New Training: Ethernet Switching

In this 17-video skill, CBT Nuggets trainer Keith Barker walks you through the concepts of switching, such as virtual local area networks (VLANs), spanning tree protocol (STP), and media access control (MAC) addresses. Watch this new CompTIA Networking training.

Watch the full course: CompTIA Network+

This training includes:

• 17 videos

• 1.4 hours of training

You’ll learn these topics in this skill:

• Ethernet Switching: Properties of Network Traffic

• Ethernet Switching: Layer 2 Ethernet Addresses

• Ethernet Switching: How a Layer 2 Switch Works

• Ethernet Switching: Demonstration: Switch Dynamic Learning

• Ethernet Switching: Understanding VLANs

• Ethernet Switching: Configuring a VLAN

• Ethernet Switching: Overview of 802.1Q and Trunks

• Ethernet Switching: Configuring an 802.1Q Ethernet Trunk

• Ethernet Switching: How Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) Operates

• Ethernet Switching: Predicting the MAC Address Table

• Ethernet Switching: Validating MAC Address Table Predictions

• Ethernet Switching Game: Predict MAC Table After PC1 Pings PC4

• Ethernet Switching Game: Predict MAC Table After PC3 Pings PC5

• Ethernet Switching: Switching Loops and Spanning Tree Protocol (STP)

• Ethernet Switching: STP Reacting to a Network Change

• Ethernet Switching: Design Considerations and PoE

• Ethernet Switching: Switch Port Mirroring

What a VLAN Is: In Simple Terms

A Virtual Local Area Network, or VLAN, is a powerful networking tool. But what exactly a VLAN is, in non-technical terms, can be a little tricky to wrap your head around.

A Local Area Network (LAN) is what you get when you wire different devices into a switch. Once connected, each device can “see” one another and share resources because the switch’s main job is automatically forwarding any broadcast it receives out to every connected device.

The “virtual” in VLAN comes from the fact that the change to the network happens with logic, not with a different device or by wiring a new network. By configuring different ports on a switch so that they belong to separate networks, the flow of data on the same physical device is now segmented.

VLANs help reduce the amount of broadcasts as well as improve security by limiting the network access individual devices have.