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 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 network interfaces. 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 learning.
Media Access Control (MAC) addresses are unique identifiers assigned to network interfaces 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 , which means that no two network interfaces in the world should have the same MAC address.
Keywords
48 bits in length | ethernet frame header | data link layer | globally unique | source mac address | mac (media access control) addresses |
