Scope
This article applies to the Quasar Console (surface) and the internal network wiring.
Description
Some people have noticed that each module is wired together in the Quasar console, but then the last module is looped back to the second port on the distribution board. Why? And, is this required?
Answers
Required? No. However, this is the recommended configuration and how we will build any factory configured units.
There are two reasons why the last module in any Quasar Console frame it wired back to the distribution board.
First (and most important), this is for redundancy reasons. It allows the second port to be looped to a second network switch.
Note that you must properly configure spanning Tree for Access ports on your Cisco switches BEFORE plugging in the second port. Spanning Tree is a method of blocking ports that are used for redundancy until they are needed. While many switches have Loop Detection, this is not the same thing.
The second reason for looping the last module back is that it allows for a convenient place to hook up a laptop or other computer for configuration purposes. This port is NOT designed to handle any AoIP traffic, but only TCP control packets, and therefore it should never be connected to xNodes, or IP-Driver enabled computers. You should use this only for modules (like a split Quasar frame) or a configuration PC.