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In the realm of networks you'll find there's

all kinds of devices out there, firewalls,


intrusion prevention system, NAS -I mean there's all kinds of stuff
that can plug into a network.
However, there's two core devices that really
make it work -- switches and routers -both of which Cisco has staked their name on.
They will tell you, "We make the best
switch and router than money can buy,"
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and I will tell you I absolutely agree.
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It takes a lot of money, and it is the best.
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So with that being said, switches is where most
people get their start into the Cisco world
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because they take a lot more normal day
to day stuff, normal day to day changes,
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as compared to routers that a lot of time you
just set up and forget about unless you are
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in a very dynamic and expanding organization.
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So switches are a lot of your day-to-day.
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So we'll start there, here.
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We'll start there, here.

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Did you get that?
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So we'll look at the different devices, kind of
the evolutions that switches have gone through.
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A big one for your understanding
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and certification purpose is
collision and broadcast domains.
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And then I want to walk you
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through an end-to-end scenario,
a day in the life of a switch.
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So the realm is 1980s' timeframe, Bengals
are singing Walk Like an Egyptian,
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big hair is the norm, and network
hubs are hitting the market.
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10 megabits per second speed is
screaming, this is life-changing events,
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where we now can have computers sharing data
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without people walking floppy disks
back and forth down the aisles.
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I mean, that's the kind of
timeframe that we're in.
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Ethernet is developing the standard of carrier
sense -- I should say it is developed --

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carrier sense multiple access collision
detection, meaning we have this competition
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between token ring, which is still a valid
competition back in the '80s, token ring
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and Ethernet, where Ethernet
uses this kind of environment,
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multiple people are accessing
the network at a time.
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They're all listening.
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They're all trying to sense if there's
anything being sent on the network.
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If they don't hear anything, because
only, and here's a key point,
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only one of them can send data
or receive data at a time.
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Only one. And so they're all listening, they're
like, "Okay, is anybody sending any data?
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No, I don't hear anything, so I will go ahead
and send it," and that works most of the time.
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However, there is a chance that two
people are listening at the same time.
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What if two computers are listening at the same
time, they both hear a clear, they both send.

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That's where we have a collision.
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And that is collision detection, that's the
ability for the devices to be like, "Oh,
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we both sent at the same time,
our data is scrambled, my bad."
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They run a back-off algorithm that they both
back off and then wait a certain amount of time
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to send again and then they both send and
hope they don't collide a second time.
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Because collisions are really taking
down their network performance.
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And that was one of the things with token ring.
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Token ring said we're going to send
this little ring around the network.
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I shouldn't say send a ring.
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Send this token around the network
that all the computers are plugged into
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and only whoever has the
token can send at a time.
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So this token is going bzz, bzz, bzz,
you know, flying at the speed of light
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around this ring network, the devices

are grabbing, adding their data.


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It never had a collision.
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That was carrier sense multiple
access collision avoidance,
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which you might say, "Well, that's gone," right?
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So token ring's gone.
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Well, yes, token ring is gone for the most part.
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However, collision avoidance
has reared its ugly head again.
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I shouldn't say ugly head.
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It's there in Wi-Fi.
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Wireless networks don't have the ability
to detect collisions, so they've gone back
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to a type of collision avoidance
system, but that's a total other topic.
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So hubs are sitting here in
Ethernet running in such a sense
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that they have only one person
able to send at a time.
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Now, let me put a definition to that.

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That is short for one-collision domain.
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Key topic to know: a hub, no matter how many
ports it has -- it could have, what is that,
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eight ports like I'm staring at,
or 20 or 950,000 ports on a hub...
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it would not have that, but it
would all be one-collision domain
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which in rough English would just be how
many people can send or receive at a time.
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Now, I also want to emphasize the "or" there.
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"Or receive" means you are
in a half-duplex world.
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Send or receive, so I'm pretty
much saying, "Well,
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I can send something or I can receive something.
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I cannot do both."
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It's like a walkie-talkie.
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Now, that was the world of the hub: one
person sending or receiving at a time.
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So the larger and larger your network group,
the more and more collisions you would have

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because there's more of a chance that people are
sending and receiving, or sending or receiving,
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at the same time and you're getting collisions,
your network performance is going down.
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Likewise, you run into challenges with security,
meaning a hub, if you bring up the OSI model.
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You know, you've got your seven layers,
dut, dut, dut, dut, dut, dut, dut.
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Down here is the physical layer,
which is where the hub resides.
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Physical layer devices have
no intelligence at all.
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They receive electric signals
and they send electric signals,
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and that's exactly what this does.
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When this guy sends a packet -- let's
say it's destined for this guy -89
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what the hub does is receive it and
say, "Well, I just got some data.
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I'm going to send it out
all of the network ports."
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This guy will get it, but so will
this guy, and so will this guy,
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and whatever other guys are
attached to that network.
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Now, he's got the sad face because
his monitor is not a perfect square,
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but also because he is a hacker.
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He is using a program like Wire Shark.
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It used to be called Ethereal,
which you can freely download.
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It's like those programs we just
talked about in the Council Connection.
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You just type in Wire Shark in Google and
download it, and what it will do is capture all
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of the data that it is receiving
on that network port
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and store it so you can actually look at it.
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If you were good at Wire Shark, which it
takes a little training, but not much.
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Wait a sec, I've shown you Wire Shark.
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What am I talking about?
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You know what Wire Shark is all about.
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You can reassemble Excel spreadsheets


that are being transferred.
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You can capture voice conversations
that are happening, record phone calls
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that are being used by voice over -you can see emails that were being sent.
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I mean, everything is able to be seen
because a hub sends everything everywhere.
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So today -- that's enough about
hubs because they are network death.
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You do not or should not use these
in production because, number one,
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the collisions alone will slow your network to
a crawl; and second off, the security, I mean,
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it's just, this is yesteryear technology.
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Also a hub maxed out at 100 megabits per second.
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Once it reached that speed, that's where
everybody's like, "Okay, we've gone switching."
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You won't find a gigabit hub.
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So we move into the 1990s.
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The Bengals are now not singing
Walk Like an Egyptian.
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Actually, it's really funny.
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The Bengals performed at a Cisco live event.
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You know, Cisco's big, once-a-year
conference here in the United States.
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And they sang Walk Like an
Egyptian and they forgot the words.
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They got to like halfway through
and the girl was singing -123
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you know, it's a really fast song.
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It's hard to keep up with and she's like,
"I just totally," they forgot the words
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to their own song and they made a joke about it.
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It was funny.
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Nonetheless, the Bengals are
forgetting their own lyrics,
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we're coming out with network bridges in 1990s.
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The network bridges was this transitionary
device between the hubs and switches
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which broke the network into
multiple-collision domains.
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Now, looking at it -- I couldn't


find a picture of a network bridge.
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Looking at it you can't really tell much of a
difference other than bridges had limited ports.
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You wouldn't find a 32- or 48- or 64-port
bridge that you would plug your devices into.
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These were really expensive devices
that you would have your hubs,
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with all your devices attached, and as it
started maxing out, like you're getting a lot
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of collision, you would introduce a
bridge which would have maybe two,
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maybe three, four different ports on it.
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And that bridge...
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would separate the multiple hub-based domains.
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Remember, over here, only one
person can send at a time.
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So a bridge would, number one, introduce
more than one-collision domains.
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Every port on a bridge is a collision domain.
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So over here we can have one
person sending or receiving.
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Over here we can have one
person sending or receiving.
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So now we can have multiple people sending
or receiving at a time on the network,
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and the bridge is now introducing intelligence.
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OSI model, we're now moving up to layer
two, we're at the data link layer,
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which is where this device resides,
and it learned the MAC addresses.
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So the hub, we've got, we'll say, 10
computers over here and 10 computers over here.
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This bridge, as the computers are sending and
receiving, it's learning which MAC addresses
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or which data link layer addresses
are on each side of the network.
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So now you get some limited filtering.
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When somebody sends something that belongs
on, let's say, this side of the network.
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Let's say this guy sends.
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It hits the hub.
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The hub sends it everywhere, including
the bridge, and the bridge goes, "Oh,

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well it looks like that was sent to this
MAC address," we'll call it MAC One.
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"That was sent to this MAC address over here.
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So I'm not going to forward that
on to this side of the network.
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They don't need it."
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So that's where our filtering came into play.
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So now, if you sent to the
other side of the network -163
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let's say we sent from the left side of
the network here over to the right -164
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as soon as it hits this hub, it
explodes and goes everywhere,
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so you're not really getting much filtering
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since we still have these layer
one devices, but it was good.
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I mean, this was a good step.
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Now, here is the big Achilles
heel of the bridges.
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They were software-based.
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So these guys would slow down your network.
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When I first started teaching,
I actually started with Novell
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and then moved into Microsoft technology.
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Talk about Windows server
MCSE certification back then.
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And one of the things, I still remember this for
some reason, I was talking about how Windows,
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Windows 2000 I think it was, could do RAID.
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Meaning it could do RAID
level one or RAID level five,
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which is mirroring two hard drives together.
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And I had a guy in class go "Ah, ha, ha, yeah...
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like I would do that with Windows."
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And back then I didn't know better.
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I was like, "Well, why wouldn't
you do that with Windows?"
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He says, "No, no, no.
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We buy separate hardware to do that.

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We buy RAID controller cards,"
which are now common everywhere.
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RAID controller cards that offload that,
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so Windows doesn't have to
worry about mirroring those.
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Well, in the same sense, Windows would slow down
a lot if you actually tried to do RAID with it
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because it's having to keep
up with hard drive functions.
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Same thing here.
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The bridge is learning all these
MAC addresses in the software.
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It's processing them in the software, so
as stuff goes from one side of the network
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to the other, it slows down because of the
processing that's taking place on that device.
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And now we make the turn
into the new millennium.
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Around year 2000, you start seeing network
switches becoming a commonplace thing.
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And it's funny.
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I'm thinking "Okay, we had

the '80s with the Bengals.


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What do you say happened around
the turn of the generation?"
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You know, it's like the Y2K scare.
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Well, that's an event.
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There's nothing that really characterizes
things that have happened, you know,
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maybe the dissolution of normal relationships
to where now everybody communicates via texting
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and Facebook and no longer
face-to-face because that's weird
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to actually see somebody and talk to them.
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I'm saying that's weird to
have natural relationships.
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Here I am talking to myself
staring at a screen, yeah.
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I'm a lot better, right?
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So anyway, here we are in this switching world.
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Every port now has its own
collision, and you know what?
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Let me actually move this to the top.

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Because everything that I said about bridges
is the same when it comes to switches; however,
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we now have a very high port density.
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Like a lot of devices can plug into these.
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We're no longer limited to
two or three or four ports.
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But the biggest thing that
changed was the creation of ASICs.
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What are those?
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Application-specific integrated circuitry.
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Such a huge concept for our
network devices, because this moved
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that software-based processing
of the bridge into the hardware.
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And you're going to see this topic
come up again and again and again.
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All ASICs are is somebody engineered a chip.
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Here's my little chip, a little chip with wires
and connections and all that kind of stuff
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to where in the hardware the intelligence
of the device, it's able to handle it

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without relying on any kind of software.
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And any time you introduce ASICs into
the picture, you introduce a lot of speed
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because you have it all being
processed in hardware.
226
00:13:15,216 --> 00:13:16,866
No longer does the software
have to get involved.
227
00:13:16,866 --> 00:13:21,086
ASICS has changed the world of
switching or bridging, I should say,
228
00:13:21,086 --> 00:13:22,786
to where now switching is commonplace.
229
00:13:22,786 --> 00:13:25,146
ASICs changed the world of VPNs.
230
00:13:25,816 --> 00:13:29,426
We would no longer be able to
scale virtual private networks,
231
00:13:29,426 --> 00:13:33,816
which is encrypted tunnels running across
the internet, if we didn't have these ASICs,
232
00:13:33,816 --> 00:13:35,966
these chips that handle a lot of the encryption,
233
00:13:35,966 --> 00:13:39,396
because the encryption alone would
bury the software of the device.
234
00:13:39,816 --> 00:13:43,456
So ASICS are a world-changing event.
235
00:13:43,456 --> 00:13:47,176
They cause a lot of these
devices to just move a lot faster.

236
00:13:47,176 --> 00:13:54,556
Now we have switches where it's able to move
as fast as the hubs were, which is wire speed.
237
00:13:54,556 --> 00:13:58,506
As electric signals are coming in,
it's processing and sending them out.
238
00:13:58,506 --> 00:14:01,226
Every port on a switch is
its own collision domain.
239
00:14:01,606 --> 00:14:06,556
So when you come to a switch, you
look at how many ports there are.
240
00:14:06,556 --> 00:14:09,806
Let's say it's a 24-port switch
or this one looks like a 20...
241
00:14:09,966 --> 00:14:12,836
they got these two weird ports,
so maybe a 26-port switch,
242
00:14:12,836 --> 00:14:15,816
so you've got 26-collision domains.
243
00:14:15,926 --> 00:14:21,976
And again, going back to our simple definition,
26 people, 26 devices plugged in there can send
244
00:14:22,456 --> 00:14:26,926
and -- ooh, there's a big change
-- and receive at the same time.
245
00:14:27,276 --> 00:14:31,806
We've gone full duplex to where now instead
of a walkie-talkie, you're like a telephone
246
00:14:31,806 --> 00:14:34,836
to where both people can talk on top
of each other and still understand,
247
00:14:34,836 --> 00:14:37,416
at least in the computer world,
still understand each other.

248
00:14:37,416 --> 00:14:44,006
So when you say this is a 100-megabit per
second switch, or 100-megabit per second port,
249
00:14:44,216 --> 00:14:48,326
really you're getting 200 megabits per
second if you're running it at full duplex
250
00:14:48,326 --> 00:14:54,166
because you get 100 send and 100 receive
that you can do at the same time.
251
00:14:54,166 --> 00:14:59,746
Now, all network speeds are rated at
half duplex, so when you see a gigabit252
00:14:59,746 --> 00:15:04,986
or a 100-megabit per second port, it's
being rated at half duplex, so I mean,
253
00:15:04,986 --> 00:15:07,446
you truly can never go above that speed.
254
00:15:07,606 --> 00:15:09,806
It's just now you can do send
and receive at the same time.
255
00:15:09,806 --> 00:15:12,126
Totally kind of life-changing event there.
256
00:15:12,416 --> 00:15:14,296
You also support varying port speeds.
257
00:15:14,296 --> 00:15:17,726
A hub had to have all the same speed.
258
00:15:17,926 --> 00:15:22,936
If it was a 10-megabit per second port, every
port on that hub, a 10-megabit per second hub,
259
00:15:22,936 --> 00:15:24,906
every port on the hub would
be 10-megabits per second.
260
00:15:24,906 --> 00:15:28,196
But with switches you could have, for
instance, these guys, and this is common,

261
00:15:28,436 --> 00:15:34,696
over on the left being 100-megabit per
second connection and these two guys
262
00:15:34,696 --> 00:15:40,456
over on the right might be 1,000 megabits per
second or a gigabit, or as technology continues
263
00:15:40,456 --> 00:15:43,106
to evolve, we're going to
see these being common,
264
00:15:43,296 --> 00:15:49,176
1,000-megabit per second ports is
normal customer plug-ins and normal use
265
00:15:49,176 --> 00:15:53,866
and then maybe these uplinks are
10,000 megabits per second, or 10 gig,
266
00:15:53,866 --> 00:15:59,526
or now 40,000 megabits per second or 40
gigabits per second uplinks that you can have.
267
00:15:59,526 --> 00:16:04,806
So that way you can have switches that are
daisy-chained together to where, you know,
268
00:16:04,806 --> 00:16:08,096
you've got all these guys that
are all 100 and this is 1,000,
269
00:16:08,096 --> 00:16:11,946
so that way this doesn't become a bottleneck
and all these guys are 100 and this is 1,000,
270
00:16:11,946 --> 00:16:17,076
so that way you can link these together
without bottlenecking them on these speeds.
271
00:16:17,226 --> 00:16:22,916
These switches are managed and intelligent
to where -- and I'll flip that term.
272
00:16:22,916 --> 00:16:25,696
They're intelligent in the sense
that they have the same capabilities

273
00:16:25,696 --> 00:16:28,306
of the bridge to learn MAC addresses.
274
00:16:28,306 --> 00:16:32,836
So as these switches power on, they will learn
all the different devices that are on there.
275
00:16:32,836 --> 00:16:40,296
So now when this guy sends a packet into the
switch, it will be able to send it out to just
276
00:16:40,296 --> 00:16:43,476
that guy because he knows
where the MAC address is at.
277
00:16:44,056 --> 00:16:45,256
He's located all of it.
278
00:16:45,256 --> 00:16:48,536
He will even learn, for instance, if
you start daisy-chaining them like this,
279
00:16:48,536 --> 00:16:51,876
you've got 20 MAC addresses down
here, we'll say, that it's learned.
280
00:16:51,876 --> 00:16:56,526
This switch will learn that all 20 of those
MAC addresses are accessible on this one port.
281
00:16:57,556 --> 00:17:02,066
So it's not uncommon to see one port with
20 MAC addresses, which tells you, "Okay,
282
00:17:02,066 --> 00:17:04,396
that port must be daisy-chained
to another device
283
00:17:04,396 --> 00:17:07,226
that has all kinds of devices plugged into it."
284
00:17:07,226 --> 00:17:10,656
So that's the intelligent side.
285
00:17:10,876 --> 00:17:13,966
The managed side is going to be

what we get into with the Cisco iOS.


286
00:17:13,966 --> 00:17:16,476
We can do things with our switches.
287
00:17:16,596 --> 00:17:17,646
We can change things.
288
00:17:17,646 --> 00:17:18,886
We can modify settings.
289
00:17:18,886 --> 00:17:20,436
We can add features.
290
00:17:20,436 --> 00:17:24,456
Now, one of the nice things about Cisco
switches, out of the box, they work.
291
00:17:24,926 --> 00:17:26,016
That's great.
292
00:17:26,156 --> 00:17:29,266
You plug them in, you plug in your
computers, and it's working like a switch,
293
00:17:29,496 --> 00:17:34,106
but you're only getting limited
feature set by doing that.
294
00:17:34,106 --> 00:17:35,606
You're just getting the base functionality.
295
00:17:35,606 --> 00:17:41,606
You might as well go buy some other brand
or what you'll hear is an unmanaged switch,
296
00:17:41,606 --> 00:17:43,426
with doesn't really have the iOS.
297
00:17:43,426 --> 00:17:44,836
It doesn't have features.
298
00:17:44,836 --> 00:17:47,996
You just plug it in and plug stuff
together and it just kind of works.
299

00:17:47,996 --> 00:17:51,286


It learns MAC addresses and does its thing.
300
00:17:51,286 --> 00:17:53,846
Cisco adds features that you can configure.
301
00:17:53,846 --> 00:17:56,526
That's going to be what we talk
about in the switching world today.
302
00:17:56,856 --> 00:18:00,516
Now, I know you're looking at, I was just
thinking of what else about these things?
303
00:18:00,546 --> 00:18:04,516
They smell good and they're smooth
-- now, I'm only half joking.
304
00:18:04,516 --> 00:18:07,976
When you open, if you have the
privilege of opening a Cisco switch,
305
00:18:07,976 --> 00:18:10,386
it has that new cellophane smell.
306
00:18:10,466 --> 00:18:13,256
It only lasts for about 10 seconds
after you pull it out of the box.
307
00:18:13,526 --> 00:18:14,326
It's so good.
308
00:18:14,416 --> 00:18:17,436
After you've opened a number of these
devices, you know, initially it's like "Ooh,
309
00:18:17,436 --> 00:18:21,576
that's repulsive," but after a little while
you're like, "Man, I just, I love that."
310
00:18:21,576 --> 00:18:24,726
It's like Pavlov's dogs, you
know, you kind of jingle the bell.
311
00:18:24,936 --> 00:18:27,966
Like when I smell that cellophane
I'm like, "Ooh, new Cisco device.

312
00:18:27,966 --> 00:18:29,086
Where is it?"
313
00:18:29,346 --> 00:18:31,926
So it smells good and it is smooth to touch.
314
00:18:31,926 --> 00:18:35,926
It is. You install these into racks -- you know,
I'm kind of tongue-in-cheek on saying that.
315
00:18:36,186 --> 00:18:40,776
But this is the core of what our
networks use to connect devices.
316
00:18:42,356 --> 00:18:46,526
One more piece that I want to add on
here, because it was on the title slide,
317
00:18:46,526 --> 00:18:50,006
I didn't add it in my bullets, is
the concept of a broadcast domain.
318
00:18:51,256 --> 00:18:54,916
A broadcast domain essentially means,
319
00:18:54,916 --> 00:19:00,116
how far will a broadcast message
go before it's stopped, okay?
320
00:19:00,116 --> 00:19:03,906
So a broadcast, broadcasts just
happen in the network world.
321
00:19:03,906 --> 00:19:05,596
They're partially how computers work.
322
00:19:05,806 --> 00:19:10,966
Like when this computer boots up, if it's
using DHCP, it doesn't have an IP address,
323
00:19:11,016 --> 00:19:14,976
so it will send a broadcast message
saying, "Hello, anybody out there?
324
00:19:15,116 --> 00:19:18,716
I don't have an address,"
an IP address, I should say,

325
00:19:18,716 --> 00:19:20,946
"but if somebody could give
me one that would be great."
326
00:19:21,326 --> 00:19:22,986
It's looking for a DHCP server.
327
00:19:23,356 --> 00:19:28,956
Now, on a switch, just like a hub,
broadcasts will go to all ports.
328
00:19:29,416 --> 00:19:31,376
That's one of our scalability concerns.
329
00:19:31,376 --> 00:19:34,426
A hub you can only scale to
a few devices, I mean, 30,
330
00:19:34,426 --> 00:19:36,946
40 devices you're starting
to really hit the max.
331
00:19:37,196 --> 00:19:39,956
Switches you can get into
the hundreds of devices.
332
00:19:40,126 --> 00:19:45,496
You know, 200, 300, 400 devices, but eventually
you're going to reach a point where you get
333
00:19:45,496 --> 00:19:48,396
so many broadcasts because
everybody's kind of chitter-chattering
334
00:19:48,396 --> 00:19:51,616
around that you're impacting your
computer and network performance.
335
00:19:51,616 --> 00:19:55,166
So you start dividing it up
into more broadcast domains,
336
00:19:55,166 --> 00:19:58,006
and we'll talk about how that's possible, but
I just wanted to throw that term out there
337

00:19:58,006 --> 00:19:59,396


so it starts sticking in your mind.
338
00:20:00,746 --> 00:20:04,706
All right, the last thing I want to do is
give you a day in the life of a switch.
339
00:20:04,706 --> 00:20:08,846
Like if you want to see a switch's job day in,
day out, like how to make the doughnuts kind
340
00:20:08,846 --> 00:20:11,076
of job, this is what it looks like.
341
00:20:11,486 --> 00:20:15,076
We've got our network devices,
in this case five computers,
342
00:20:15,076 --> 00:20:17,716
that are plugged into two different switches.
343
00:20:17,716 --> 00:20:21,646
Now, the first thing I want to
do, I threw two switches up here
344
00:20:21,646 --> 00:20:23,556
because I wanted to show you this cross-connect.
345
00:20:23,956 --> 00:20:30,576
Now, you can connect switches together
on the Ethernet ports, no problem at all,
346
00:20:30,576 --> 00:20:32,856
using just a normal crossover cable.
347
00:20:33,246 --> 00:20:38,346
Or nowadays they have the auto-sensing ports
that allow it to detect a crossover straight
348
00:20:38,346 --> 00:20:42,826
through and make the adjustments
accordingly, but that's one way to bridge them.
349
00:20:42,826 --> 00:20:46,886
The challenge with Ethernet is that
you have a 100-meter limitation,
350

00:20:48,226 --> 00:20:51,816


so once you exceed that,
now you're kind of stuck.
351
00:20:51,816 --> 00:20:54,776
So a lot of people will start
going with things like fiber.
352
00:20:54,776 --> 00:20:57,566
You know, a lot of times there'll be
buildings across the street from each other;
353
00:20:57,566 --> 00:21:01,996
they need to run cables that are longer than
100 meters or just a really big building,
354
00:21:01,996 --> 00:21:04,476
so they'll start putting fiber in here.
355
00:21:04,476 --> 00:21:07,526
This is actually known as an SFP module.
356
00:21:07,676 --> 00:21:09,816
It's a fiber-optic module
that you can slide in there.
357
00:21:09,926 --> 00:21:10,976
You buy them separately.
358
00:21:12,006 --> 00:21:15,206
I think SFP stands for "small form factor..."
359
00:21:17,706 --> 00:21:19,536
pluggable.
360
00:21:20,476 --> 00:21:24,216
I had to pause and look it up.
361
00:21:24,406 --> 00:21:25,776
Everybody just says SFP.
362
00:21:25,916 --> 00:21:28,396
For some reason the acronym
isn't used very often.
363
00:21:28,396 --> 00:21:30,626
But this has a fiber-optic connection.

364
00:21:30,626 --> 00:21:34,846
Now, on fiber you always have two,
I guess you could call them wires -365
00:21:34,846 --> 00:21:38,026
they're not really wires; they're
glass or plastic -- that are in there.
366
00:21:38,026 --> 00:21:41,016
One is going to be a send and
one is going to be a receive.
367
00:21:41,016 --> 00:21:45,446
So you kind of go click, click and plug it into
that, and then that fiber, depending on the kind
368
00:21:45,446 --> 00:21:50,606
of fiber it is, you can, I mean you can
go 500 meters away, you could go miles or,
369
00:21:50,606 --> 00:21:53,576
depending on what, where you
are in the world, kilometers,
370
00:21:53,826 --> 00:21:58,376
depending on what currency you use for distance.
371
00:21:58,376 --> 00:22:01,766
So you can span these things way
apart and connect them just the same.
372
00:22:01,816 --> 00:22:07,996
So a lot of times on the switches you will see
these ports that are kind of dual-purpose ports
373
00:22:07,996 --> 00:22:14,336
to where you can either, this is like a CAT
5 connection or CAT 6 copper connection,
374
00:22:14,756 --> 00:22:20,616
and then below it will be an SFP where you
can plug in one of these fiber-optic modules.
375
00:22:20,616 --> 00:22:24,496
Or you might see one, I think this is one of
them, I don't think these are dual purpose,

376
00:22:24,496 --> 00:22:27,686
where you have four slots
where you can plug in SFPs.
377
00:22:27,686 --> 00:22:30,196
Now you might say, "Why do
you have them changeable?"
378
00:22:30,356 --> 00:22:32,376
Well, there's different kinds
of fiber you can get.
379
00:22:32,376 --> 00:22:36,316
There's multi-mode fiber, which
is really easy to work with
380
00:22:36,316 --> 00:22:39,176
and a lot cheaper to make because it's plastic.
381
00:22:39,176 --> 00:22:43,966
And so multi-mode fiber has the ability of
being really easy to work with and really cheap,
382
00:22:44,146 --> 00:22:46,846
but it doesn't go as far as single-mode fiber.
383
00:22:47,136 --> 00:22:51,486
And single-mode fiber is always glass
that, you know, if you were to open this
384
00:22:51,486 --> 00:22:55,236
up with a little razor, you would see
really, really thin glass that it's using
385
00:22:55,426 --> 00:22:57,626
and a lot more difficult to work
with and a lot more expensive.
386
00:22:57,626 --> 00:23:02,406
So based on what your needs are, you can buy
single-mode or multi-mode fiber interfaces
387
00:23:02,406 --> 00:23:04,816
and then you just have to -- you've just
got to make sure they're compatible.
388
00:23:04,816 --> 00:23:07,676

Make sure essentially the cable


type and the connector type.
389
00:23:07,676 --> 00:23:09,656
There's different types of
connectors for fibers.
390
00:23:09,656 --> 00:23:13,516
This is an SFP-style connector, but
they have big connectors, small -391
00:23:13,516 --> 00:23:15,886
you've just got to buy the
right cable for the job.
392
00:23:16,166 --> 00:23:18,546
So that's how you connect them together.
393
00:23:18,546 --> 00:23:21,586
Now, little fiber-optic lesson aside,
394
00:23:21,786 --> 00:23:25,866
let's talk about the communication
and clear off all my gibberish.
395
00:23:26,186 --> 00:23:31,036
When you first boot up these switches,
they have something known as a CAM table.
396
00:23:31,766 --> 00:23:35,106
And the CAM table is essentially empty.
397
00:23:35,256 --> 00:23:38,676
CAM stands for content accessible memory.
398
00:23:38,676 --> 00:23:43,236
It's a place in memory where it stores stuff,
and in this case, the CAM table is going
399
00:23:43,236 --> 00:23:48,366
to include our MAC addresses that it's going to
learn from our different devices on the network.
400
00:23:48,366 --> 00:23:51,876
So when we first boot the
switch, it's completely empty.
401

00:23:51,876 --> 00:23:54,726


So let's say, now we've seen our MAC addresses.
402
00:23:54,726 --> 00:23:59,356
MAC addresses are 12 characters, so let's
just say this happy computer right here is 11;
403
00:23:59,356 --> 00:24:04,966
1;11;11;11;11.
404
00:24:05,086 --> 00:24:06,186
You'll see them written this way.
405
00:24:06,536 --> 00:24:08,536
That's a common way to write a MAC address.
406
00:24:08,536 --> 00:24:09,886
You'll also see them written this way.
407
00:24:09,886 --> 00:24:16,336
This is a lot of times what you'll see in
the Cisco world: 2222:2222 or Microsoft a lot
408
00:24:16,336 --> 00:24:21,696
of times, like if you open a
command prompt and do an IP config,
409
00:24:23,496 --> 00:24:25,846
all -- Microsoft likes using dashes.
410
00:24:26,066 --> 00:24:28,876
So, for instance, it'll show
you MAC addresses like this.
411
00:24:29,306 --> 00:24:32,986
So I'll make this guy, let's just use
all three styles here on the screen.
412
00:24:32,986 --> 00:24:40,416
33;33;33;33;33;33, so really
the style doesn't matter so much
413
00:24:40,416 --> 00:24:42,736
as that there's 12 characters inside of it.
414
00:24:42,736 --> 00:24:45,336
So every MAC address is 12 characters long.

415
00:24:45,336 --> 00:24:50,346
So this guy, let's say the guy on the
left, the happy computer is talking
416
00:24:50,346 --> 00:24:52,446
to the straight-faced computer in the middle.
417
00:24:53,036 --> 00:24:57,066
So he's going to send a frame,
let's just say I ping...
418
00:24:57,526 --> 00:25:03,486
let's see, I'm trying to think
of how far back I'll go here.
419
00:25:03,486 --> 00:25:08,786
Okay. So let's just say IP
address-wise, this guy is 10.1.1.1;
420
00:25:08,986 --> 00:25:11,636
this guy is 10.1.1.2 on an IP address.
421
00:25:11,636 --> 00:25:17,026
So on this computer I type
in ping 10.1.1.2, right?
422
00:25:17,316 --> 00:25:21,466
What's the first message
that's going to be sent?
423
00:25:21,466 --> 00:25:24,096
An ARP -- address resolution protocol -424
00:25:24,096 --> 00:25:28,826
saying, "Okay, great, I see that you're pinging
10.1.1.2, but I've got to create a frame.
425
00:25:28,826 --> 00:25:32,666
I've got to have source and destination IP
addresses, source and destination MAC address.
426
00:25:32,706 --> 00:25:38,026
I don't have the MAC address for
10.1.1.2," so ARP is a broadcast message.
427
00:25:38,116 --> 00:25:40,276

So it's going to say, "Hello, network.


428
00:25:40,276 --> 00:25:42,836
Who is 10.1.1.2?"
429
00:25:42,836 --> 00:25:43,826
So that hits the switch.
430
00:25:43,826 --> 00:25:48,266
Now this is, both of these switches are
now considered one broadcast domain.
431
00:25:50,116 --> 00:25:55,656
So it's going to receive that broadcast and
send it out to all ports that are active.
432
00:25:55,656 --> 00:25:58,226
I mean, there's nothing plugged
in, so this guy gets the broadcast,
433
00:25:58,226 --> 00:25:59,616
this guy, it shoots across to fiber.
434
00:25:59,616 --> 00:26:02,376
These two get the broadcast
saying, "Who is 10.1.1.2?"
435
00:26:02,376 --> 00:26:05,196
Now, this is the only one
that will respond to that one,
436
00:26:05,196 --> 00:26:08,146
so the straight-faced computer
comes back and says "Oh, that's me."
437
00:26:08,446 --> 00:26:11,896
So -- and I jumped a little ahead.
438
00:26:12,036 --> 00:26:13,066
He goes, "Oh, that's me.
439
00:26:13,206 --> 00:26:15,896
I am 10.1.1.2; this is my MAC address."
440
00:26:15,896 --> 00:26:17,736
But let me take a step back.

441
00:26:17,736 --> 00:26:22,776
As soon as this broadcast came into the
switch, I mean, if we were to grab that
442
00:26:22,776 --> 00:26:26,016
and use Wire Shark and look at it, we
would say, "Okay, it's an ARP message.
443
00:26:26,016 --> 00:26:27,336
It's trying to find a MAC address.
444
00:26:27,336 --> 00:26:32,256
It's coming from the source
IP address of 10.1.1.1.
445
00:26:32,506 --> 00:26:36,576
It's looking for the destination
IP address of 10.1.1.2.
446
00:26:36,576 --> 00:26:42,436
It's coming from the source MAC address
of 11;11, you know, this guy right here.
447
00:26:42,796 --> 00:26:47,376
And it's going to the destination
MAC address of, I don't know.
448
00:26:47,626 --> 00:26:51,296
Now, you might say, "Well, wait a
second; it doesn't know this MAC address.
449
00:26:51,296 --> 00:26:52,286
It has to have something in there."
450
00:26:52,536 --> 00:26:53,776
Well, it absolutely does.
451
00:26:54,146 --> 00:26:56,536
It's destination MAC address is FFFFFF.
452
00:26:56,536 --> 00:27:02,606
Remember, MAC addresses are hexadecimal,
so A through F are valid characters.
453
00:27:02,606 --> 00:27:08,406
And the very, very last possible MAC address
in all the scheme, FFFFFF, means a broadcast.

454
00:27:08,746 --> 00:27:09,436
That's what that means.
455
00:27:09,436 --> 00:27:13,516
So the switch receives it destined to
this MAC address that it will never learn
456
00:27:13,516 --> 00:27:18,736
on any individual port and it says, "Okay,
well, that MAC address, it says go everywhere.
457
00:27:18,736 --> 00:27:20,466
But I just learned something."
458
00:27:21,276 --> 00:27:25,996
By seeing this broadcast message come into
the switch it goes, "Oh, oh, oh, wait a sec.
459
00:27:26,126 --> 00:27:30,056
On port -- " let's just say this is port 0/2.
460
00:27:30,056 --> 00:27:31,946
You know, this one up here was 0/1.
461
00:27:31,946 --> 00:27:39,166
So it says "Okay, 0/2 is really 1111:1111:1111."
462
00:27:39,166 --> 00:27:43,426
So now the switch has become
one MAC address smarter.
463
00:27:44,646 --> 00:27:50,516
Now this guy comes back and says, "Oh,
that's me, let me send my ARP reply."
464
00:27:50,516 --> 00:27:52,156
Here's his ARP message.
465
00:27:52,156 --> 00:27:55,476
"I'm coming from the source IP
address going to this destination,
466
00:27:55,686 --> 00:27:59,386
coming from this source MAC
address, going to this destination."

467
00:27:59,386 --> 00:28:00,706
Let me just zoom in on that.
468
00:28:00,706 --> 00:28:01,886
You know if I were to break that packet down,
469
00:28:01,886 --> 00:28:05,216
it would say the destination
MAC address is the ones.
470
00:28:05,216 --> 00:28:08,986
The source MAC address is the
twos and it will come into switch.
471
00:28:08,986 --> 00:28:10,446
Now, two things happen here.
472
00:28:11,086 --> 00:28:13,296
One is, let's say the switch is looking at,
473
00:28:13,296 --> 00:28:17,676
let's just say that is port
0/12, or let's say 0/11.
474
00:28:17,796 --> 00:28:20,636
I'm trying to be accurate looking at the switch.
475
00:28:20,636 --> 00:28:21,646
Let's say 0/15.
476
00:28:21,646 --> 00:28:24,766
So it's going to say, "Okay, I
just learned another MAC address
477
00:28:24,766 --> 00:28:26,106
because I just saw a frame come in there.
478
00:28:26,106 --> 00:28:28,006
It is 2222.
479
00:28:28,396 --> 00:28:33,016
So I now know that that computer
is available on port 0/15."
480
00:28:33,016 --> 00:28:34,096
Now, this is all in the CAM.

481
00:28:34,096 --> 00:28:39,766
All in the memory of the switch, so if I
pull the plug on this switch at any time,
482
00:28:39,946 --> 00:28:43,656
all of this goes away and it has to
relearn all of these MAC addresses.
483
00:28:43,656 --> 00:28:47,606
So that's the first thing it does is it
learns that MAC address is on that port.
484
00:28:47,606 --> 00:28:49,566
But now it's become smarter.
485
00:28:50,056 --> 00:28:52,456
It goes, "Oh, it looks like you're
trying to go to the destination
486
00:28:52,456 --> 00:28:55,786
of 111111, you know, all the ones.
487
00:28:55,786 --> 00:28:56,626
I know where that guy is.
488
00:28:56,726 --> 00:28:58,016
He's on port 0/2."
489
00:28:58,016 --> 00:29:02,966
So now instead of sending the reply to all
ports, the switch is just going to say, "Okay,
490
00:29:02,966 --> 00:29:08,706
let me switch you right over here down to
this device" and only those two get it.
491
00:29:08,706 --> 00:29:12,726
And now point-to-point communication
can happen between those guys
492
00:29:12,726 --> 00:29:16,896
without disturbing anybody else because
the switch has learned their MAC address.
493
00:29:17,206 --> 00:29:19,406
Now, let's talk of real world.

494
00:29:19,546 --> 00:29:20,856
Okay, a switch powers on.
495
00:29:21,156 --> 00:29:26,496
How long is it going to take before
it learns all of the MAC addresses
496
00:29:26,496 --> 00:29:28,146
on the network, or the ones that it needs?
497
00:29:28,766 --> 00:29:31,396
I would say five to 10 seconds.
498
00:29:31,896 --> 00:29:34,266
I know. Really, that fast?
499
00:29:34,266 --> 00:29:38,056
Yeah. I mean hundreds of devices it can
learn in five to 10 seconds because all
500
00:29:38,056 --> 00:29:41,356
of these guys are talking, and if you're
talking about powering on a switch, well,
501
00:29:41,466 --> 00:29:45,116
as that switch is powering on, the devices
are chatting They need IP addresses.
502
00:29:45,116 --> 00:29:46,036
They want to communicate.
503
00:29:46,036 --> 00:29:51,416
So the switch is gaining knowledge essentially
right after it boots and is ready to do that.
504
00:29:51,416 --> 00:29:54,976
It's ready to go, so it does not take
long for these guys to learn at all.
505
00:29:55,516 --> 00:30:01,646
Also keep in mind these entries
have a life span of five minutes,
506
00:30:02,446 --> 00:30:06,436
meaning if the device goes
quiet for five minutes --

507
00:30:06,436 --> 00:30:11,576
and this is by default, you can change it -- the
switch will forget where that MAC address is.
508
00:30:11,906 --> 00:30:13,796
So this guy goes quiet.
509
00:30:13,936 --> 00:30:15,446
He disappears from the table.
510
00:30:15,446 --> 00:30:16,276
Now, no big deal.
511
00:30:16,276 --> 00:30:20,536
That just means the next time somebody has to
communicate with him, the switch will treat it
512
00:30:20,536 --> 00:30:25,716
like a broadcast, because it's going
to say, "I don't know where 111111 is."
513
00:30:25,716 --> 00:30:28,086
So it will send it everywhere
and then relearn that.
514
00:30:28,086 --> 00:30:30,796
The reason it does that is
because MAC addresses can change.
515
00:30:30,796 --> 00:30:33,756
Now, it's rare, really rare
for a MAC address to change.
516
00:30:33,756 --> 00:30:36,616
But somebody could replace a network card.
517
00:30:37,086 --> 00:30:40,126
You could be doing strange
things with virtualization.
518
00:30:40,126 --> 00:30:41,546
We'll talk about that later on.
519
00:30:41,736 --> 00:30:46,356
But I mean, there's times where the MAC address
can change, so this guarantees you that device

520
00:30:46,356 --> 00:30:49,986
within five minutes will be able to
communicate or be learned or, you know,
521
00:30:49,986 --> 00:30:52,776
that MAC address will be replaced
on that switch if it stops talking.
522
00:30:53,956 --> 00:30:56,546
Welcome to the world of switching indeed.
523
00:30:56,906 --> 00:30:59,206
That is how a switch functions.
524
00:30:59,206 --> 00:31:02,016
That is its goal, is to bring
together all the devices
525
00:31:02,016 --> 00:31:05,896
into a local area network and
allow them to communicate.
526
00:31:06,386 --> 00:31:08,776
So what do we see, and what
do I want you to do with it?
527
00:31:08,776 --> 00:31:10,076
You see the bullets on the screen.
528
00:31:10,076 --> 00:31:11,936
Those are the major points that we hit.
529
00:31:11,936 --> 00:31:18,206
First thing I would like you to do is grab a
piece of paper and in your own words write down,
530
00:31:18,576 --> 00:31:25,606
"A hub is this" or if maybe you're not a
writer, you know, go to a friend, go to a spouse
531
00:31:25,606 --> 00:31:27,906
and explain to them, "A hub is this.
532
00:31:27,906 --> 00:31:30,846
This is the difference between
a hub and a switch."

533
00:31:31,036 --> 00:31:39,776
Or, I do this sometimes: I'll be in Best Buy
or one of the places where you just go and...
534
00:31:40,156 --> 00:31:44,216
waste money on nonsense, but you'll
be in Best Buy and talk to one
535
00:31:44,216 --> 00:31:48,016
of the employees and see
their perspective on it.
536
00:31:48,016 --> 00:31:52,366
I've got some very interesting results from
my surveys where you just go in and say, "Hey,
537
00:31:52,366 --> 00:31:54,836
I'm looking for a switch, just a small one.
538
00:31:54,836 --> 00:31:55,646
Where are those at?"
539
00:31:55,646 --> 00:31:56,746
"Oh, they're over here.
540
00:31:56,746 --> 00:31:57,576
Here's the box."
541
00:31:57,576 --> 00:32:02,096
And then throw this kind of question out
there, just say, "Actually somebody told me
542
00:32:02,096 --> 00:32:04,246
to get a hub, and someone
told me to get a switch,
543
00:32:04,246 --> 00:32:06,156
and then someone else said
they're the same thing.
544
00:32:06,836 --> 00:32:07,666
What do you say?
545
00:32:07,666 --> 00:32:08,986
What's best?"

546
00:32:09,586 --> 00:32:10,346
And see what they say.
547
00:32:10,766 --> 00:32:14,806
That is one of the most fun -- now,
don't throw them under the bus.
548
00:32:14,806 --> 00:32:17,476
Don't be like okay, "No,
this is really how it works."
549
00:32:17,476 --> 00:32:21,416
But sometimes you'll get people who are like
ninjas, that are like -- they know exactly.
550
00:32:21,706 --> 00:32:23,056
Other people will just say I don't know.
551
00:32:23,056 --> 00:32:27,696
Other people will just make up the most creative
and unique answers that you've ever seen.
552
00:32:27,696 --> 00:32:29,766
Sometimes they'll look at the
box and see if it says something.
553
00:32:29,766 --> 00:32:30,716
But it's fun.
554
00:32:30,716 --> 00:32:31,906
It's a fun survey to take.
555
00:32:32,336 --> 00:32:35,586
The second thing I want you
to do is look at some devices
556
00:32:35,586 --> 00:32:37,976
and identify how many collision domains,
557
00:32:37,976 --> 00:32:40,316
how many broadcast domains
exist on each one of those.
558
00:32:40,316 --> 00:32:44,306
Now, if these are all daisy-chained
together, if I take some cables and go clink,

559
00:32:44,306 --> 00:32:48,326
clink and link all these together,
how many broadcast domains?
560
00:32:49,146 --> 00:32:52,416
One. A broadcast will go
everywhere on those switches.
561
00:32:52,416 --> 00:32:53,856
How many collision domains?
562
00:32:53,856 --> 00:32:54,926
Well, start counting.
563
00:32:55,116 --> 00:32:57,526
One, two, and that's the console
board, so don't count that one,
564
00:32:57,526 --> 00:32:58,696
you know, start counting those up.
565
00:32:58,696 --> 00:33:03,846
So if you're preparing for certification,
be ready to answer those kinds of questions.
566
00:33:03,846 --> 00:33:07,576
You know, just based on these devices and
how they're connected, how many, you know,
567
00:33:07,576 --> 00:33:09,276
you'll see some hubs mixed in with switches.
568
00:33:09,276 --> 00:33:11,256
How many collision domains exist and all that.
569
00:33:11,256 --> 00:33:12,056
Now, there's a question.
570
00:33:12,316 --> 00:33:16,136
What if I take a hub and plug
it into that switch port?
571
00:33:16,456 --> 00:33:20,316
Okay, now how many collision domains do I have?
572
00:33:20,706 --> 00:33:24,096

You know, if I'm just talking about


that, that realm of it right now?
573
00:33:24,836 --> 00:33:29,666
One. It's just one because it doesn't matter
how -- even though I'm plugging into a switch,
574
00:33:29,666 --> 00:33:34,006
still only one device on that
port is able to send or receive.
575
00:33:34,006 --> 00:33:36,896
We've gone back down to half duplex -because we're in a hub -- at a time.
576
00:33:36,896 --> 00:33:38,516
So again, drill yourself.
577
00:33:38,516 --> 00:33:40,636
Go through systems like that.
578
00:33:40,636 --> 00:33:45,236
And then finally, just understand
how the switch is doing what it does.
579
00:33:45,236 --> 00:33:48,876
Look at that day in the life of a switch
and see how it learns some MAC addresses
580
00:33:48,876 --> 00:33:51,156
and becomes just more efficient as it runs.
581
00:33:51,646 --> 00:33:54,386
I hope this has been informative for you
and I'd like to thank you for viewing.

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