Definition
A switch is
“ | a network device[] that select[s] a path or circuit for sending data to its next destination over the telephone network.[1] | ” |
“ | [a] computer networking device that links network segments or network devices.[2] | ” |
Overview
"Switches may also include functions of the router, a device also used in computer networks, that determines the route and adjacent network point for data to be sent."[3]
There are two major categories of switches: local and tandem. A third category of switch is called a remote switch.