Which of the following characteristics is true of cut-through switching?

Which of the following characteristics is true of cut-through switching?

• A. Involves error checking before forwarding
• B. May forward invalid frames
• C. Holds up traffic until the entire frame is received
• D. Improves latency significantly

Answer: (B)

Cut-through switching operates by beginning to forward a frame as soon as the destination address has been read, rather than waiting for the complete frame to be received. This method reduces latency, allowing for faster transmission of data across the network. As a result, cut-through switching can indeed forward invalid frames, as it does not perform error checking or wait for the frame to be fully received before making a forwarding decision. This characteristic allows cut-through switches to minimize delays, which can enhance overall network performance, especially in high-speed environments. However, the downside is that invalid frames might propagate through the network because the switch does not verify their integrity before forwarding. The other choices emphasize characteristics that are not applicable to cut-through switching, which focuses on speed over error checking or congestion management.

Cut-through switching operates by beginning to forward a frame as soon as the destination address has been read, rather than waiting for the complete frame to be received. This method reduces latency, allowing for faster transmission of data across the network. As a result, cut-through switching can indeed forward invalid frames, as it does not perform error checking or wait for the frame to be fully received before making a forwarding decision.

This characteristic allows cut-through switches to minimize delays, which can enhance overall network performance, especially in high-speed environments. However, the downside is that invalid frames might propagate through the network because the switch does not verify their integrity before forwarding.

The other choices emphasize characteristics that are not applicable to cut-through switching, which focuses on speed over error checking or congestion management.