What is a switch?
What is a Switch?
Switch, which is widely used in many areas today, is one of the technological devices that make life easier. In short, it is a hardware that enables the connection between computers and other network systems. Switch, referred to as a network switch in our language, is one of the most preferred devices due to its ability to provide fast data transfer.
It integrates with the network card through a cable to establish communication. This naturally allows multiple computers to establish connections. The basic principle of its operation is to communicate using the MAC address. If a connection request comes from a computer with a specific MAC address and the target computer also has the same MAC address, the switch forwards this request directly to the target computer.
The usage areas of switch technology are quite extensive today. Its ability to perform Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN) applications and its inclusion of the Shortest Path Bridging (SPB) protocol are among the main reasons for the widespread use of this technology. So, what are the switching methods of a switch? It is beneficial to explain these methods in bullet points.
Store and Forward: Switches store the data in the buffer and perform a control process before transmitting the data. If a situation arises during the control process that does not match the data stored in the packet, the packet is not forwarded to the other side.
Cut-Through: It involves only reading and forwarding the MAC address. Error checking is not performed during this process. It stands out especially as a fast method.
Fragment Free: It is a method that attempts to take advantage of the benefits of both the “Store and Forward” and “Cut-Through” methods. Only the first 64 bytes of data packets are read, and transmission is carried out without general control.
Adaptive Switching: It is a method that randomly selects one of the other three methods. It is a switch method with low usage today.
The most notable feature of this technology is the use of the same method for bandwidths for each port. In other words, if the switch has a speed of 75Mbps, the devices connected to the ports will also have a processing speed of 75Mbps. By integrating systems through a switch, consistent sustainability is achieved by operating at the same speed.
