Editing Ethernet (section)

===Advanced networking===
[[File:Coreswitch (2634205113).jpg|thumb|A core Ethernet switch]]

Simple switched Ethernet networks, while a great improvement over repeater-based Ethernet, suffer from single points of failure, attacks that trick switches or hosts into sending data to a machine even if it is not intended for it, scalability and security issues with regard to [[switching loop]]s, [[broadcast radiation]], and [[multicast]] traffic.{{citation needed|date=April 2020}}

Advanced networking features in switches use [[Shortest Path Bridging]] (SPB) or the [[Spanning Tree Protocol]] (STP) to maintain a loop-free, meshed network, allowing physical loops for redundancy (STP) or load-balancing (SPB). Shortest Path Bridging includes the use of the [[link-state routing protocol]] [[IS-IS]] to allow larger networks with shortest path routes between devices.

Advanced networking features also ensure port security, provide protection features such as MAC lockdown<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.techrepublic.com/blog/it-security/lock-down-cisco-switch-port-security-88196/ |title=Lock down Cisco switch port security |author=David Davis |date=October 11, 2007 |access-date=April 19, 2020 |archive-date=July 31, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200731010910/https://www.techrepublic.com/blog/it-security/lock-down-cisco-switch-port-security-88196/ |url-status=live }}</ref> and broadcast radiation filtering, use [[VLAN]]s to keep different classes of users separate while using the same physical infrastructure, employ [[multilayer switch]]ing to route between different classes, and use [[link aggregation]] to add bandwidth to overloaded links and to provide some redundancy.{{citation needed|date=April 2020}}

In 2016, Ethernet replaced [[InfiniBand]] as the most popular system interconnect of [[TOP500]] supercomputers.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.top500.org/lists/top500/2016/06/highlights/ |title=HIGHLIGHTS – JUNE 2016 |quote=InfiniBand technology is now found on 205 systems, down from 235 systems, and is now the second most-used internal system interconnect technology. Gigabit Ethernet has risen to 218 systems up from 182 systems, in large part thanks to 176 systems now using 10G interfaces. |date=June 2016 |access-date=February 19, 2021 |archive-date=January 30, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210130100950/https://top500.org/lists/top500/2016/06/highlights/ |url-status=live }}</ref>