DUA1640-5AAA021-4 C HAPTER 1: A BOUT THE PS H UBHow You CanUse the PS HubThe flexibility of the PS Hub allows it to be used in a number of ways.You can build up a network or expand a large, established network.For information on connecting and using your equipment, refer toChapter 3.The PS Hub can be used on its own or in a stack with other PS Hubs.All PS Hubs have a useful feature called port switching which allowsyou to create workgroups within your stack. For information on thisfeature, refer to “Segments and Port Switching” on page 1-8.Building Up aNetworkThe PS Hub is ideal for building up a new network. It has its ownbuilt-in management and comes ready to use. The PS Hub range istotally scalable, enabling you to start with one hub and add to it asyour network grows. You can connect your workstations and othernetwork equipment to the PS Hub to build a small network, as shownin Figure 1-2.Figure 1-2 Building Up a NetworkWhen your network grows, you can expand it easily by adding morePS Hubs. The PS Hub also has an MDI/MDIX switch which enables yournetwork to expand further by connecting to other types of hubs, stacksand networking equipment, as shown in Figure 1-3.