Scaling Capability
Reliability stays about the same as new devices are added
Acceptable cost/port (~$250 - 10mbps, ~$500 - 100mbps)
- Prices coming down and approaching share hub prices
At any point in the design the workload can be subdivided:
- Shared hub -> single ports
- Switch -> can install more cards and, if necessary, more switches
- Trunk -> can increase trunk capacity
- Core switch -> load can be subdivided among more switches if necessary