<s>
A	O
fully	B-Protocol
switched	I-Protocol
network	I-Protocol
is	O
a	O
computer	B-Architecture
network	I-Architecture
which	O
uses	O
only	O
network	B-Protocol
switches	I-Protocol
rather	O
than	O
Ethernet	B-Protocol
hubs	I-Protocol
on	O
Ethernet	O
networks	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Before	O
switches	O
,	O
networks	O
based	O
on	O
hubs	B-Protocol
data	O
could	O
only	O
allow	O
transmission	O
in	O
one	O
direction	O
at	O
a	O
time	O
,	O
this	O
was	O
called	O
half-duplex	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Fully	B-Protocol
switched	I-Protocol
networks	I-Protocol
employ	O
either	O
twisted-pair	O
or	O
fiber-optic	B-Architecture
cabling	I-Architecture
,	O
both	O
of	O
which	O
use	O
separate	O
conductors	O
for	O
sending	O
and	O
receiving	O
data	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
this	O
type	O
of	O
environment	O
,	O
Ethernet	O
nodes	B-Protocol
can	O
forgo	O
the	O
collision	O
detection	O
process	O
and	O
transmit	O
at	O
will	O
,	O
since	O
they	O
are	O
the	O
only	O
potential	O
devices	O
that	O
can	O
access	O
the	O
medium	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
means	O
that	O
a	O
fully	B-Protocol
switched	I-Protocol
network	I-Protocol
is	O
a	O
collision-free	O
environment	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
core	O
purpose	O
of	O
a	O
switch	O
is	O
to	O
decongest	O
network	O
flow	O
to	O
the	O
workstations	O
so	O
that	O
the	O
connections	O
can	O
transmit	O
more	O
effectively	O
;	O
receiving	O
transmissions	O
that	O
were	O
only	O
specific	O
to	O
their	O
network	B-Protocol
address	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
