Switching - switch fabric

Network devices such as switches and routers have what is known as a switching fabric. This is the mechanism that controls how data travels across the backplane. It’s like the traffic management system of the switch. The switch fabric makes decisions on how to route the packets of data to their correct destination ports. It’s responsible for ensuring efficient and reliable data transmission within the switch. It includes the “intelligence” or the logical capabilities of a switch, which runs on top of the backplane. So the switch fabric also includes software components that may be present as well.

Compare the switching fabric to the backplane which describes the physical path within the circuit boards found within the device through which packets are sent.

Links

https://forum.networklessons.com/t/cisco-campus-network-design-basics/1162/109?u=lagapides

https://forum.networklessons.com/t/cisco-campus-network-design-basics/1162/111?u=lagapides