Form Factors of Switch
Fixed Form Factor
Switches used in small networks has fixed number of ports
Modular Switches
Used for large networks
We can increase/ decrease the amount of ports on the switch
Types of Switches
Unmanaged Switches
Nothing to configure. Plug it in and it works directly
Used on small/ home networks. They are generally of fixed form factor
Managed Switches
Can be configured and managed by network admin using Telnet or SSH
They can be fixed form factor or modular
They are expensive compared to unmanaged switches
We can add static entities in MAC table
Configure which port uses Full Duplex and Half Duplex
Monitor switch performance using SNMP
Allows creating Virtual LANs (VLANs)
Configure port mirroring (One port to mirror another port for redundancy)