IBM Corporation commissioned The Tolly Group to evaluate the performance of the IBM 8271 Nways Ethernet LAN Switch Model 108, and to demonstrate the benefits of Ethernet switching in a production network.

The test results demonstrate that the IBM 8271 switch delivers high throughput and low latency regardless of frame size. The IBM 8271 can also deliver a dramatic improvement in aggregate throughput when campus LANs built around bridges are migrated to Ethernet switching.