In the context of the OSI model, what does the term "switching" refer to?

In the context of the OSI model, "switching" primarily refers to the way data frames are directed through a network. This involves the physical addressing of frames, specifically using MAC addresses at the Data Link Layer (Layer 2). Switches operate by examining the MAC address of incoming frames and then forwarding those frames to the appropriate port based on that address. This process is crucial for ensuring that data reaches the correct destination efficiently within a local area network (LAN).

Switching enhances network performance and reduces traffic by creating dedicated communication paths between devices as needed, rather than broadcasting data to all devices. Therefore, understanding that switching is fundamentally about the physical addressing of frames helps clarify how devices on a network communicate and how data is transmitted reliably.