What is recommended for the backplane of a switch regarding bandwidth?

In high-performance networks, especially when using protocols like Dante, switch backplanes must support significant bandwidth to ensure smooth operation. The correct recommendation is that the backplane should accommodate full bandwidth use of all ports in both directions.

This requirement arises because in a digital audio network, traffic is often bi-directional. For instance, audio streams are sent to and received from multiple devices simultaneously. If a switch's backplane only supported full bandwidth in one direction, it could easily become a bottleneck, leading to latency, dropouts, or even complete signal loss in audio applications.

By ensuring that the backplane can handle full bandwidth in both directions, the network can effectively manage data flows without hindrance, facilitating high-quality audio transmission with minimal interference or delays. This is critical in audio environments where real-time performance is necessary, such as live sound reinforcement or broadcast applications.