LAN switch

Pronounced cash, a special highspeed storage mechanism. It can be either a reserved section of main memory or an independent highspeed storage device. Two types of caching are commonly used in personal computers: memory caching and disk caching. A memory cache, sometimes called a cache store or RAM cache, is a portion of memory made of highspeed static RAM (SRAM) instead of the slower and cheaper dynamic RAM (DRAM) used for main memory. Memory caching is effective because most programs access the same data or instructions over and over. Disk caching works under the same principle as memory caching, but instead of using highspeed SRAM, a disk cache uses conventional main memory. When data is found in the cache, it is called a cache hit, and the effectiveness of a cache is judged by its hit rate.
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Highspeed, lowerror data network covering a relatively small geographic area (up to a few thousand meters). LANs connect workstations, peripherals, terminals, and other devices in a single building or other geographically limited area. LAN standards specify cabling and signaling at the physical and datalink layers of the OSI model. Ethernet, FDDI, and Token Ring are widely used LAN technologies. Compare with MAN and WAN.
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Standardized datalink layer address ingrained into a NIC that is required for every port or device that connects to a LAN. Other devices in the network use these addresses to locate specific ports in the network and to create and update routing tables and data structures. MAC addresses are 6 bytes long and are controlled by the IEEE. Also known as
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(1) Layer 2 of the OSI Reference Model. Provides reliable transit of data across a physical link. The datalink layer is concerned with physical addressing, network topology, line discipline, error notification, ordered delivery of frames, and flow control. The IEEE divided this layer into two sublayers: the MAC sublayer and the LLC sublayer. Sometimes simply called the link layer. Roughly corresponds to the datalink control layer of the SNA model. (2) A layer with the responsibility of transmitting data reliably across a physical link (cabling, for example) using a networking technology such as Ethernet. The DLL encapsulates data into frames (or cells) before it transmits it. It also enables multiple computer systems to share a single physical medium when used in conjunction with a media access control methodology such as CSMA/CD.
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A device that connects two or more physical networks and forwards packets between them. Bridges can usually be made to filter packets, that is, to forward only certain traffic. A network device used to connect networks with different speeds, cable types, or topologies that still use the same protocol. A bridge is a layer 2 device.
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