Which Switch Feature Does the Job?

About this interactive

The lesson's advanced switching features: - **Power over Ethernet (PoE):** the switch delivers power over the data cable, so an access point, a VoIP desk phone or a camera in a hard-to-reach place needs no power line. - **VLANs:** one physical switch split into segments that act as separate switches: HR apart from sales, access points on a management VLAN, phones on their own segment. - **Port mirroring:** traffic on one port is also sent out another, so a server there can analyze it. - **Port security:** limits a port to a number of devices, to certain MAC addresses, or to devices that authenticate. - **Spanning Tree Protocol (STP):** redundant links make loops, and a broadcast can loop into a broadcast storm. STP blocks the extra links and brings one back if a link fails. - **Jumbo frames:** the MTU raised from 1,500 to 9,000 bytes on every device of a LAN, such as servers and storage.

What you'll learn

Choose the switch feature a situation calls for: Power over Ethernet, VLANs, port mirroring, port security, Spanning Tree Protocol or jumbo frames
Explain what each feature does: power over the data cable, segments on one switch, a copy of a port's traffic, limits on who connects, loops blocked with redundancy kept, and a 9,000-byte MTU

Aligned to

CompTIA Network+

2.2 Given a scenario, configure switching technologies and features.

3.2 Given a scenario, use network monitoring technologies.

4.3 Given a scenario, apply network security features, defense techniques, and solutions.

Cisco CCNA

5.7 Configure and verify Layer 2 security features

Key terms

Power over Ethernet: IEEE 802.3af/at/bt technology that delivers DC electrical power to network devices such as IP phones, wireless access points, and cameras over standard Ethernet cabling, eliminating the need for separate power supplies. PoE standards range from 15.4 W per port (802.3af) up to 90 W per port (802.3bt).
Virtual LAN: A logical grouping of network devices that behave as if they are on the same network regardless of physical location.
Port Mirroring: A switch feature that copies all traffic from one port to another port so that a monitoring device can analyze network traffic without disrupting normal operations.
Port Security: A Cisco switch feature that restricts which devices can connect to a port by limiting the number of allowed MAC addresses or requiring specific MAC addresses to be present. When a violation occurs, the port can be configured to shut down, restrict traffic, or send an alert.
Spanning Tree Protocol: A network protocol that prevents loops in Ethernet networks by creating a loop-free logical topology.
Jumbo Frames: Ethernet frames with a maximum transmission unit larger than the standard 1,500 bytes, typically up to 9,000 bytes, used to improve efficiency when transferring large amounts of data such as in storage environments.
Broadcast Storm: A network condition in which excessive broadcast traffic overwhelms switch resources, preventing normal communication from occurring.
Network Segmentation: The practice of dividing a network into smaller segments to improve performance and limit the spread of security threats.

Topics

Poe Vlan Port Mirroring Port Security Spanning Tree Jumbo Frames Switch Interactive Categorize

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