MAC ADDRESS
MAC LEARNING IS A PROCESS IN WHICH A SWITCH LEARNS THE MAC ADDRESSES OF DEVICES CONNECTED TO IT.
LEARNING THE MAC ADDRESS IS VERY IMPORTANT BECAUSE THE MAC ADDRES ENABLES THOUGHT TO FORWARD DATA PACKETS TO THE CORRECT DESTINATION.
IF THE
SOURCE MAC ADDRESS IS IN THE TABLE, THE SWITCH KNOWS WHICH PORT THE DEVICE IS
CONNECTED TO AND CAN FORWARD THE PACKET DIRECTLY TO THAT PORT. IF THE SOURCE MAC ADDRESS IS NOT IN THE
TABLE, THE SWITCH WILL BROADCAST THE PACKET TO ALL OF ITS PORTS.
AGING
AGING IS A PROCESS IN WHICH THE
COMPUTER REMOVES FROM ITS MAC TABLE THOSE MAC ADDRESSES THAT HAVE NOT APPEARED
IN THE MAC TABLE FOR A LONG TIME.
AGING IS
IMPORTANT BECAUSE IT PREVENTS THE SWITCH FROM STORING MAC ADDRESSES THAT ARE NO
LONGER VALID. IF A DEVICE IS DISCONNECTED FROM THE NETWORK, ITS MAC ADDRESS
WILL NO LONGER BE VALID.
IF THE
SWITCH DOES NOT AGE THE MAC ADDRESS, IT WILL CONTINUE TO FORWARD PACKETS TO THE
PORT THAT THE DEVICE WAS PREVIOUSLY CONNECTED TO. THIS CAN CAUSE PROBLEMS, SUCH
AS DATA LOSS OR SECURITY BREACHES.
THE DEFAULT
AGING TIME FOR MAC ADDRESSES IS TYPICALLY 300 SECONDS, OR 5 MINUTES. THIS MEANS
THAT IF A MAC ADDRESS IS NOT SEEN FOR 5 MINUTES, IT WILL BE REMOVED FROM THE
SWITCH'S MAC TABLE. THE AGING TIME CAN BE CONFIGURED BY THE NETWORK ADMINISTRATOR.
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