EMERSONEnterasys® A4 Fast Ethernet Switch

Caution: There is an explosion risk if you replace the battery with the incorrect type. Dispose of expended battery in 

accordance with local disposal regulations.

Precaución: Hay riesgo de explosion si la bateria se reemplaza con el typo incorrecto. Deshágase de las baterías 

gastadas de conformidad con las regulaciones de eliminación local.

Supplement to Product Instructions

Enterasys Feature Guides describe how to configure some of the most important features of the

switch firmware.

Conventions Used in This Guide 

The following conventions are used in this guide:

Power Supply Replacement Part Numbers

The power supplies that can be used by the stackable switches are being transitioned to new part

numbers. The following table lists the old part numbers and their direct replacement part

numbers.

Note: Calls the reader’s attention to any item of information that may be of special importance.

Caution: Contains information essential to avoid damage to the equipment.

Precaución: Contiene información esencial para prevenir dañar el equipo.

Achtung: Verweißt auf wichtige Informationen zum Schutz gegen Beschädigungen.

Electrical Hazard: Warns against an action that could result in personal injury or death due to an 

electrical hazard.

Riesgo Electrico: Advierte contra una acción que pudiera resultar en lesión corporal o la muerte 

debido a un riesgo eléctrico.

Elektrischer Gefahrenhinweis: Warnung vor sämtlichen Handlungen, die zu Verletzung von 

Personen oder Todesfällen – hervorgerufen durch elektrische Spannung – führen können! 

Warning: Warns against an action that could result in personal injury or death.

Advertencia: Advierte contra una acción que pudiera resultar en lesión corporal o la muerte.

Warnhinweis: Warnung vor Handlungen, die zu Verletzung von Personen oder gar Todesfällen 

führen können!

This chapter introduces the Enterasys A4 Fast Ethernet stackable switches

For information about... Refer to page...

Overview 1-1

Features 1-3

Overview

The A4 Fast Ethernet switches are store and forward stackable switches that can be adapted and

scaled to help meet your network requirements. These stackable switches provide a management

platform and an uplink to a network backbone for a stacked group of up to eight A4 switches.

You can also use a redundant power supply with these switches to help prevent downtime due to

an internal power supply failure in the switch or AC power source.

You can install the stackable switch on a flat surface or into a standard 19‐inch rack, and configure

the stackable switch functions using the WebView™ application, CLI switching commands, and/

or SNMP.

The A4 stackable switch can connect to Ethernet networks or workstations through RJ45

connectors, SFP ports, or Gigabit Ethernet ports, depending on your model’s configuration. The

SFP ports support optional pluggable transceivers, which are hot swappable. The 1000Base‐T

built‐in RJ45 stacking ports on the A4 switches can be configured as standard 10/100/1000Base‐T

switch ports when the unit is in standalone mode (not stacked).

For pluggable transceiver compatibility and specifications, refer to the datasheet at

http://www.enterasys.com/products/transceivers‐ds.pdf.

Table 1‐1 lists the number of ports and port types for the A4 switches

Features

Stack Connections

The switches have front panel RJ45 ports for connections in a stack configuration. The stacking

cables used for the connections must be standard Category 5 or better UTP cable.

Redundant Power Supply Capability

The A4 has power supply redundancy capability when connected to an optional external

redundant power supply:

• STK‐RPS‐150PS, a 150 watt DC power supply for redundant power for A4 switches.

If the internal power supply fails, the RPS automatically assumes the role of the internal power

supply without interrupting network traffic. The internal power supply and RPS each have their

own AC power connection, which enables the connection of each power supply to a different AC

power circuit for additional AC power source redundancy.

Management

Management of the switch can be either in‐band or out‐of‐band. In‐band remote management is

possible using Telnet, Enterasys Networks’ NetSight® management application, or the WebView

application. Out‐of‐band management is provided through the DB9 Console port connector on the

front panel using a VT100 terminal or a VT100 terminal emulator.

Switch Configuration Using WebView

Enterasys Networks’ HTTP‐based Web management application (WebView) is an intuitive web

tool for simple management tasks.

Switch Configuration Using CLI Commands

The CLI commands enable you to perform more complete stackable switch configuration

management tasks.

For CLI command set information and how to configure the module, refer to the Enterasys A4 CLI

Reference.

Standards Compatibility

The 100BASE‐T ports are compliant with the following standards and operations:

• IEEE 802.3

• IEEE 802.3u

• IEEE 802.3ab (Stack Ports)

• IEEE 802.3ad

• Full‐Duplex operation

In addition to the 100BASE‐T standards, the SFP ports are compliant with the following standards

and operations:

• IEEE 802.3z

• IEEE 802.3x Flow Control support for Full‐Duplex mode