Allied Telesis at-8516f User Guide

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Rapier Switch User Guide
Software Release 2.6.1
C613-02025-00 REV C
Autonegotiation of Port Speed and Duplex Mode
Each of the switch ports can operate at either 10 Mbps or 100 Mbps, in either 
full duplex or half duplex mode. In full duplex mode a port can transmit and 
receive data simultaneously, while in half duplex mode the port can either 
transmit or receive, but not at the same time. This versatility makes it possible 
to connect devices with different speeds and duplex modes to different ports 
on the switch. Such versatility also requires that each port on the switch know 
which speed and mode to use. 
Autonegotiation allows the ports to adjust their speed and duplex mode to 
accommodate the devices connected to them. Each switch port can be either 
configured with a fixed speed and duplex mode, or configured to 
autonegotiate speed and duplex mode with a device connected to it to 
determine a speed and mode that will allow successful transmission. An 
autonegotiating port will adopt the speed and duplex mode required by 
devices connected to it. If another autonegotiating device is connected to the 
switch, they will negotiate the highest possible common speed and duplex 
mode (Table 8 on page 69). Setting the port to a fixed speed and duplex mode 
allows it to support equipment that cannot autonegotiate.
It is also possible to require a port to operate at a single speed without 
disabling autonegotiation by allowing the port to autonegotiate but constrain 
the speed/duplex options to the desired combination. For example, if one end 
of a link is set to AUTO and other to 100MFULL then the AUTO end will select 
100MHALF operation because without the other end autonegotiating the 
AUTO end has no way of knowing that the fixed end is full duplex capable. If a 
particular speed is required it is usually preferable to fix the speed/duplex 
combination using one of the autonegotiating speed values. Therefore, using 
100MFAUTO at one end of a link and will allow the AUTO end to 
autonegotiate 100MFULL. 
Switch ports will autonegotiate by default when they are connected to a new 
device. To change this setting, use the command:
SET SWITCH PORT={port-list|ALL} 
SPEED={AUTONEGOTIATE|10MHALF|10MFULL|10MHAUTO|10MFAUTO|10
0MHALF|100MFULL|100MHAUTO|100MFAUTO|1000MHALF|1000MFULL|1
000MHAUTO|1000MFAUTO}
Autonegotiation can also be activated at any time after this, on any port that is 
set to autonegotiate, by using the command:
ACTIVATE SWITCH PORT={port-list|ALL} AUTONEGOTIATE