Internet and computer basics

Network switch

A device with many sockets that connects computers, servers, printers and other machines by cable within a building or floor. It sends each piece of information only to the socket where the receiving machine is plugged in. A router passes information between networks; a switch passes it within one network. Switches are also set up to split an organization's network into sections, for example by department, so that machines in one section cannot reach another. If that split is weak, an attacker who gets into one computer can more easily spread to others.