A switch gets rid (or reduced to a large degree) collisions, correct?

[Jugernot]

My companies SQL server got hit by the bug today and it brough down our internet connection until I unplugged and patched it. I'm still getting some collisions on a hub that we use for our workstations and am slowy changing them over to our switch (24 port 10/100 w/ 2 used gigabit ports).

I do remember in school that switches are supposed to eliminate collisions, will this fix my problems? I don't ever remember seeing any collisions on this particular hub, so I'm wondering if this could still be part of the SQL worm?

A small amount of collisions are pretty much normal on a network with a dozen or more users on a hub, right?

Thanks
Jugs

 

[alrox]

switches don't technically eliminate collisions, running full duplex ethernet does. But only switches are capable of running full duplex on every port. So yes, a 100megabit/full duplex switch will get rid of your collisions if everything is full duplex.

If you have a dozen hubs, you're probably getting a lot more than a small amount.

 

[ScottMac]

A switch enables the use of Full Duplex Ethernet (which is usually 100 Meg Ethernet, some NICs / devices won't do 10 Meg Full Duplex). Some high-end hubs used to allow full duplex but, generally speaking, hubs are straight 10 or straight 100 meg, half duplex.

If you swamp some switches (max load), they become hubs; if they run out of buffer, the switch floods all traffic out all ports (actually worse than a hub, because now you have all the buffering latency too...).

A dozen users on a hub doing normal productivity (or even abnormal productivity) is nothing. There'll be a few collisions ... no big deal. Businesses used to have hundreds of users (per segment) on hubs - it was all that was available and people ignored the rules back then almost as much as they ignore the rules today.

The content of the actual traffic has no effect on the switch / hub - frames is frames, packets is packets. Worms or Wordperfect, Virus or Visio - it's all just traffic.

Good Luck

Scott