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upgrade and takes advantage of the existing investment in
hardware, software, and personnel training.
Switching Technology
Another key development pushing the limits of Ethernet
technology is in the field of switching technology. A switch
bridges Ethernet packets at the MAC address level of the
Ethernet protocol transmitting among connected Ethernet or
fast Ethernet LAN segments.
Switching is a cost-effective way of increasing the total network
capacity available to users on a local area network. A switch
increases capacity and decreases network loading by making it
possible for a local area network to be divided into different
segments which don’t compete with each other for network
transmission capacity, giving a decreased load on each.
The switch acts as a high-speed selective bridge between the
individual segments. Traffic that needs to go from one segment
to another is automatically forwarded by the switch, without
interfering with any other segments. This allows the total
network capacity to be multiplied, while still maintaining the
same network cabling and adapter cards.
Switching LAN technology is a marked improvement over the
previous generation of network bridges, which were
characterized by higher latencies. Routers have also been used
to segment local area networks, but the cost of a router and the
setup and maintenance required make routers relatively
impractical. Today’s switches are an ideal solution to most
kinds of local area network congestion problems.