Switched Ethernet, by contrast, is closer to the notion of individual tele- phone lines: a switching hub examines the incoming MAC addresses of network packets and forwards them directly to their destinations without repetition, reducing bandwidth waste and resulting in more predictable net- work performance. Each node receives its own
The Advantages of Switching
The two main advantages of using a switch like the 10/100
100BaseTX and 10BaseT networks are not automatically compatible with each other. Because of their different speeds, their hardware is not readily interchangable – a 10BaseT network adapter, for example, cannot be con- nected directly to a 100BaseTX network segment. By using a switch, 10BaseT and 100BaseTX hardware can be made to communicate with each other so you don't need to discard your slower 10Mbps network hard- ware as you migrate to Fast Ethernet.
As for performance, switching technology boosts any network's efficiency right away. A network without a switch is called a shared network, which means that the network's total bandwidth is equal to its speed divided
by the number of users who are actively using the net. A switched net- work, by contrast, gives each user a
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