A switch is a device for interconnecting networks of other devices or computers.
Also known as a "switch", the switch is a device that interconnects two or more segments of the same network for the data link, functioning as a bridge. It is said that in a "star network" the switch is the center.
The functionality of a switch is given by the multiplication of networks and data to be transmitted, with the subsequent need for order and systematization for its operation. A switch works as a filter on the network, improving the performance and security of connections by causing a merger of these.
A switch is commonly used in a telephone network, for example in a business, allowing all personal telephones to be connected together for the execution of internal calls and for the transmission of external calls. But switches are also used with much more complexity in a computer network, connecting ports with each other and networks with each other.
Bridges or switches can in turn be connected to each other, but there can only be a single path between two points on the network. Otherwise, a "loop" in the network and the transmission of data is altered, creating an infinite spiral. Thus, the "floods" on the network, as a consequence of which communications fail.
Switches can be classified as "store-and-forward" (which store each group of data in a buffer before retransmitting it), the "cut-through" (they minimize the delay of the first, reducing the time of information storage) , the "adaptive-cut-through" (they support processes of the two previous types), the "layer 2 switches" (they work as multi-ports) and others.
The use of switches is very widespread today and, although they are used in complex computing processes, for example, for the administration of huge corporate data networks, they can also be used in small companies or projects that require permanent communication of its members.
