category 5 cabling that is pre-made, or you can cut and crimp your own. Category 5 cables can be purchased or crimped as either straight-through or crossed. A Category 5 cable has 8 thin, color-coded wires inside that run from one end of the cable to the other. Only wires 1, 2, 3, and 6 are used by
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How To Install An Add-On Module Follow the following steps to install the add-on modules in the EtherFast 10/100 Auto-Sensing Hub (EFAH16 or EFAH24). 1. Power off the hub and remove the AC power cord from the hub. 2. Remove all RJ-45 cables from the all the ports in the hub and if the hub is on a rack remove the hub from the rack 3. Using a Philips screw driver, remove the screws holding the small cover panel on the back of the hub. The size of the panel is about 8.1cm by 3.5cm (3.1" x 1.4").
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Fiber Optic Modules Six different Fiber Optic modules are available for the rack mountable Auto-Sensing hubs (EFAH16 and EFAH24): FFOSC1: 100BaseFX 1-Port Transceiver Module (SC) FFOSC2: 100BaseFX 2-Port Transceiver Module (SC) FFOST1: 100BaseFX 1-Port Transceiver Module (ST) FFOST2: 100BaseFX 2-Port Transceiver Module (ST) FFOSCDE1: 100BaseFX 1-Port Distance Extender Module (SC) FFOSTDE1: 100BaseFX 1-Port Distance Extender Module (ST) When a single port module is used on EFAH24, port 12 can
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A maximum of 2 Transceivers can be connected together in one segment. When two hubs are connected via Transceivers together, the same rule of cascading two 100Mb hubs applies to them. To cascade another hub to these two hubs (using RJ-45), a switch or repeater must be used. The Distance Extender is a switched port. This means another 100Mb hub can be cascaded (with RJ-45) to the hub that has a Distance Extender Module installed. Two Distance Extender modules can be connected togeth- er only at H
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The following illustration is an example of how to connect four Rack Mountable EtherFast 10/100 Auto-Sensing hubs together using fiber optic cabling. Notice that the hubs at the top and the bottom are equipped with 100BaseFX 1-Port Distance Extender modules, while the two hubs in the middle have 100BaseFX 2- Port Tranceiver Modules. The distance extender modules allow data to be sent up to 208 meters (672 feet). The distance between the two hubs with tranceiver mod- ules is limited to a maximum
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100BaseTX Distance Extender Module This module has a special distance extending port that sends data at 100Mbps over regular 100BaseTX Category 5 cabling. The distance exten- der module sends your data up to 100 meters (328 feet). This module is ideal for connecting to file servers or uplinking to remote hubs. This module is available for the Rack Mountable Auto-Sensing hubs, (No.: EFAH16, EFAH24): EFFETXDE: 100BaseTX Distance Extender Module (Single Port) When this module is used on the EFAH24,
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The following illustration is an example of how to connect four EtherFast 10/100 Auto-Sensing hubs together using the Single-Port 100BaseTX Distance Extender Module. Note that, without the distance extender mod- ule, the maximum distance between two uplinked hubs is 5 meters (16.4 feet). With the distance extender module installed on one of the hubs, the maximum distance becomes 100 meters (328 feet). Only one distance extender module is needed for the long-distance uplink to be activated. Regul
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Specifications Models EFAH05W EFAH08W EFAH16W EFAH16 EFAH24 Standards IEEE 802.3 IEEE 802.3u Ports 5, 8, 16, or 24, depending on model; 16 and 24-Port models each also include two 100BaseFX fiber optic expansion slots; All hubs have built-in shared uplink port Speed Each port runs at 10Mbps or 100Mbps, independent of other ports’ speeds (dual-speed per port) UTP/STP Cabling 100BaseTX Category 5 LED Indicators Power, 10/100 Col, 100, Link/Act, SW (on 5-Port Uplink only) Power EFAH05W 7.5
