In a LAN, what component connects multiple devices?

In a LAN, what component connects multiple devices?

• A. Router
• B. Switch
• C. Hub
• D. Modem

Answer: (B)

Within a LAN, the device that links multiple devices together is the switch. A switch operates by learning each connected device’s MAC address and building a table of which port that address can be reached on. When a frame arrives, the switch looks up the destination MAC and forwards the frame only to the port that leads to that device. If it doesn’t know where a destination MAC is yet, it floods the frame to all ports except the sender, and then quickly learns as responses come back. This creates a separate collision domain per connection and allows multiple conversations to happen at the same time without interfering with each other. A hub, by comparison, simply repeats incoming signals to all ports, so every device shares the same collision domain and bandwidth, which leads to more collisions and less efficient use of the network. A router connects the LAN to other networks and handles inter-network routing, not just devices within a single local network. A modem serves as the interface to an internet service provider, not as the device that interconnects multiple hosts within the LAN.

Within a LAN, the device that links multiple devices together is the switch. A switch operates by learning each connected device’s MAC address and building a table of which port that address can be reached on. When a frame arrives, the switch looks up the destination MAC and forwards the frame only to the port that leads to that device. If it doesn’t know where a destination MAC is yet, it floods the frame to all ports except the sender, and then quickly learns as responses come back. This creates a separate collision domain per connection and allows multiple conversations to happen at the same time without interfering with each other.

A hub, by comparison, simply repeats incoming signals to all ports, so every device shares the same collision domain and bandwidth, which leads to more collisions and less efficient use of the network. A router connects the LAN to other networks and handles inter-network routing, not just devices within a single local network. A modem serves as the interface to an internet service provider, not as the device that interconnects multiple hosts within the LAN.