The performance details of your PoE switch can be found on the technical specifications sheet for your specific device. The performance details may vary depending on which model you are using on your network however having a understanding of the performance specifications of your device can help with overall function on your network. For more information on these specifications please refer to the information provided below.
Capacity
The capacity refers to the data transfer speed capability of the switch. This is distinct from the PoE power capacity (which is measured in watts). The Gbps (Gigabits per second) measurement indicates the network throughput of the switch, meaning how much data can be transmitted through the switch’s ports in a given second. For example, a switch might be rated for 1 Gbps per port or 10 Gbps for higher-end models. This indicates how fast the switch can send or receive data across its network. This is important for understanding how quickly data, such as video feeds from IP cameras or network traffic from other devices, can be moved across the network.
Why Capacity Is Measured in Gbps:
Data Throughput: A switch’s capacity in Gbps indicates the amount of data it can handle. For example, a switch might have a total capacity of 30 Gbps, meaning it can handle 30 billion bits of data per second across all its ports.
Networking Speed: As PoE switches are often used for network connected devices such as IP cameras. The data capacity (Gbps) tells you how much bandwidth the switch can provide for any data-heavy applications, such as high definition video streams.
Packet Forwarding Rate
The packet forwarding rate refers to the switch's ability to process and forward network packets (data) from one port to another. It basically indicates how quickly the switch can handle data traffic. For example, if a switch has a packet forwarding rate of 11.9 Mpps, it means the switch can process and forward 11.9 million individual data packets per second.
Since PoE switches provide both power and data over the same Ethernet cables to devices, like IP cameras. the switch must be capable of handling both the electrical load (through PoE) and the data traffic (through packet forwarding).
In environments like security camera systems, where large volumes of video data are transmitted, a high packet forwarding rate ensures that the camera feeds are efficiently processed without delays, ensuring smooth video streams.
Packet Buffer Memory
The packet buffer memory is a type of memory used to temporarily store data packets that are being transmitted through the switch. This memory helps manage network traffic efficiently by buffering incoming or outgoing data when the switch is experiencing high traffic or congestion.
This spec is typically measured in Mbits (Megabits per second). The size determines how many packets the switch can hold before it starts dropping them.
MAC Table Size
The MAC table size indicates how many unique MAC addresses the switch can store at once. It is the number of unique Media Access Control (MAC) addresses that the switch can store in its MAC address table (also known as the forwarding table). A MAC address is a unique identifier assigned to each device on a network. When a device sends data to the network, the switch uses the MAC address to forward the data to the correct device.
Learning: The switch "learns" the MAC addresses of devices connected to it by observing the source addresses of incoming data packets.
Forwarding: It stores these addresses in its MAC table and uses them to forward incoming data to the correct port based on the destination MAC address.
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