Ethernet Switching at a Fraction of the Cost

Salvatore Salamone

Even with the benefits of improved network performance, companies hesitate to use Ethernet switching because it appears to be too expensive or unfamiliar. Both issues disappear thanks to a new class of product, a switching hub on a PC card.

PC-based switching-hub cards offer the benefits of Ethernet switching for as low as $200 per port, or about half the price per port of a stand-alone Ethernet switching hub. The low price, however, doesn't mean a compromise on features. Card-based products from Matrox Network Products Group (Dorval, Quebec, Canada), Xedia (Wilmington, MA), and XNET Technology (Milpitas, CA) all offer advanced management capabilities.

None of these cards require you to change existing Ethernet cabling, hu bs, or workstation network adapter cards. They all cost less than comparable stand-alone switching-hub products because you avoid the extra cost of a hub chassis--they occupy a slot in an existing server or PC.

Each product has unique features. For example, the NetSwitch/16 from Matrox ((514) 685-7230) can be used in small workgroups to prove out the concept of Ethernet switching. If it looks like switching will be used more extensively, multiple Matrox cards can be combined to bring the number of switched ports from 16 to as many as 256.

The XNET Series 1800 ParallelSwitch from XNET ((408) 263-6888) installs in a server and thus eliminates the latency that can occur between a stand-alone switching hub and a server. The ParallelSwitch comes with six Ethernet ports through which the card can deliver an aggregate throughput of 60 MBps between a server and multiple LAN segments.

The MADswitch/PC from Xedia ((508) 658-7200) provides six Ethernet connections to a server. Xedia, which also offe rs stand-alone Ethernet switching hubs, likes to distinguish the PC-card version from the stand-alone hub. ``Consider [the MADswitch/PC] a superNIC card,'' says Ian Davison, Xedia's CEO. ``If you need six connections to the server, use one card rather than six. This takes less room in the server and has the advantage over the individual-cards approach in that peer traffic never hits the server.'' The card's processor handles all that traffic, resulting in less drain on the server's CPU.

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Ethernet Switching-Hub Cards At A Glance

COMPANY           PRODUCT         DESCRIPTION            ADVANTAGES


Matrox Network   NetSwitch/16     16-port card        Can daisy chain cards
Products Group                    that goes in        to accommodate up to
                                  a separate PC       256 switched ports


Xedia            MADswitch/PC     Six-switched        Includes NetWare 3.1x
                                  Ethernet-port       ODI (Open Data-Link

                                  card that goes      Interface) driver and
                                  into the server     can be used with Xedia's
                                                      stand-alone switching hubs


XNET Technology  Series 1800      Six-port card        Reduces latency by
                 ParallelSwitch   for a server         providing a single step
                                                       between Ethernet LANs
                                                       and the server