Which hardware feature enables fast Layer 2 forwarding inside RouterBOARD devices?

Which hardware feature enables fast Layer 2 forwarding inside RouterBOARD devices?

• A. Switch Chip
• B. Master Port
• C. ARP
• D. Routing

Answer: (A)

A switch chip provides hardware-accelerated Layer 2 forwarding by handling the actual frame switching between Ethernet ports in dedicated logic. It learns MAC addresses, builds a forwarding table, and moves frames to the correct port at hardware speed, so the data plane runs independently of the CPU. This offloads the heavy lifting from the processor, allowing RouterBOARD devices to achieve high throughput for local switching. The master port is simply the CPU’s connection to the switch fabric and doesn’t by itself enable fast forwarding. ARP is used for mapping IP to MAC addresses at the network layer, not for speeding up Layer 2 switching. Routing operates at Layer 3, so it’s separate from fast Layer 2 forwarding.

A switch chip provides hardware-accelerated Layer 2 forwarding by handling the actual frame switching between Ethernet ports in dedicated logic. It learns MAC addresses, builds a forwarding table, and moves frames to the correct port at hardware speed, so the data plane runs independently of the CPU. This offloads the heavy lifting from the processor, allowing RouterBOARD devices to achieve high throughput for local switching.

The master port is simply the CPU’s connection to the switch fabric and doesn’t by itself enable fast forwarding. ARP is used for mapping IP to MAC addresses at the network layer, not for speeding up Layer 2 switching. Routing operates at Layer 3, so it’s separate from fast Layer 2 forwarding.