Which characteristic describes the latency of fast-forward switching compared to other methods?

Which characteristic describes the latency of fast-forward switching compared to other methods?

• A. It has moderate latency
• B. It has the lowest latency
• C. It has the highest latency
• D. It has no latency

Answer: (B)

Latency in switching is the delay from when a frame arrives on a switch port to when it starts leaving toward the destination. Fast-forward switching minimizes this delay by forwarding the frame as soon as the destination MAC address is read and the output port is known, without waiting for the full frame to be received or performing extra checks. This early forwarding reduces the time the frame spends inside the switch, giving it the lowest latency among common switching methods. In contrast, other methods that wait for the entire frame or perform additional processing introduce more delay. So the characteristic described is that it has the lowest latency.

Latency in switching is the delay from when a frame arrives on a switch port to when it starts leaving toward the destination. Fast-forward switching minimizes this delay by forwarding the frame as soon as the destination MAC address is read and the output port is known, without waiting for the full frame to be received or performing extra checks. This early forwarding reduces the time the frame spends inside the switch, giving it the lowest latency among common switching methods. In contrast, other methods that wait for the entire frame or perform additional processing introduce more delay. So the characteristic described is that it has the lowest latency.