(STP) and Shortest Path Bridging (SPB) features Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) monitoring of device and link health Port mirroring for monitoring traffic and troubleshooting Link aggregation configuration to set up multiple ports for the same connection to achieve higher data transfer rates and reliability VLAN configuration and port assignments including IEEE 802.1Q tagging Network Access Control features such as IEEE 802.1X IGMP snooping for control of multicast traffic Traffic monitoring It is difficult to monitor traffic that is bridged using a switch because only the sending and receiving ports can see the traffic. Methods that are specifically designed to allow a network analyst to monitor traffic include: Port mirroring the switch sends a copy of network packets to a monitoring network connection. SMON "Switch Monitoring" is described by RFC 2613 and is a protocol for controlling facilities such as port mirroring. RMON sFlow These monitoring features are rarely present on consumer-grade switches. Other monitoring methods include connecting a layer-1 hub or network tap between the monitored device and its switch port. See also Console server Energy-Efficient Ethernet Fibre Channel switch Fully switched network Load-balanced switch Modular computer network switch Packet switch Stackable switch Telephone exchange Turing switch Wide area network Notes References External links What to consider when buying an Ethernet Switch Ethernet Switch