Bridging and switching on MikroTik RouterOS operate at which OSI layer?

• A. Layer 1
• B. Layer 2
• C. Layer 3
• D. Layer 4

Answer: (B)

Bridging and switching are Layer 2 functions because they decide how to forward data by looking at MAC addresses in the Ethernet frame, not IP addresses. At the data link layer, devices like switches build a MAC address table by learning the source MAC on each port, then forward frames only to the port that leads toward the destination MAC. This keeps traffic within the same local network segment and creates separate collision domains per port, enabling efficient frame-by-frame forwarding. A bridge or switch operates independently of IP routing, which happens at Layer 3 using IP addresses to move packets between networks. In MikroTik RouterOS, bridging joins interfaces into a single Layer 2 domain, while switching handles frame forwarding at that same layer, often with support for VLAN tagging to segment traffic without moving to Layer 3.