A Network Switch

• More intelligent than a Hub.
• It knows which devices are connected to which ports.
• It forwards data only to the intended recipient device.
• Unmanaged switches are plug-and-play.
• Managed switches offer advanced features like VLANs (Virtual Local Networks), QoS (Quality-of-Service), and network monitoring. They can be controlled and customized via software.
• Handles a Local Area Network (LAN).
• (Operates at the Data Link Layer (Layer 2) of the OSI Model.)