The All-New Switch Book: The Complete Guide to LAN Switching Technology, Second Edition

Chapter 1. Laying the Foundation

Before we delve into the details of Local Area Network (LAN) switch operation, you need to consider the foundation on which LAN switches are built. This chapter examines four important building blocks that will be indispensable to your understanding of LAN switches in later chapters:

• Network architecture

• Device addressing

• LAN technology

• LAN standards

Each is considered specifically in the context of Local Area Networks and its relevance to LAN switching.

In addition, this chapter introduces the terminology that will be used consistently throughout the book. Very often, speakers, writers, equipment vendors, and network operations personnel use different sets of terms to describe the elements and behavior of computer networks: Is it an Ethernet frame or an Ethernet packet that is sent by a station?^[] While a name in itself is never inherently wrong — speakers and writers can define their own terminology any way they want — we need to agree on the meaning of a number of key words and phrases so that we can unambiguously describe and understand the behavior of network protocols and devices. We have tried throughout this book to use terminology in a way that both reflects common industry usage and is technically accurate. When there is a conflict between these points of view, we have opted for technical correctness. In any case, we have tried to be consistent and unambiguous.

^[] See section 1.5.2 for the answer.

It is not possible to provide a novice-level ...