What addressing method is utilized at layer 2 and is associated with switches?

The addressing method utilized at layer 2, which is associated with switches, is MAC addressing. Media Access Control (MAC) addresses are unique identifiers assigned to network interfaces for communications at the data link layer of the OSI model. Each network device, such as a switch or network interface card (NIC), is given a MAC address that is hardcoded into its hardware. This allows switches to make forwarding decisions based on the addresses in the data frames they receive.

Switches use MAC addresses to learn which devices are connected to which ports, allowing them to efficiently direct data packets only to the intended recipient. This process reduces unnecessary traffic on the network and enhances overall communication efficiency. In contrast, the other methods listed are either not associated with layer 2 or relate to different layers of the OSI model, such as IP addressing, which operates at layer 3 (the network layer). Static addressing pertains to fixed assignments of IP addresses, while network addressing is a broader term that does not specifically relate to layer 2 operations.