Also known as: Ethernet switch, switch
A network switch is a device that connects multiple machines on the same local network, forwarding each Ethernet frame only out the port that leads to its destination.1
Overview
A switch learns which MAC address lives on which port and builds a forwarding table, so traffic between two hosts does not flood every other port — this is what makes a modern wired LAN fast and quiet compared with the old shared hubs. Switches range from cheap unmanaged boxes with a handful of ports to managed units offering VLANs, monitoring, and Power over Ethernet. A switch works within one network; moving traffic between networks is the job of a router.
Where it fits
The switch is the wiring hub of a wired LAN, where each device’s NIC plugs in. For a GopherTrunk site with several wired nodes — capture boxes, a storage server, a workstation — a small switch ties them together, and a PoE switch can even power a Raspberry Pi node over the same cable.
Sources
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Network switch — Wikipedia, on the device that forwards frames within a local network. ↩