[Isabelle Tubbs]

Using switching and routing (depending on an organization’s needs) are both important actions to take within a network, but the two concepts do have some differences. The main difference between the two is related to what layer they are on because that indicates what each process focuses on. Switching occurs on the data link layer. With switching, packets of data are sent between a network’s devices by referencing a MAC address table (Snabay Networking, 2024). Routing, on the other hand, does establish an efficient path for data packets, but it can apply to not just one network but also moving it across other networks (Snabay Networking, 2024). A routing table is a large part of the information that routing uses to do this. As a result, even though switching and routing both involve the movement of data packets, the information they reference and the layer they operate on are different.

References
Snabay Networking. 2024. What is Routing and Switching? Difference Between Routing and Switching. https://snabaynetworking.com/what-is-routing-and-switching-difference-between-routing-and-switching/