The task of communication across LANs needs to be broken up into more manageable subtasks, and no single technical approach will satisfy all requirements. Standards are organized in a 3-layer protocol hierarchy. A common link protocol for all the LANs. C. Medium Access Control determines which station on a local area network has access to the transmission medium at any time. I. Medium Access Control Determines which station has access to the transmission medium at any time.
Station ceases transmission if it detects a collision.
14.5 Bridges an internetworking device that connects two similar local area networks that use the same LAN protocols. Performance - enables clustering of devices so that intranetwork traffic significantly exceeds internetwork traffic. Security - different types of traffic can be kept on physically separate media which are connected by bridges. Geography - can be used to connect physically distant devices. 14.6 Layer 2 and Layer 3 Switches Hubs - acts as a repeater.