A network device that cross-connects clients, servers and network devices. Also known as a "frame switch," stand-alone LAN switches are common in Ethernet networks. A switch with four or more ports is ...

Call it NAC (Cisco’s Network Admission Control) or, well, NAC (network access control), or even NAP (Microsoft’s Network Access Protection). Any way you refer to it, these schemes for shutting out ...

For small businesses that need to connect a large number of nearby computers to the Internet, setting up a local wired network may be a cheaper solution than installing wireless routers and access ...

Give your LAN a jolt with better performance and advanced features.

In the home or office, the Ethernet switch functions as a central station connecting computers, printers and every other wired device to each other. The switch is also wired to the router and modem to ...

It became way more important than its $25 price tag would imply ...

Marguerite Reardon started as a CNET News reporter in 2004, covering cellphone services, broadband, citywide Wi-Fi, the Net neutrality debate and the consolidation of the phone companies. Cisco ...

Ethernet switch vendors such as 3Com, Force10, Cisco, Extreme, Foundry and HP ProCurve constantly tussle with claims of the highest performance, density and latency. But keep in mind that what’s ...

So you think you have a bad-ass home network? Let’s see how it stacks up against Netgear’s new gamer-oriented Nighthawk Pro Gaming XR500 router and Nighthawk SX10 10G/Multi-Gig LAN Switch. The latest ...

This isn’t a trick question, but one with a lot of tricky answers depending on how you define “big” and “fast.” Ethernet switch vendors such as 3Com Corp., Force10 Networks Inc., Cisco Systems Inc., ...