6. Switches and Routers

Question 1

What is the primary difference between a switch and a hub?

Answer 1

A switch forwards frames to specific ports using MAC addresses, while a hub
broadcasts data to all devices connected to it.

Question 2

How do routers differ from switches in functionality?

Answer 2

Routers operate at the Network layer, forwarding packets between different
networks using IP addresses, while switches operate at the Data Link layer and
forward frames within the same network.

Question 3

What is a collision domain, and how does a switch reduce collisions?

Answer 3

A collision domain is a network segment where packet collisions can occur.
Switches reduce collisions by creating separate domains for each port.

Question 4

What is Network Address Translation (NAT), and what is its purpose?

Answer 4

NAT allows multiple devices on a private network to share a single public IP
address, conserving IPv4 address space.

Question 5

What is MPLS, and how does it improve routing efficiency?

Answer 5

Multi-Protocol Label Switching (MPLS) uses labels to route packets,
avoiding complex routing table lookups and improving speed.

Question 6

What is the role of routing tables in a router?

Answer 6

Routing tables map destination networks to next-hop addresses or interfaces,
enabling packet forwarding.