what do network switches do
In: Technology
Suppose you want to connect a bunch of computers together. There have been many ways of doing it.
You can have a single cable, with taps on it for each computer. You string a long cable through an office, and then attach connectors at the right places. Cheap cabling-wise, but very inconvenient. If the one cable breaks, lots of people have trouble. And you can’t really move equipment around easily.
You can have a ring. Each computer has an input and an output that plugs into the next computer on the line. This also has issues, every computer on the line has to work properly, or the network breaks.
Or, you can connect computers to a central point. That’s what a switch is for. Each computer connects to the switch and the switch connects to everything. So when computer 1 wants to talk to computer 20 the connection goes 1 -> switch -> 20.
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