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Most advanced switches have management features built in to them, which means that you can monitor and configure the switch remotely, usually by logging in to a web console. To accomplish this, the switch has a small web server built into it to provide the management console. In addition, the switch itself must have an IP address.

In contrast, inexpensive consumer-grade switches that you would purchase at a retail store are usually unmanaged switches. Unmanaged switches are often appropriate for small networks, but if you have more than a few dozen computers on your network, I suggest you invest in managed switches to give you more control over your network.

With a managed switch, you can monitor traffic over the switch, which can be useful when troubleshooting network issues. In addition, you can often configure certain functions for each port of the switch. Among the most important features you can configure are VLANs, which allow you to actually create separate layer-2 networks on a single switch. I cover VLANs in greater detail later in this chapter, in the “Understanding VLANs” section.