Tag: LAN

Not Real-Simultaneous Works

Posted on by lechuck park

From Claude with some prompting
The image emphasizes that while it may appear to be simultaneous processing, it is actually very fast serial processing.

From the perspectives of the CPU, LAN, and data processing, each can only handle one unit of work at a time. The CPU can execute one instruction, the network can transmit one packet line, and in data processing, critical sections require mutual exclusion and serialization.

However, due to very fast switching techniques like process/task switching and Ethernet/packet switching, multiple tasks appear to be happening concurrently. But in reality, it is processing single units of work in rapid serial fashion.

So concurrency is achieved through fast serial processing, not parallel processing. Even so, in critical areas, synchronization and serialization are required to maintain data integrity.

In essence, the image highlights that while it looks like simultaneous processing, concurrency is actually implemented through extremely fast serial processing of single work units at a time.

Switching & Routing (Origin)

Posted on by lechuck park

From DALL-E with some prompting
The image delineates the foundational aspects of network switching and routing based on their origins. Switching, historically in LANs, involved the broadcasting of packets, which modern switches now intelligently direct or block based on MAC addresses and VLAN information. Routing originally functioned to determine packet pathways over networks using IP address information. While these were once discrete tasks performed by separate devices, contemporary network technology often integrates both functions within the same hardware, allowing switches to perform some routing tasks and vice versa, reflecting the evolution and convergence of networking equipment.