Which statement best describes the CAM table's function on a switch?

Which statement best describes the CAM table's function on a switch?

• A. It stores routing decisions for IP networks
• B. It lists MAC addresses for monitoring
• C. It maps MAC addresses to switch ports and VLANs
• D. It keeps a log of user authentication

Answer: (C)

A switch uses a CAM table to map MAC addresses to the specific switch ports (and the VLANs they belong to) where those devices can be reached. When a frame arrives, the switch learns the source MAC and the ingress port, storing that mapping in the CAM. Later, to forward a frame, the switch looks up the destination MAC in the CAM to determine the correct egress port; if the destination isn’t known for that VLAN, the frame is flooded within the VLAN. This behavior enables efficient, correct delivery of frames within the right broadcast domain and allows the switch to limit traffic to the appropriate port rather than broadcasting everywhere. The other options describe routing decisions, simple MAC address lists for monitoring, or authentication logs, none of which reflect the CAM table’s role in mapping MACs to ports and VLANs for forwarding decisions.

A switch uses a CAM table to map MAC addresses to the specific switch ports (and the VLANs they belong to) where those devices can be reached. When a frame arrives, the switch learns the source MAC and the ingress port, storing that mapping in the CAM. Later, to forward a frame, the switch looks up the destination MAC in the CAM to determine the correct egress port; if the destination isn’t known for that VLAN, the frame is flooded within the VLAN. This behavior enables efficient, correct delivery of frames within the right broadcast domain and allows the switch to limit traffic to the appropriate port rather than broadcasting everywhere. The other options describe routing decisions, simple MAC address lists for monitoring, or authentication logs, none of which reflect the CAM table’s role in mapping MACs to ports and VLANs for forwarding decisions.