Cisco LAN Switching Fundamentals

Chapter 2. LAN Switch Architecture

This chapter covers the following topics:

• Receiving data—switching modes

• Switching data

• Buffering data

• Oversubscribing the switch fabric

• Congestion and head-of-line blocking

• Forwarding data

Chapter 2 introduces many of the concepts behind LAN switching common to all switch vendors. The chapter begins by looking at how data are received by a switch, followed by mechanisms used to switch data as efficiently as possible, and concludes with forwarding data toward their destinations. These concepts are not specific to Cisco and are valid when examining the capabilities of any LAN switch.