Components of a Switch

Much like how a human body is composed of various systems that work together, a
network switch contains an assortment of components that work in tandem to
enable the switch to function as it should. Some of these components are similar to
what you may find inside your own computer, while others have a specialized role
in switches.
Central Processing Unit
The switch's CPU, short for central processing unit, is responsible for handling all of
the basic instructions on the device. The CPU is akin to how your brain is
responsible for sending signals throughout your body to do things like walking,
taking a deep breath, blinking, eating and so on. In essence, the CPU is the brain of
the switch.
Replication Engine
The replication engine found in a switch is tasked with duplicating packets of data
and sending them to their designated destinations. In modern organizations, it is
becoming increasingly common for a single data packet to be sent to multiple
destinations in a network. This is the case when you send documents or business
reports to multiple people in your organization, for example. This keeps data
flowing efficiently and quickly through the network by sending the duplicated data
packets at once instead of sending the single, original data packet to one
destination before sending it to the next.
Forwarding Engine
The switch's forwarding engine is the component that is responsible for making all
of the switching and routing decisions on the device. In order to accomplish this,
the forwarding engine contains lookup tables which it uses to send data packets to
their appropriate destination. Each packet of data contains information such as the
destination and source addresses of the packet. The forwarding engine reads the
destination address on the data packet and then sends it there accordingly.
Switch Fabric
The concept of switch fabric can be rather complicated as it involves some complex
topics. Essentially, the switch fabric is comprised of hardware and software that
work in tandem to ensure that data coming into the network gets sent out via the
appropriate port. This hardware and software include the switching units contained
in a network node and the software required to control the switching paths. The
term switch fabric is used as a metaphor to describe the interwoven relationship
between ports and the switching paths.
Controllers and Buffers
Controllers and buffers are components in a switch that help the switch fabric
operate. The controller is similar to a CPU, but its main focus is controlling tasks
such as clocking. Additionally, buffers are used to prevent data packets from
clogging up the network path. If the controller detects that a network path will be
overloaded with data packets, it will allow the first packet to go through and place
the rest in the buffer. From there, the controller will move packets from the buffer
to their appropriate network path.