The switch is a device in a computer network that connects other devices together. Multiple data cables are connected to a switch to enable communication between different network devices.

Switches manage the flow of data in a network by transmitting a received network packet only to one or more devices for which the packet is intended.

Each network device connected to a switch can be identified by its network address, allowing the switch to direct traffic flow while maximizing network security and efficiency.

A switch is smarter than an Ethernet hub, which simply retransmits packets from every port of the hub except the port on which the packet was received, without being able to distinguish different recipients and achieving overall lower network performance.