TRENDnet TE100-S86FX User Manual page 22

Switches
The function of a switch is to connect separate networks together.
A Switch maps the Ethernet addresses of the nodes residing
on each network segment and then allows only the necessary
traffic to pass through. When a packet is received by the
switch, the switch determines the destination and source
segments of a packet and forward it to the right direction or
drop it if the destination and the source are originated from the
same network. Switches also prevent bad or misaligned
packets from spreading into the rest of network, thus
increasing efficiency of the network transmission.
There are two basic architectures of LAN switches, cut-through
and store-and-forward. Cut-through switches only examine the
destination address before forwarding it on to its destination
segment. A store-and-forward switch accepts and analyzes
the entire packet before forwarding it to its destination. It
allows the switch to catch certain packet errors and keep them
from propagating through the network. Today there are a large
number of hybrid switches available that mix both cut through
and store-and-forward architectures.
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Fast Ethernet Switch
Fast Ethernet Switch
User's Guide