What does Cut-Through Switching optimize in Ethernet frames?

Cut-through switching optimizes performance in Ethernet frames by examining only the first 6 bytes, which are the MAC destination and source addresses in the Ethernet frame header. This process allows the switch to begin forwarding the frame as soon as it has determined the destination address, reducing the latency that would occur if the switch waited for the entire frame to be received.

This method contrasts with store-and-forward switching, where the entire frame is received and checked for errors before any forwarding takes place. The efficiency of cut-through switching makes it particularly beneficial in high-speed network environments where minimizing delay is crucial, thus improving overall network performance.

Other options, such as processing the entire frame to optimize latency, checking for errors for data integrity, or compressing frames to manage bandwidth usage, do not apply to cut-through switching because they describe behaviors associated with different switching methods or technologies that emphasize handling of the data differently.