Switches

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Network switches are essential networking devices that operate at the of the TCP/IP model. They allow multiple computers to connect to a network through a single node and therefore reduce the . This is especially important in larger networks. They are designed to efficiently manage data traffic within local area networks (LANs) by intelligently forwarding data frames based on .



A MAC address table is a critical component within network switches. It is used to store and manage MAC (Media Access Control) addresses and their associated . When a switch receives a data frame from a device on one of its ports, it examines the in the . The switch records this MAC address and associates it with the port through which the frame was received. This process is known as MAC address .



Media Access Control (MAC) addresses are unique identifiers assigned to network in computing devices. They operate at the Data Link Layer (Layer 2) of the OSI model. A MAC address is , typically represented as 12 hexadecimal digits (0-9 and A-F) grouped into pairs, separated by colons or hyphens. Each MAC address is . This means that no two network interfaces in the world should have the same MAC address. The first 24 bits of a MAC address represent the , which identifies the manufacturer or organization that produced the network interface card (NIC).

Keywords

ethernet frame header | source mac address | data link layer | mac (media access control) addresses | network interfaces | globally unique | learning | oui | wiring requirement | 48 bits in length | interfaces |