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Switching Loop
Switching loops are caused when ethernet cables get plugged in willy-nilly-wack-a-mole. That's technical speak for randomly.
Example of Switch Loop and Fix
In this video, a witch loop is created because the top switch is connected to the router as well asffmpeg -i SwitchLoop1.mp4 Switchloop3.mp4 the switch below. Removing either redundant ethernet cable and connection will solve the issue. At the beginning of the video, notice how often and consistent the switch lights are. The redundant cable is unplugged and the network traffic returns to normal.
A proper network design can be simple or complex, the trick is that it is hierarchical.
and not more than one path. Yes, there are exceptions using special equipment and configuration, but if you are reading this page, you will probably not be using multi-path link aggregation or OSPF routers. You would already know about switch loops.