Aged MAC Address Types

A

The correct answer is A. dynamic.

A MAC address is a unique identifier assigned to each network interface controller (NIC) for use as a network address in communications within a network segment.

A switch is a networking device that forwards data packets between devices within a network. One of the functions of a switch is to maintain a table of MAC addresses, called the MAC address table, which maps MAC addresses to the corresponding switch port.

There are two types of MAC addresses that can be stored in the MAC address table: static and dynamic.

A static MAC address is manually configured by an administrator and does not change unless it is manually updated or deleted. A static MAC address is typically used for devices that do not move, such as servers or printers.

A dynamic MAC address is automatically learned by the switch as devices communicate with each other on the network. When a switch receives a data packet from a device, it examines the source MAC address of the packet and adds it to the MAC address table, associating it with the port on which the packet was received. If the switch receives another packet from the same device with a different source MAC address, it updates the entry in the MAC address table with the new MAC address.

The aging time of a dynamic MAC address is determined by the switch and is typically set to 5 minutes by default. After the aging time expires, the switch removes the dynamic MAC address from the MAC address table, freeing up space for new entries.

In conclusion, dynamic MAC addresses are aged automatically by the switch and are removed from the MAC address table after a period of inactivity. This is different from static MAC addresses, which are manually configured and do not change unless they are manually updated or deleted.