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 and therefore reduce the wiring requirement. 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 Ethernet frame header. The switch records this MAC address and associates it with the port through which the frame was received. This process is known as . As more devices communicate with the switch, it continues to build its MAC address table.
Media Access Control (MAC) addresses are unique identifiers assigned to network interfaces in . 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. For example, a MAC address might look like "00:1A:2B:3C:4D:5E." Each MAC address is globally unique. This means that no two in the world should have the same MAC address. The first 24 bits (the first three pairs of hexadecimal digits) of a MAC address represent the OUI, which identifies the or organization that produced the network interface card (NIC). The remaining 24 bits are used to uniquely identify the specific NIC within that manufacturer's allocation.
Keywords
network interfaces | network interfaces | node | 48 bits in length | data link layer | mac (media access control) addresses | manufacturer | source mac address | computing devices | mac address learning |
