In the network system of an enterprise, many different types of connection devices are often used. Switches that provide separate connections for each node in the company’s internal network are called LAN Switches. In this article, DNG Corp will focus on providing readers with information about what a LAN Switch is and how the device works in the internal network connection at the enterprise.
What is a LAN Switch?
LAN Switch is a form of packet switching, in which data packets are transmitted from one computer to another over a LAN. LAN switching technology is an important part of network design that helps improve the overall efficiency of the LAN and solve existing bandwidth problems. LAN Switches mainly include 4 types: hardware-based layer 2 switches, layer 3 switches, layer 4 switches and multilayer switches (Multilayer Switch). All three types of layer 2, 3 and 4 switches are combined in a Multilayer Switch.
What is LAN Switch?
A LAN switch is an IP-based Ethernet switch that provides flexible connectivity between transmitters and receivers through a network of ports, and the links are interconnected to allow a large number of end users to share network resources. A LAN switch is a packet switch that supports multiple simultaneous transmissions, reads the destination address of each frame, and forwards it directly to the port associated with the destination device.
=> See more: What is a switch?
LAN switches serve the needs of a group of users to share common resources and communicate with each other frequently. Through LAN switching, a lot of traffic can be confined to relatively small LAN segments, greatly reducing overall LAN congestion.
How LAN Switches Work
After learning what a LAN Switch is, users should explore how they work to make the best choice for their organization.
In a fully switched network, LAN switches replace all Ethernet hubs with a dedicated segment for each node. These segments connect to a switch, which supports multiple dedicated segments (sometimes up to hundreds of segments). Since switches are master devices on each segment, they capture every frame before it reaches another switch. The switch then forwards the frame to the appropriate segment. Since any segment contains only one switch, the frame only reaches its intended recipient. This allows multiple conversations to take place simultaneously on the switched network.
LAN switches allow the network to maintain full-duplex Ethernet. Before switching, Ethernet was half-duplex, meaning that data could only be transmitted in one direction at a time. In a fully switched network, each node communicates only with the switch and not directly with other nodes. Information can pass from one node to another at the same time.
How does a LAN switch work?
Fully switched networks use twisted pair or fiber optic cables. Both types of cables use separate wires to send and receive data. In this type of environment, Ethernet nodes can bypass collision detection and transmit at will, since they are the only potential devices that can access the medium. In other words, data traveling in each direction has its own lane. This allows nodes to transmit to the Switch as the Switch transmits to them, creating a collision-free medium. Transmitting in both directions can effectively double the network transmission speed when two nodes are exchanging information. If the network speed is 10 Mbps, then each node can transmit at 10 Mbps simultaneously.
=> See more: Distinguishing Hub, Switch and Router
With mixed networks, most are not completely switched due to the expense of replacing all the hubs with LAN switches. Instead, a combination of switches and hubs is used to create a more efficient and cost-effective network. For example, a company might have hubs connecting computers in each department and then use a switch to connect all the departmental hubs together.
How LAN switches route traffic
As DNG Corp provided to readers above, LAN switches rely on packet switching. The switch establishes a connection between two segments long enough to send the current packet. Incoming packets (part of an Ethernet frame) are stored in a temporary memory area (buffer), the MAC address contained in the frame header is read and then compared with a list of addresses maintained in the switch’s lookup table. In Ethernet-based LANs, Ethernet frames contain a regular packet as the payload of the frame, using a special header that includes MAC address information for the source and destination of the packet.
LAN switches typically rely on one of the following three methods to route traffic:
Traffic routing method of LAN switching
Cut-through
A cut-through switch reads the MAC address as soon as it detects a packet. After storing the 6 bytes that make up the address, it immediately starts sending the packet to the destination, even while the rest of the packet is still entering the switch.
Store-and-forward
A store-and-forward switch buffers the entire packet and checks for CRC errors or other problems before sending it. If the packet has an error, it is discarded to help eliminate the error. Alternatively, the switch looks up the MAC address and sends the packet to the destination. Many switches combine both methods, using cut-through until a certain error level is reached and then switching to store-and-forward. However, very few switches use full cut-through because it does not support error correction.
=> See more: What is a router?
Fragment-free
A less common method is Fragment-free. This routing method works like cut-through, but stores the first 64 bytes of the packet before sending it. Most collisions that cause errors occur in the first 64 bytes of the packet.
LAN Switches are highly scalable, easy to manage, and secure. However, LAN switches are relatively slow today due to the limited geographical coverage of LANs. Therefore, they are mainly used in gold or daisy-chain network architectures. For WANs, switches will have higher transmission speeds, such as 10GBe, 40GBe, 100GBe switches, etc.
DNG Corp – The best price LAN Switch equipment supplier today
DNG Corp is proud to be a reputable supplier of network switching equipment for businesses in Vietnam. With many years of experience in the ICT field, we ensure to bring customers comprehensive and effective network connection solutions at the best prices, meeting the needs of businesses.
DNG Corp is authorized to distribute a full range of genuine LAN Switch, Layer 3 Switch, Industrial Switch, PoE Switch products from leading brands such as Soltech. At the same time, we provide full services from consulting, installation and comprehensive warranty of technology solutions and ICT systems. If you have any questions, please contact us via Hotline: 0983 959 796/ 0988 712 159 or Email: sales@dngcorp.vn for answers.
