Are all devices connected to an Ethernet switch in the same collision domain?

In an Ethernet network, switches operate differently than older networking devices like hubs. When multiple devices are connected to an Ethernet switch, each device is in its own collision domain. This is because switches use a process called MAC address learning to direct traffic only to the specific device that is intended to receive the data.

As a result, when a device sends a signal on its dedicated connection to the switch, that signal does not interfere with signals from other devices communicating with the switch. In contrast, in a hub-based network, all devices share the same collision domain, which can lead to packet collisions when multiple devices attempt to communicate simultaneously.

Therefore, since a switch isolates the collision domains for each of its ports, devices connected to the switch do not generate collisions with each other, leading to more efficient network traffic management.