Which device forwards frames only to the intended recipient, reducing data collisions?

Which device forwards frames only to the intended recipient, reducing data collisions?

• A. Switch
• B. Hub
• C. Router
• D. Bridge

Answer: (A)

This question is about how traffic is forwarded in Ethernet networks to minimize collisions. A switch builds a MAC address table by observing the source addresses of frames on each port, so when a frame is destined for a particular device, the switch forwards it only to the port where that device is reachable. This creates a dedicated path for that communication, and each switch port is its own collision domain (often operating in full duplex), which effectively eliminates collisions on that link. In contrast, a hub repeats every incoming frame to all ports, so every device on the same collision domain hears the traffic and collisions can occur. Routers route traffic between different networks based on IP addresses rather than forwarding frames to a specific local recipient, and bridges also forward based on MAC addresses but are less common than switches in this role today. So, the device that forwards frames only to the intended recipient, reducing data collisions, is the switch.

This question is about how traffic is forwarded in Ethernet networks to minimize collisions. A switch builds a MAC address table by observing the source addresses of frames on each port, so when a frame is destined for a particular device, the switch forwards it only to the port where that device is reachable. This creates a dedicated path for that communication, and each switch port is its own collision domain (often operating in full duplex), which effectively eliminates collisions on that link. In contrast, a hub repeats every incoming frame to all ports, so every device on the same collision domain hears the traffic and collisions can occur. Routers route traffic between different networks based on IP addresses rather than forwarding frames to a specific local recipient, and bridges also forward based on MAC addresses but are less common than switches in this role today. So, the device that forwards frames only to the intended recipient, reducing data collisions, is the switch.