If a DS33X162 is used to connect to four different remote nodes, is the traffic-forwarding mechanism the same as if I used a cheap 4-port Ethernet switch?
No. The DS33X162 uses VLAN tag information to forward frames to the encapsulators. Most common Ethernet switches found in today’s enterprise environment use only Ethernet destination address information to forward traffic by using an imperfect learning and filtering mechanism. The use of an imperfect mechanism results in some traffic occasionally being broadcast on all ports; that is, a single user’s data is transmitted to unintended recipients, resulting in both security and privacy issues. The DS33X162’s use of VLAN forwarding allows for a well-defined flow of traffic that contains and manages user traffic within a specific physical path.
