Madge LANswitch Plus LFE-4004 Fast Ethernet Switch (Historical documentation)

1. Madge LANswitch Plus
LFE- 4004 Fast Ethernet Switch
H I G H - P E R F O R M A N C E , H I G H - D E N S I T Y
FA S T E T H E R N E T S W I T C H
The Madge LFE-4004 high-performance, high port-density, Fast Ethernet
LANswitch Plus™
module provides four switched 100 Mbps connections for servers and
powerful workstations.
T
he demands placed on today’s
networks are increasing day by day.
Organizations are demanding that
their networks cope with growing numbers of
users as well as new applications based on
client-server technology, multi-media, and
collaborative computing. Traditional network
technologies cannot provide the bandwidth
needed to support this growing use of
information technology and are beginning
to place limits on users’ productivity.
The Madge LFE-4004 Fast Ethernet
switch is part of a total networking solution
that improves network efficiency and user
productivity. Using 100 Mbps Fast Ethernet
technology, the LFE-4004 switch gives busy
servers enough bandwidth to handle even
the most demanding clients on the network.
L A N S W I T C H P L U S M AT C H E S U S E R N E E D S
The LFE-4004 four-port 100BASE-TX
switch is a member of the Madge Networks
award-winning family of LANswitch Plus
modules that provides full wire speed, high
port-density and reliable, cost-effective
solutions to today’s demands for increased
network performance.
The LFE-4004 integrates easily into
existing Ethernet networks, allowing organi-
zations to selectively enhance network
performance in response to increasing user
needs. The result is an economical, gradual
migration to high-speed switching that
leverages your investment in existing network
infrastructures to the fullest.
M O D U L A R
S W I T C H I N G
The Madge LFE-4004
high port density, Fast
Ethernet switch
facilitates centralized
configuration and
management of
powerful workstations
and server resources,
for improved network
performance.

2. FA S T E T H E R N E T R A I S E S T H E S P E E D L I M I T
Due to its 100 Mbps data transfer rate
and compatibility with the 100BASE-TX
Ethernet standard, Madge’s LFE-4004 Fast
Ethernet switch is ideal for connecting
servers or power workstations to the
switching environment. Fast Ethernet
literally pumps up the speed of the network
by an order of magnitude. The LFE-4004
Fast Ethernet switch is based on Fast
Ethernet’s 100BASE-TX standard, which
operates in the same way as conventional
10BASE-T, only ten times faster.
The 100BASE-TX standard uses two
pairs of Category 5 UTP and can cover
distances of up to 100 meters. Because all
the most important elements of 10BASE-T
are preserved with 100BASE-T (i.e.,
cabling, applications, management tools and
network topology), Fast Ethernet provides a
cost-effective upgrade that is compatible
with networks already in place.
E F F I C I E N T L A N S W I T C H A R C H I T E C T U R E
At the heart of the LANswitch architecture is
the protocol-independent Cellenium Plus™
Bus, which is an integral part of every Madge
LANswitch hub. The LFE-4004 Fast
Ethernet switch modules plug directly into
the Cellenium Plus Bus and conduct their
switching sessions across this giga-speed
switching fabric.
The LFE-4004 gives high-
performance servers a
dedicated 100 Mbps link to
the switch.
In addition, each LANswitch Plus port has
its own ASIC switching engine for optimal
performance, scalability, and reliability.
L A N S W I T C H A D VA N C E D F E AT U R E S
The performance of the LFE-4004 Fast
Ethernet server switch is further enhanced
by the ATM-like features included in every
LANswitch Plus module: congestion
management, priority, and fairness.
C O N G E S T I O N M A N A G E M E N T
LANswitch Plus guarantees the delivery of
each packet by effectively controlling
overload conditions. At any level of traffic
load, even under the highest bandwidth-
demanding conditions, no-packet-loss is
ensured by the unique congestion
management mechanisms built into every
LANswitch Plus module.
Active traffic management is particularly
important in a server-to-client application to
control the traffic bandwidth out of the server,
and to ensure the best use of network
resources.
Effective congestion management
improves the overall performance by ensuring
that the network is used for transmitting
first-time packets only, and does not waste
time and resources on multiple retransmis-
sions. Without this active flow control, an
overloaded switch will begin losing packets
in a snowball effect and overall performance
and reponse time will be reduced.
Madge
LANswitch Plus
LFE-4004
Fast Ethernet
Switch

3. P R I O R I T Y A N D FA I R N E S S
The Madge LANswitch Plus has built-in
fairness and priority mechanisms that
guarantee the transmission of high-priority
packets to their addresses on time, with
negligible effect on the delivery of non-
prioritized data. No packets are lost, even
under the most extreme network loads.
Using fairness, LANswitch Plus
maintains balanced, non-proliferating traffic
from all switch ports which eliminates
pressure points in the switch.
LANswitch Plus prioritization allows
the network manager to assign priorities to
specific sources of packets (e.g., multimedia
and real-time applications), ensuring the
optimal availability of network resources.
Prioritization provides the isochronous
service required for multimedia and other
delay-sensitive applications. What’s more,
LANswitch Plus delivers these features
using standard adapters, drivers and cabling,
and serves as an end-to-end extension for
ATM quality of service standards.
V I R T U A L L A N N E T W O R K I N G
The LFE-4004 Fast Ethernet server switch,
like all LANswitch Plus modules, can easily
be configured in a Virtual LAN (logically
defined workgroup). This enables the
servers to reside in a centralized computer
room and allows users within the same
logical group to work together regardless of
their physical location or network
connection.
P O W E R F U L R E M O T E M A N A G E M E N T
To keep a switched network running
smoothly, network managers must be able
to effectively monitor and troubleshoot the
switch.
The LFE-4004 Fast Ethernet switch
is fully monitored and managed by
SMONMaster™
, Madge’s RMON switch
monitoring application, which works in
conjunction with MultiMan™
, Madge’s
comprehensive SNMP-based network
management system.
Madge
LANswitch Plus
LFE-4004
Fast Ethernet
Switch
SMONMaster passively monitors all
traffic traversing the Cellenium Plus Bus,
giving network managers a top-down
perspective of activity in the switch. Using
the global view, network managers can
quickly pin-point problematic areas in the
switch, and then zoom in on specific hosts
or individual sessions in order to analyze
them in more detail.
MultiMan and SMONMaster are fully
integrated with such popular management
platforms as HP OpenView/Windows,
HP OpenView/UNIX and IBM NetView.
I N V E S T M E N T P R O T E C T I O N
Madge gives organizations the flexibility
to adopt high-speed switching at their own
pace. Performance-boosting LANswitch Plus
modules plug directly into the hub chassis,
allowing customers to deploy switching
technology when and where it is needed
most by simply swapping modules in and
out of the hub.
This built-in flexibility also paves a smooth
migration path to ATM. In fact, Madge’s
LANswitch hub is the only hub in the
industry providing easy coexistence and
migration from shared LANs to switched
LANs to ATM, with no hub or backplane
upgrade.
FA U LT - T O L E R A N C E
LANswitch Plus hubs and modules are
designed to be completely fault-tolerant,
without any single point of failure.
The LANswitch Plus module’s
distributed ASIC architecture ensures
that failure of one switching module does
not affect other modules in the hub.
LANswitch Plus modules can be
inserted or removed from the hub even
while power is on. This hot-swappable
feature guarantees uninterrupted network
operation.

4. Madge
LANswitch Plus
LFE-4004
Fast Ethernet
Switch
Madge Networks
Americas
2310 North First Street
San Jose, CA 95131-1011
United States
Tel +1 408 955 0700
Fax +1 408 955 0970
http://www.madge.com
Asia, Australia & New Zealand
12/F Li Po Chun Chambers
189 Des Voeux Road
Central
Hong Kong
Tel +852 2593 9888
Fax +852 2519 8022
http://www.madge.com
Europe, Middle East & Africa
Knaves Beech Business Park
Loudwater
High Wycombe
Bucks HP10 9QZ
England
Tel +44 1628 858000
Fax +44 1628 858011
http://www.madge.com
Japan
Mita NN Building
1-23, Shiba 4-chome
Minato-Ku, Tokyo 105
Japan
Tel +81 3 5232 3281
Fax +81 3 5232 3208
http://www.madge.com
Madge, the Madge logo, Cellenium Plus, LANswitch, LANswitch Plus, MultiMan, and SMONMaster are trademarks, and in some jurisdictions may be registered trademarks, of
Madge Networks or its affiliated companies. Other trademarks appearing in this document are the property of their respective owners.
© Copyright 1997 Madge Networks. All Rights Reserved. 980-777-02 4/97
C U S T O M E R S U P P O R T W I T H O U T L I M I T S
The LFE-4004 Fast Ethernet server switch
is backed by Madge’s world-renowned
expertise in networking. Madge’s premier
service and support organization continues
to satisfy the needs of our extensive
installed base in the most demanding
Global 1000 companies.
A global network of field service engineers
provides a complete range of technical
services including on-site support and
software upgrades. Customers can also
download up-to-date technical information
from on-line services such as CompuServe,
or can visit the Madge World Wide Web
home page (http://www.madge.com).
The LFE-4004 Fast Ethernet server
switch comes with a one-year warranty and a
30-day installation guarantee, which
includes free technical hotline support and
on-site assistance as required.
P R O D U C T S P E C I F I C AT I O N S
I N T E R FA C E S
I/O Ports: Four RJ45 connectors supporting
Category 5 UTP/STP cabling
Link Length: 100 metres (Category 5 cable)
S I G N A L I N G A N D P R O T O C O L
IEEE 802.3 standard for Fast Ethernet (100BASE-TX )
P H Y S I C A L C H A R A C T E R I S T I C S
Dimensions (h,w,d): 253mm x 20mm x 232mm
Hub Slots: Occupies one slot in hub
P O W E R R E Q U I R E M E N T S
Consumption: 4.3 Amps (full load) @ 5 VDC
E N V I R O N M E N TA L
Operating
Temperature: 0-40 degrees Celsius
Humidity: 5% to 95% noncondensing
A G E N C Y A P P R O VA L
EMC: EN55022 Class A, EN50082-1
FCC Part 15, Subpart B, Class A
Safety: PCB designed to meet UL94-V0
F R O N T PA N E L I N D I C AT O R S
Front Panel LEDs: Port activity (Rx, Tx, collisions)
Management mode
Port status (enable/disable, link
status)
O R D E R I N G I N F O R M AT I O N
Part No. Description
860023 LANswitch Plus LFE-4004
Fast Ethernet Server Switch
Specifications subject to change without notice.