Which address does a switch primarily rely on to direct data traffic?

A switch primarily relies on the MAC address to direct data traffic. MAC, which stands for Media Access Control, is a hardware address that uniquely identifies each device on a local network. When a switch receives a data frame, it reads the destination MAC address and uses its MAC address table to determine which port to send the frame to. This process allows the switch to efficiently route traffic only to the intended recipient, minimizing collisions and optimizing network performance.

Other address types, such as IP addresses and hostnames, are used at higher layers of the OSI model. While IP addresses are crucial for routing packets across different networks and the internet, they are not used by a switch in the same way MAC addresses are within a local network context. Hostnames, being human-readable names, require resolution into an IP address before any handing off to a switch. The term "Internet address" is somewhat ambiguous and not commonly utilized in context with switch operations. Thus, the use of MAC addresses is the most accurate reflection of how switches operate in data routing tasks.