5.3. Chapter Summary

Layer 2

  • The minimum requirements for communication over a LAN are satisfied by the physical and data link levels.

  • Communication between two devices on the same LAN segment use MAC addressing.

  • Layer 2 bridging allows for the division of a LAN into segments, passing only the traffic that is destined for remote segments.

  • Spanning tree is used by bridges to establish primary paths between multiple layer 2 segments.

  • In spanning tree, only one link between two LAN segments can be active.

  • Link-layer bridging is succeptible to broadcast storms and network outages resulting from erratic end nodes.

Layer 3—IP

  • IP is a layer 3 network protocol that sits on top of the data link and physical layers.

  • IP is a best-effort delivery protocol designed ...

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