Adaptive switching

{{Short description|Automatic selection between cut-through and store-and-forward modes}}

An adaptive switch is a network switch designed to normally operate in cut-through mode but if a port's error rate jumps too high, the switch automatically reconfigures the port to run in store-and-forward mode.{{cite book|last1=Dong|first1=Jielin|title=Network Dictionary|publisher=Javvin Technologies Inc.|isbn=9781602670006|page=23|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=On_Hh23IXDUC&dq=adaptive+switching+network&pg=PA23|accessdate=25 June 2016|language=en|year=2007}}{{cite web|title=Cray makes its ethernet switches responsive to net conditions|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6xcEAAAAMBAJ&dq=adaptive+switching+network&pg=PA8|publisher=IDG Network World Inc|accessdate=25 June 2016|language=en|date=1 July 1996}} This optimizes the switch's performance by providing higher speed cut-through switching if error rates are low but higher throughput store-and-forward switching when error rates are high.

Adaptive switching is typically done on a port-by-port basis.