Computer Network Switches
By Stephen Bucaro

A bridge or router may be referred to as a "switch" because it uses information in the
data packet to choose a path from one network segment to another. A bridge may be referred to
as a "layer 2 switch" because it uses information from layer 2, the Data Link layer of
the OSI model. A router may be referred to as a "layer 3 switch" because it uses information
from layer 3, the Network layer of the OSI model. A network device that uses a higher layer of
the OSI model may be referred to as a "layer 4 switch", and so on.
More Networking Protocols and Standards: • RADIUS Protocol • IPv6 Unicast Addresses • An Introduction to the Types of VPNs • The OSI Data Link Layer • OSI Transport Layer • TCP/IP Features • Routing Datagrams • IPv6 Dynamic Address Allocation • Classless IP Addressing • Virtual Local Area Networks (VLANs)
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