{ "model": { "rank": 6489, "code": "thing-q4503", "model_id": "vr.tr.network-switch", "name": "network switch", "purpose": "Enable an AI agent to recognise a physical network switch, assess its forwarding and operational state, and determine which connection or configuration changes are appropriate.", "family": "Thing Registry", "category": "Physical world and living systems", "status": "research-draft", "kind": "thing", "plane": "PHY", "domain": "PHY.OBJ", "industry": "", "version": "", "url": "/models/thing/q4503/", "tier": 2, "score": 60, "payload": { "layer": "wikidata", "aliases": [ "layer 2 switch", "Frame Relay Switch", "layer 3 switch", "Cisco Catalyst", "LAN switching", "multilayer switch", "Modular computer network switch", "load-balanced switch", "network switching subsystem", "Cisco Catalyst 1900", "Visitor Location Register" ], "aliasCount": 11, "merged": 11, "knownIn": 60, "facets": null, "markers": [], "lexicalClass": "", "senseRank": null, "alsoRegisteredAs": null, "source": { "dataset": "wikidata", "item": "Q4503", "url": "https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4503", "license": "CC0 1.0" } }, "research": { "vercy": "1.0-draft", "publication": { "status": "research-draft", "adjudicationStatus": "unreviewed", "publishableCanonical": false, "generatedAt": "2026-09-07T14:54:15Z", "providers": [ "Codex", "Grok" ], "missingProviders": [], "pass": 2, "cost": { "grok": { "usd": 0.00896478, "turns": 1, "seconds": 141.6, "error": null }, "codex": { "seconds": 76.7, "error": "Reading additional input from stdin...\nOpenAI Codex v0.153.3\n--------\nworkdir: R:\\02_PROJECTS\\02_Meta_Models_Platforms\\Ver.cy\\current\\thing-registry-backlog\nmodel: gpt-6-astra\nprovider: openai\napproval: never\nsandbox: read-only\nreasoning effort: none\nreasoning summaries: none\nsession id: 01a07c58-3f49-7aa2-8eed-8e25eefd0a08\n--------\nuser\nYou are drafting a Vercy meta-model for one registered thing. Answer as JSON only, no prose around it.\n\nThing: network switch\nRegistry id: vr.tr.network-switch\nPlane / domain: PHY / PHY.OBJ\nRegistry definition: (none recorded)\nNames folded into this entry: (no" } } }, "metaModel": { "id": "THING-Q4503", "registryId": "vr.tr.network-switch", "name": "network switch", "version": "0.1.0-research.1", "entryKind": "thing", "family": "Thing Registry", "domain": [ "PHY.OBJ" ], "status": "research-draft" }, "canonicalUrl": "https://ver.cy/models/thing/q4503/", "model": { "registry_id": "vr.tr.network-switch", "name": "network switch", "purpose": "Enable an AI agent to recognise a physical network switch, assess its forwarding and operational state, and determine which connection or configuration changes are appropriate.", "definition": "A network switch is a multiport IEEE 802 bridging appliance that learns source MAC addresses into a forwarding database and selectively forwards Ethernet frames toward the destination port or ports, giving each port its own collision domain and, with VLANs or Layer-3 features, also partitioning broadcast domains or routing between IP subnets.", "scope_statement": "This model owns the identity, physical interfaces, supported switching functions, observed forwarding state, management controls and operational constraints of one physical network switch, including its participation in a stack or fabric.", "in_scope": [ "Chassis identity, installed modules, software version and role in a stack or fabric", "Physical ports, transceivers, link capabilities and attached endpoints", "Local forwarding, VLAN membership, loop prevention and supported routing functions", "Management access, configuration state and controls governing changes", "Power, cooling, traffic health and maintenance readiness" ], "out_of_scope": [ "Network-wide topology design, addressing plans and segmentation policy", "Internal state and configuration of attached computers, servers or access points", "Cable installation, pathways and certification beyond their interface with switch ports", "Dedicated router, firewall or wireless-controller functions outside this device", "Upstream electrical distribution and room-level cooling infrastructure" ], "distinguishing_features": [ "Distinguish it from a hub by establishing whether it selectively forwards frames using learned or configured forwarding information rather than repeating traffic indiscriminately.", "Distinguish it from a router-only device by establishing whether it provides switching between ports within a link-layer network; routing support does not by itself exclude a switch.", "Distinguish it from a passive patch panel by verifying powered packet-processing interfaces and active forwarding capability.", "Distinguish this PHY entry from a virtual switch by identifying a physical chassis or module that provides the switching function.", "Distinguish one physical switch from a stack or fabric by identifying its hardware boundary even when several devices share a management identity." ], "characteristics": [ { "name": "Switching technology", "kind": "category", "unit_or_values": "Ethernet, Fibre Channel, other documented technology, unknown", "why_it_matters": "Determines which interface, forwarding and interoperability questions apply." }, { "name": "Hardware and software identity", "kind": "category", "unit_or_values": "Manufacturer, model, hardware revision and firmware or operating-system version", "why_it_matters": "Connects observed behaviour and supported actions to the correct device documentation." }, { "name": "Physical assembly membership", "kind": "relation", "unit_or_values": "Standalone chassis, member of named stack or fabric, module in named chassis", "why_it_matters": "Identifies whether an action can affect more than the individual physical unit." }, { "name": "Port capabilities", "kind": "category", "unit_or_values": "Per-port media, connector, supported rates, breakout modes and transceiver restrictions", "why_it_matters": "Determines which connections can be made and which component combinations are supported." }, { "name": "Negotiated link rate", "kind": "measurement", "unit_or_values": "bit/s per active interface", "why_it_matters": "Reveals actual link capacity and mismatches with expected operation." }, { "name": "Interface operational state", "kind": "state", "unit_or_values": "Administrative state, link state and forwarding eligibility, recorded separately", "why_it_matters": "Separates intentional shutdown, physical failure and protocol-imposed blocking." }, { "name": "Segmentation and forwarding membership", "kind": "relation", "unit_or_values": "Port-to-VLAN, bridge-domain, aggregation-group or technology-specific membership", "why_it_matters": "Shows where traffic may travel and what a port change could expose or interrupt." }, { "name": "Traffic and error observations", "kind": "measurement", "unit_or_values": "bit/s, packets/s, errors, discards and counter deltas over a stated interval", "why_it_matters": "Supports diagnosis of congestion, faulty links and unexpected traffic." }, { "name": "Power delivery budget", "kind": "measurement", "unit_or_values": "W available, allocated and delivered, where Power over Ethernet is supported", "why_it_matters": "Determines whether attached powered devices can be added or maintained." }, { "name": "Configuration persistence", "kind": "state", "unit_or_values": "Active and startup configurations aligned, divergent, unavailable or unknown", "why_it_matters": "Indicates whether a restart may change forwarding or management behaviour." } ], "affordances": [ "Inspect device identity, interface state, forwarding information and health through available authorised interfaces.", "Connect, disconnect or replace compatible cables and transceivers after checking affected services.", "Configure supported port, VLAN, aggregation and loop-prevention settings within the agent's authority.", "Enable, disable or cycle supported port power after identifying the attached device and interruption consequences.", "Capture diagnostics or configure traffic mirroring when supported and authorised.", "Back up configuration, update software, restart or replace the switch with a verified recovery path." ] }, "sources": [ { "id": "ieee-8021q", "title": "IEEE Std 802.1Q: IEEE Standard for Local and Metropolitan Area Networks - Bridges and Bridged Networks", "url": "https://standards.ieee.org/standard/802_1Q-2022.html", "what_it_supports": "Normative model of a VLAN-aware bridge: forwarding database, VLANs, spanning tree, and the behaviour that distinguishes a switch from a hub or router.", "url_status": "live" }, { "id": "ieee-8023", "title": "IEEE Std 802.3: IEEE Standard for Ethernet", "url": "", "what_it_supports": "Physical and MAC-layer port types, speeds, and Power over Ethernet (802.3af/at/bt) that real switch products implement." }, { "id": "rfc-4541", "title": "RFC 4541: Considerations for Internet Group Management Protocol (IGMP) and Multicast Listener Discovery (MLD) Snooping Switches", "url": "https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc4541", "what_it_supports": "How production switches constrain multicast flooding; issued by the IETF.", "url_status": "live" }, { "id": "wikidata-q174889", "title": "network switch (Q174889)", "url": "https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q174889", "what_it_supports": "Stable public identifier and sitelinks for the Ethernet/LAN switching appliance sense.", "url_status": "live" } ], "structure": { "bundles": [ { "id": "switch-identity-and-boundary", "name": "Switch identity and boundary", "description": "Establish what physical switching device is represented and which capabilities belong to it.", "rationale": "A shared management address or product label can conceal multiple physical members and different forwarding capabilities.", "layers": [ { "id": "physical-switch-boundary", "name": "Physical switch boundary", "description": "Separate the physical unit from its modules and any larger switching assembly.", "findings": [ { "id": "chassis-and-membership", "name": "Chassis and membership", "description": "Record physical identifiers and evidence of standalone, modular, stack or fabric membership.", "questions": [ { "text": "Which chassis or module is this registry instance, and which serial number or asset identifier distinguishes it?", "kind": "definition", "id": "chassis-and-membership-q01" }, { "text": "Does its management identity represent this unit alone or a larger stack or fabric?", "kind": "boundary", "id": "chassis-and-membership-q02" } ] } ] }, { "id": "supported-switching-functions", "name": "Supported switching functions", "description": "Establish the switching technology and functions available on the installed hardware and software.", "findings": [ { "id": "capability-evidence", "name": "Capability evidence", "description": "Distinguish documented capability, enabled functionality and unverified assumptions.", "questions": [ { "text": "Which switching technology and optional routing or power-delivery functions does this exact device support?", "kind": "definition", "id": "capability-evidence-q01" }, { "text": "Which inspected device output or documentation establishes those capabilities for the installed modules, software and licences?", "kind": "provenance", "id": "capability-evidence-q02" } ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "ports-and-attached-links", "name": "Ports and attached links", "description": "Describe usable physical interfaces and the connections currently carried by them.", "rationale": "Connection decisions depend on port-specific compatibility, negotiated operation and the identity of the attached neighbour.", "layers": [ { "id": "port-compatibility", "name": "Port compatibility", "description": "Identify interface media, supported operating modes and installed pluggable components.", "findings": [ { "id": "interface-and-transceiver-fit", "name": "Interface and transceiver fit", "description": "Record which cable, transceiver and speed combinations are supported at each port.", "questions": [ { "text": "What connector, media, supported rates and breakout configuration apply to each physical port?", "kind": "definition", "id": "interface-and-transceiver-fit-q01" }, { "text": "What evidence confirms that each installed transceiver and cable combination is supported?", "kind": "provenance", "id": "interface-and-transceiver-fit-q02" } ] } ] }, { "id": "live-link-relationships", "name": "Live link relationships", "description": "Connect port observations to neighbour identity and actual link operation.", "findings": [ { "id": "neighbour-and-link-state", "name": "Neighbour and link state", "description": "Record attached endpoints, negotiated link properties and uncertainty in neighbour discovery.", "questions": [ { "text": "Which device and remote interface are attached to each port, and how was that relationship verified?", "kind": "provenance", "id": "neighbour-and-link-state-q01" }, { "text": "What are the current administrative state, link state, negotiated rate and applicable duplex or negotiation settings?", "kind": "measurement", "id": "neighbour-and-link-state-q02" } ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "forwarding-and-traffic-separation", "name": "Forwarding and traffic separation", "description": "Describe the local rules and protocol states that determine where traffic can pass.", "rationale": "A live physical link does not establish forwarding permission, isolation or freedom from loops.", "layers": [ { "id": "forwarding-domains", "name": "Forwarding domains", "description": "Identify port membership and local forwarding boundaries using the applicable switching technology.", "findings": [ { "id": "segment-membership-and-reachability", "name": "Segment membership and reachability", "description": "Record VLANs or equivalent domains, forwarding entries and any local crossing of segmentation boundaries.", "questions": [ { "text": "For Ethernet operation, which VLANs are tagged or untagged on each port, and what happens to untagged ingress traffic?", "kind": "definition", "id": "segment-membership-and-reachability-q01" }, { "text": "Which forwarding entries, local routing functions or filtering rules determine whether traffic can reach another port or segment?", "kind": "boundary", "id": "segment-membership-and-reachability-q02" } ] } ] }, { "id": "loop-prevention-and-aggregation", "name": "Loop prevention and aggregation", "description": "Describe mechanisms that coordinate redundant paths and grouped interfaces.", "findings": [ { "id": "redundant-path-state", "name": "Redundant path state", "description": "Record applicable loop-control roles, blocked paths and aggregation membership before changing connectivity.", "questions": [ { "text": "Which loop-prevention or fabric mechanism applies, and which ports are forwarding, blocked or otherwise excluded by it?", "kind": "measurement", "id": "redundant-path-state-q01" }, { "text": "Before adding or removing a link, what aggregation membership and peer-side configuration must be checked to avoid a loop or loss of connectivity?", "kind": "action", "id": "redundant-path-state-q02" } ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "switch-health-and-change-control", "name": "Switch health and change control", "description": "Relate operating health and management access to the consequences and recoverability of a change.", "rationale": "A switch can continue passing some traffic while suffering faults, and an incorrect change can remove the access needed to recover it.", "layers": [ { "id": "forwarding-and-power-health", "name": "Forwarding and power health", "description": "Assess traffic impairment, chassis health and power availability using time-bounded observations.", "findings": [ { "id": "service-affecting-health", "name": "Service-affecting health", "description": "Record traffic errors and resource alarms with enough context to judge their effect.", "questions": [ { "text": "Over what observation interval are interface errors, discards, utilisation and relevant queue or forwarding-resource limits measured?", "kind": "measurement", "id": "service-affecting-health-q01" }, { "text": "What power-supply, fan, temperature or supported PoE-budget readings indicate an active constraint or fault?", "kind": "measurement", "id": "service-affecting-health-q02" } ] } ] }, { "id": "management-and-recovery", "name": "Management and recovery", "description": "Establish who may change the switch and how management and forwarding can be restored.", "findings": [ { "id": "authorised-recoverable-change", "name": "Authorised recoverable change", "description": "Record management paths, configuration persistence, affected dependencies and recovery prerequisites.", "questions": [ { "text": "Which authorised management path and access role permit the proposed change, and could that change interrupt the same path?", "kind": "action", "id": "authorised-recoverable-change-q01" }, { "text": "Before applying or restarting, which affected links, configuration backup, startup-state check and rollback or console recovery steps are required?", "kind": "action", "id": "authorised-recoverable-change-q02" } ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "evidence-and-external-alignment", "name": "Evidence and external alignment", "description": "What the world already says about this thing, gathered so the model can be checked against it.", "rationale": "A model that cannot be lined up against existing standards, identifiers and practice cannot be adopted by anyone who already uses them.", "layers": [ { "id": "reported-evidence", "name": "Reported evidence", "description": "Findings from the breadth pass, kept separate from the structural claims.", "findings": [ { "id": "evidence-kinds", "name": "Kinds and varieties", "description": "Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.", "evidence": [ "Unmanaged Ethernet switch (fixed, no operator configuration)", "Smart or lightly managed switch (web GUI, basic VLANs and QoS)", "Fully managed Layer-2 switch (CLI/SNMP, spanning tree, 802.1X, monitoring)", "Layer-3 / multilayer switch (ASIC IP routing, typically OSPF or BGP)", "PoE / PoE+ / PoE++ access switch (powers phones, cameras, access points)", "Data-center switch (top-of-rack or leaf/spine, 25-400 GbE, often VXLAN/EVPN)", "Industrial or hardened DIN-rail switch (extended temperature, often ring redundancy)", "Modular chassis campus or core switch (supervisor, line cards, redundant fabric)" ], "questions": [ { "id": "evidence-kinds-q01", "text": "Which of these kinds and varieties hold for the sense of network switch this model covers, and on what evidence?", "kind": "provenance" } ] }, { "id": "evidence-identifiers", "name": "Identifiers and schemes", "description": "Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.", "evidence": [ { "scheme": "Wikidata", "value_or_pattern": "Q174889", "note": "Item for the Ethernet/LAN network switch, not a wall switch or railway points." }, { "scheme": "UNSPSC", "value_or_pattern": "43222612", "note": "Commodity code used in procurement catalogues for network switches." }, { "scheme": "HS / Harmonized System", "value_or_pattern": "8517.62", "note": "Covers machines for reception, conversion and transmission of data, including switching apparatus; shared with routers and similar gear." }, { "scheme": "Vendor SKU", "value_or_pattern": "vendor-specific (e.g. Cisco Catalyst C9300-48P, Juniper EX4300-48P, Aruba 6300M)", "note": "The identifier actually used to order, inventory, and replace a unit." } ], "questions": [ { "id": "evidence-identifiers-q01", "text": "Which of these identifiers and schemes hold for the sense of network switch this model covers, and on what evidence?", "kind": "provenance" } ] }, { "id": "evidence-standards-and-regulation", "name": "Standards and regulation", "description": "Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.", "evidence": [ "IEEE 802.1Q - IEEE (bridging, VLANs, spanning tree as now published in 802.1Q)", "IEEE 802.3 including 802.3af/at/bt - IEEE (Ethernet PHYs and Power over Ethernet)", "IEEE 802.1AX - IEEE (link aggregation); IEEE 802.1X - IEEE (port-based access control); IEEE 802.1AB - IEEE (LLDP); IEEE 802.1AE - IEEE (MACsec)", "RFC 4541 - IETF (IGMP/MLD snooping on switches)", "IEC 62368-1 - IEC (safety of AV/ICT equipment); UL/cUL listing in North America", "CISPR 32 / FCC Part 15 - CISPR / FCC (emissions for ITE)", "ISO/IEC 11801 and TIA-568 - ISO/IEC and TIA (structured cabling the switch terminates)", "EU CE marking, WEEE, and Ecodesign/network-standby rules; ENERGY STAR Small Network Equipment - U.S. EPA (for some small switches)" ], "questions": [ { "id": "evidence-standards-and-regulation-q01", "text": "Which of these standards and regulation hold for the sense of network switch this model covers, and on what evidence?", "kind": "provenance" } ] }, { "id": "evidence-real-world-use", "name": "Real-world use", "description": "Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.", "evidence": [ "Office wiring closet or IDF: 24- or 48-port 1G/mGig access switches with PoE feeding PCs, IP phones, cameras, and Wi-Fi access points.", "Home and small office: 5-16 port desktop gigabit switches used to expand a single router LAN port.", "Data centre: top-of-rack or leaf/spine fabrics connecting servers at 25/100/400 GbE, often with EVPN-VXLAN overlay.", "Campus aggregation/core: chassis or high-density fibre switches collapsing many access closets.", "Factory and process plants: DIN-rail industrial Ethernet switches on PROFINET or EtherNet/IP rings.", "Broadcast and AV-over-IP: managed switches carrying Dante, NDI, or SMPTE ST 2110 with PTP timing." ], "questions": [ { "id": "evidence-real-world-use-q01", "text": "Which of these real-world use hold for the sense of network switch this model covers, and on what evidence?", "kind": "provenance" } ] }, { "id": "evidence-measurements", "name": "Typical measurements", "description": "Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.", "evidence": [ { "quantity": "Fixed port count", "typical_range": "5-48 (chassis systems much higher)", "unit": "ports" }, { "quantity": "Port line rate", "typical_range": "1-10 (access); 25-400 (data centre); historical 0.01-0.1 still seen", "unit": "Gbit/s" }, { "quantity": "Aggregate switching capacity", "typical_range": "10-200 (small/access); 1 000-100 000+ (data-centre/chassis)", "unit": "Gbit/s" }, { "quantity": "Store-and-forward or cut-through latency", "typical_range": "0.3-50", "unit": "µs" }, { "quantity": "MAC forwarding-table size", "typical_range": "8 000-512 000", "unit": "entries" }, { "quantity": "System power draw (excluding large PoE loads)", "typical_range": "3-50 (desktop/unmanaged); 100-2 000+ (stack/chassis)", "unit": "W" }, { "quantity": "PoE power budget", "typical_range": "0-2 000", "unit": "W" }, { "quantity": "Operating ambient temperature", "typical_range": "0-40 (commercial); −40-75 (industrial)", "unit": "°C" } ], "questions": [ { "id": "evidence-measurements-q01", "text": "Which of these typical measurements hold for the sense of network switch this model covers, and on what evidence?", "kind": "provenance" } ] }, { "id": "evidence-failure-modes-and-hazards", "name": "Failure modes and hazards", "description": "Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.", "evidence": [ "Layer-2 loop with spanning tree off or broken: broadcast storm that saturates every port.", "CAM/MAC-table overflow (including intentional MAC flooding) forcing unknown-unicast flood.", "STP/RSTP reconvergence, bad root-bridge priority, or BPDU-filter mistakes causing a multi-second or persistent outage.", "Speed/duplex mismatch and CRC/alignment errors on copper links.", "PoE overdraw, PSE/PD negotiation failure, or cable heating on high-power ports.", "TCAM, ACL, or route-scale exhaustion: packets dropped or punted to a saturated control-plane CPU.", "Fan, PSU, or pluggable-optics failure; stacking split-brain after a stack-cable or member crash.", "Open access ports without 802.1X as an insertion point; firmware bugs enabling control-plane DoS." ], "questions": [ { "id": "evidence-failure-modes-and-hazards-q01", "text": "Which of these failure modes and hazards hold for the sense of network switch this model covers, and on what evidence?", "kind": "provenance" } ] }, { "id": "evidence-regional-variation", "name": "Regional variation", "description": "Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.", "evidence": [ "Retail language: many markets still call any LAN box a 'hub' or 'router'; Japanese and Korean procurement commonly writes L2スイッチ / L3スイッチ.", "Mains and marks: North America 120 V with UL/cUL; EU 230 V with CE, WEEE, and Ecodesign; China CCC and a large domestic vendor set (Huawei, H3C, Ruijie).", "Access speeds: Wi-Fi 6/6E roll-outs pushed 2.5G/5G mGig access switches earlier in some East Asian and enterprise-US campuses than in SMB Europe.", "Telecom usage of 'switch' still often means a PSTN/PBX circuit switch rather than an Ethernet bridge, especially in older operator inventories." ], "questions": [ { "id": "evidence-regional-variation-q01", "text": "Which of these regional variation hold for the sense of network switch this model covers, and on what evidence?", "kind": "provenance" } ] }, { "id": "evidence-neighbours", "name": "Neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart", "description": "Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.", "evidence": [ { "name": "Ethernet hub / repeater", "difference": "A hub shares one collision domain and floods every frame to every port; a switch learns MACs and forwards per port (IEEE 802.1 bridge vs 802.3 repeater)." }, { "name": "Router", "difference": "A router forwards on IP (or other L3) between networks and does not bridge a single LAN by MAC; a pure L2 switch does not route. A Layer-3 switch does both, but the test is whether the box is bridging a VLAN or routing between subnets." }, { "name": "Transparent bridge", "difference": "Same 802.1 forwarding model; in practice a 'bridge' is two-port or software, a 'switch' is a multiport hardware appliance. Functionally a switch is a multiport bridge." }, { "name": "Firewall / UTM", "difference": "A firewall inspects and filters by policy/state; a switch forwards on MAC/VLAN (and maybe IP) without session policy unless ACLs or a firewall blade are added." }, { "name": "Software / virtual switch (e.g. Open vSwitch)", "difference": "Same bridging abstraction, but it is a host or hypervisor function, not a standalone PHY.OBJ appliance." }, { "name": "Telephone / circuit switch (PBX or PSTN exchange)", "difference": "Sets up a reserved circuit between endpoints; a network switch forwards packets/frames statistically. Shared English name only." }, { "name": "Electrical wall switch or railway points ('switch')", "difference": "Electromechanical make/break or track-changing devices; they do not learn MAC addresses or forward Ethernet frames." }, { "name": "Media converter", "difference": "A media converter is a two-sided PHY (e.g. copper-to-fibre) with no MAC learning table; a switch has a forwarding database and three or more ports in normal use." } ], "questions": [ { "id": "evidence-neighbours-q01", "text": "Which of these neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart hold for the sense of network switch this model covers, and on what evidence?", "kind": "provenance" } ] } ] } ] } ] }, "openQuestions": [ "Does the registry intend network switch to cover Ethernet only, or also Fibre Channel and other physical switching technologies?", "Should a modular switching card be an instance of this entry or a separately registered component linked to a chassis?", "Which existing Vercy models own stacks, fabrics and embedded routing functions, and where should this model link to them?", "Which device-specific sources establish supported transceivers, operational limits, available diagnostics and recovery procedures?", "What evidence freshness and service-impact criteria are required before an agent may classify a switch as healthy or ready for change?" ], "statistics": { "bundles": 5, "layers": 9, "findings": 16, "questions": 24 } }, "draft": { "generator": "vr.draft.v3", "status": "draft-generated", "researched": false, "archetype": "device, machine or tool", "method": "Written from the archetype playbook - what this kind of thing needs beyond identity and provenance - and from the structure that recurred across 6,333 models already researched by two engines. Applied to this entry by rule. No source was read for this thing and no claim here is researched. This entry carries no facets of its own, so they were inferred from its domain - a guess about a whole domain applied to one thing.", "facetsInferred": true, "nextPass": "A researcher replaces this draft with a sourced specification. Treat every sentence below as a proposal to argue with.", "purpose": "Give an agent a durable, checkable way to recognise a network switch, record what state it is in, and decide what may be done with it.", "whatItIs": "Enable an AI agent to recognise a physical network switch, assess its forwarding and operational state, and determine which connection or configuration changes are appropriate.", "characteristics": { "substance": "material", "origin": "manufactured", "agency": "inert", "mobility": "varies" }, "whatYouCanDoWithIt": [ "observed and measured" ], "distinguishingFeatures": [ "Names folded into this entry, which a task may need to split apart again: layer 2 switch, Frame Relay Switch, layer 3 switch, Cisco Catalyst, LAN switching, multilayer switch, Modular computer network switch, load-balanced switch, network switching subsystem, Cisco Catalyst 1900, Visitor Location Register.", "11 finer distinctions are held as aliases rather than separate entries, because telling them apart needs a task that asks for it.", "Described in 60 Wikipedia languages, which is a measure of how widely the thing is known, not of how important it is." ], "openQuestionsForResearch": [ "Which of the bundles below does a real task actually need, and which are ceremony?", "What does this thing have that the facets do not capture at all?", "Which neighbouring kind is most often confused with a network switch, and on what evidence are they told apart?" ], "whatItIsMadeOf": "matter you can touch", "physicalCharacter": [ "Mobility varies between examples.", "Does nothing on its own; everything it does, something else did to it.", "These come from the domain this entry sits in rather than from the entry itself, so treat them as a first guess about the whole domain applied to one thing." ], "whatCanBeDoneWithIt": [ "observe it, measure it, record its state" ], "howItIsRecognised": [ "Recognised by form, by the arrangement of its controls, and by markings - a plate, a model number, a certification mark. Form alone rarely separates two models that do very different things." ], "relatedModels": [ { "relation": "covers", "note": "Finer kinds folded into this entry because telling them apart needs a task that asks for it. Each is a model waiting to be split out when one does.", "targets": [ "layer 2 switch", "Frame Relay Switch", "layer 3 switch", "Cisco Catalyst", "LAN switching", "multilayer switch", "Modular computer network switch", "load-balanced switch", "network switching subsystem", "Cisco Catalyst 1900", "Visitor Location Register" ] } ], "standing": "Described in 60 Wikipedia languages, which measures how widely it is written about rather than how important or how common it is. 11 finer distinctions are held inside this entry as names rather than as separate models.", "structure": { "bundles": [ { "id": "identity-and-classification", "name": "Identity, naming and classification", "description": "How an agent tells one network switch from another, and a network switch from things that resemble it.", "rationale": "Recognition comes before every other claim. Without stable identity nothing else in the model can be trusted to be about the same thing twice.", "layers": [ { "id": "naming-and-identifiers", "name": "Names and identifiers", "description": "The names this thing goes by and the identifiers that survive translation and time.", "findings": [ { "id": "preferred-name-and-aliases", "name": "Preferred name, aliases and local names", "description": "Which name to use, which names mean the same thing, and which merely sound similar.", "questions": [ { "id": "preferred-name-and-aliases-q01", "text": "What identifies and describes the name of a network switch, and in what units or vocabulary?", "kind": "definition", "answer_data": [ "identifiers", "types and classes", "values with units", "explicit unknowns" ] }, { "id": "preferred-name-and-aliases-q02", "text": "Who or what asserted this about the name of a network switch, by which method, and when was it true?", "kind": "provenance", "answer_data": [ "authority", "method", "evidence", "event time", "knowledge time" ] }, { "id": "preferred-name-and-aliases-q03", "text": "What may an agent decide or do once the name of a network switch is known, and what must it refuse?", "kind": "action", "answer_data": [ "permitted actions", "preconditions", "refusals", "escalation" ] } ] }, { "id": "stable-identifiers", "name": "Stable identifiers and external keys", "description": "Identifiers that keep pointing at this kind of thing across systems and languages.", "questions": [ { "id": "stable-identifiers-q01", "text": "What identifies and describes an identifier for a network switch, and in what units or vocabulary?", "kind": "definition", "answer_data": [ "identifiers", "types and classes", "values with units", "explicit unknowns" ] }, { "id": "stable-identifiers-q02", "text": "Who or what asserted this about an identifier for a network switch, by which method, and when was it true?", "kind": "provenance", "answer_data": [ "authority", "method", "evidence", "event time", "knowledge time" ] }, { "id": "stable-identifiers-q03", "text": "What may an agent decide or do once an identifier for a network switch is known, and what must it refuse?", "kind": "action", "answer_data": [ "permitted actions", "preconditions", "refusals", "escalation" ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "classification-and-granularity", "name": "Classification and granularity", "description": "Where a network switch sits among kinds, and how finely a task needs to cut it.", "findings": [ { "id": "kind-and-parents", "name": "Kind, parents and neighbouring kinds", "description": "The classes this thing belongs to and the ones it is next to.", "questions": [ { "id": "kind-and-parents-q01", "text": "What identifies and describes the kind of a network switch, and in what units or vocabulary?", "kind": "definition", "answer_data": [ "identifiers", "types and classes", "values with units", "explicit unknowns" ] }, { "id": "kind-and-parents-q02", "text": "Who or what asserted this about the kind of a network switch, by which method, and when was it true?", "kind": "provenance", "answer_data": [ "authority", "method", "evidence", "event time", "knowledge time" ] }, { "id": "kind-and-parents-q03", "text": "What may an agent decide or do once the kind of a network switch is known, and what must it refuse?", "kind": "action", "answer_data": [ "permitted actions", "preconditions", "refusals", "escalation" ] } ] }, { "id": "distinguishing-features", "name": "Distinguishing features", "description": "What separates a network switch from the things most often confused with it.", "questions": [ { "id": "distinguishing-features-q01", "text": "What identifies and describes what distinguishes a network switch, and in what units or vocabulary?", "kind": "definition", "answer_data": [ "identifiers", "types and classes", "values with units", "explicit unknowns" ] }, { "id": "distinguishing-features-q02", "text": "Who or what asserted this about what distinguishes a network switch, by which method, and when was it true?", "kind": "provenance", "answer_data": [ "authority", "method", "evidence", "event time", "knowledge time" ] }, { "id": "distinguishing-features-q03", "text": "What may an agent decide or do once what distinguishes a network switch is known, and what must it refuse?", "kind": "action", "answer_data": [ "permitted actions", "preconditions", "refusals", "escalation" ] } ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "form-and-composition", "name": "Form, composition and condition", "description": "What a network switch is made of, what shape and size it takes, and what state it is in.", "rationale": "A physical thing can be measured, and a model that cannot record its measurements cannot support any decision that depends on them.", "layers": [ { "id": "form-and-dimensions", "name": "Form and dimensions", "description": "Shape, size, mass and the ranges these take across examples.", "findings": [ { "id": "measurable-dimensions", "name": "Measurable dimensions and their units", "description": "The quantities worth recording and the units they are recorded in.", "questions": [ { "id": "measurable-dimensions-q01", "text": "What identifies and describes the dimensions of a network switch, and in what units or vocabulary?", "kind": "definition", "answer_data": [ "identifiers", "types and classes", "values with units", "explicit unknowns" ] }, { "id": "measurable-dimensions-q02", "text": "Who or what asserted this about the dimensions of a network switch, by which method, and when was it true?", "kind": "provenance", "answer_data": [ "authority", "method", "evidence", "event time", "knowledge time" ] }, { "id": "measurable-dimensions-q03", "text": "What may an agent decide or do once the dimensions of a network switch is known, and what must it refuse?", "kind": "action", "answer_data": [ "permitted actions", "preconditions", "refusals", "escalation" ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "material-and-composition", "name": "Material and composition", "description": "Materials, parts and how they are put together.", "findings": [ { "id": "parts-and-materials", "name": "Parts and materials", "description": "What a network switch is built from and which parts are replaceable.", "questions": [ { "id": "parts-and-materials-q01", "text": "What identifies and describes the composition of a network switch, and in what units or vocabulary?", "kind": "definition", "answer_data": [ "identifiers", "types and classes", "values with units", "explicit unknowns" ] }, { "id": "parts-and-materials-q02", "text": "Who or what asserted this about the composition of a network switch, by which method, and when was it true?", "kind": "provenance", "answer_data": [ "authority", "method", "evidence", "event time", "knowledge time" ] }, { "id": "parts-and-materials-q03", "text": "What may an agent decide or do once the composition of a network switch is known, and what must it refuse?", "kind": "action", "answer_data": [ "permitted actions", "preconditions", "refusals", "escalation" ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "condition-and-integrity", "name": "Condition and integrity", "description": "Wear, damage, health and the difference between working and broken.", "findings": [ { "id": "condition-assessment", "name": "Condition, damage and health", "description": "How the condition of a network switch is judged and by whom.", "questions": [ { "id": "condition-assessment-q01", "text": "What identifies and describes the condition of a network switch, and in what units or vocabulary?", "kind": "definition", "answer_data": [ "identifiers", "types and classes", "values with units", "explicit unknowns" ] }, { "id": "condition-assessment-q02", "text": "Who or what asserted this about the condition of a network switch, by which method, and when was it true?", "kind": "provenance", "answer_data": [ "authority", "method", "evidence", "event time", "knowledge time" ] }, { "id": "condition-assessment-q03", "text": "What may an agent decide or do once the condition of a network switch is known, and what must it refuse?", "kind": "action", "answer_data": [ "permitted actions", "preconditions", "refusals", "escalation" ] } ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "place-and-movement", "name": "Place and movement", "description": "Where a network switch is, how it got there and where it may go (varies).", "rationale": "A thing that can move needs its position recorded with a time, or every later claim about it is about a place it has left.", "layers": [ { "id": "location-and-placement", "name": "Location and placement", "description": "Position, containment and the reference frame the position is given in.", "findings": [ { "id": "position-and-frame", "name": "Position, container and reference frame", "description": "Where a network switch is, and what that position is measured against.", "questions": [ { "id": "position-and-frame-q01", "text": "What identifies and describes the location of a network switch, and in what units or vocabulary?", "kind": "definition", "answer_data": [ "identifiers", "types and classes", "values with units", "explicit unknowns" ] }, { "id": "position-and-frame-q02", "text": "Who or what asserted this about the location of a network switch, by which method, and when was it true?", "kind": "provenance", "answer_data": [ "authority", "method", "evidence", "event time", "knowledge time" ] }, { "id": "position-and-frame-q03", "text": "What may an agent decide or do once the location of a network switch is known, and what must it refuse?", "kind": "action", "answer_data": [ "permitted actions", "preconditions", "refusals", "escalation" ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "movement-and-transfer", "name": "Movement and transfer", "description": "How a network switch is carried, installed or relocated.", "findings": [ { "id": "movement-events", "name": "Movement events and constraints", "description": "What counts as a movement, what records it and what limits it.", "questions": [ { "id": "movement-events-q01", "text": "What identifies and describes the movement of a network switch, and in what units or vocabulary?", "kind": "definition", "answer_data": [ "identifiers", "types and classes", "values with units", "explicit unknowns" ] }, { "id": "movement-events-q02", "text": "Who or what asserted this about the movement of a network switch, by which method, and when was it true?", "kind": "provenance", "answer_data": [ "authority", "method", "evidence", "event time", "knowledge time" ] }, { "id": "movement-events-q03", "text": "What may an agent decide or do once the movement of a network switch is known, and what must it refuse?", "kind": "action", "answer_data": [ "permitted actions", "preconditions", "refusals", "escalation" ] } ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "state-and-lifecycle", "name": "State and lifecycle", "description": "The states a network switch passes through and the events that move it between them.", "rationale": "Most decisions about a thing depend on what state it is in now, which is a claim with a time on it, not a property.", "layers": [ { "id": "lifecycle-stages", "name": "Lifecycle stages", "description": "From coming into existence to ceasing to be one of these.", "findings": [ { "id": "stages-and-transitions", "name": "Stages and transitions", "description": "The stages worth naming and what moves a network switch between them.", "questions": [ { "id": "stages-and-transitions-q01", "text": "What identifies and describes the lifecycle of a network switch, and in what units or vocabulary?", "kind": "definition", "answer_data": [ "identifiers", "types and classes", "values with units", "explicit unknowns" ] }, { "id": "stages-and-transitions-q02", "text": "Who or what asserted this about the lifecycle of a network switch, by which method, and when was it true?", "kind": "provenance", "answer_data": [ "authority", "method", "evidence", "event time", "knowledge time" ] }, { "id": "stages-and-transitions-q03", "text": "What may an agent decide or do once the lifecycle of a network switch is known, and what must it refuse?", "kind": "action", "answer_data": [ "permitted actions", "preconditions", "refusals", "escalation" ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "observations-and-status", "name": "Observations and current status", "description": "What is observed about a network switch, how often and by whom.", "findings": [ { "id": "observation-record", "name": "Observation record", "description": "How an observation of a network switch is recorded so that it can be superseded rather than overwritten.", "questions": [ { "id": "observation-record-q01", "text": "What identifies and describes an observation of a network switch, and in what units or vocabulary?", "kind": "definition", "answer_data": [ "identifiers", "types and classes", "values with units", "explicit unknowns" ] }, { "id": "observation-record-q02", "text": "Who or what asserted this about an observation of a network switch, by which method, and when was it true?", "kind": "provenance", "answer_data": [ "authority", "method", "evidence", "event time", "knowledge time" ] }, { "id": "observation-record-q03", "text": "What may an agent decide or do once an observation of a network switch is known, and what must it refuse?", "kind": "action", "answer_data": [ "permitted actions", "preconditions", "refusals", "escalation" ] } ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "function-and-principle", "name": "Function and operating principle", "description": "What network switch is for and how it achieves it.", "rationale": "Two devices with the same name can work on different principles, and the principle is what predicts failure and constrains use.", "layers": [ { "id": "intended-function", "name": "Intended function", "description": "The job it does, and the jobs it is used for anyway.", "findings": [ { "id": "function-record", "name": "Function, principle and variants", "description": "What it does, how, and which variants do it differently.", "questions": [ { "id": "function-record-q01", "text": "What function does network switch perform, on what operating principle, and which variants differ in that principle?", "kind": "definition" }, { "id": "function-record-q02", "text": "What use falls outside the intended function but happens in practice?", "kind": "boundary" } ] } ] }, { "id": "capacity-and-rating", "name": "Capacity and rating", "description": "The numbers that say what it can do and where it stops.", "findings": [ { "id": "ratings", "name": "Ratings and their conditions", "description": "Rated capacity, power, throughput and the conditions each assumes.", "questions": [ { "id": "ratings-q01", "text": "What ratings characterise network switch, in what units, and under what stated conditions?", "kind": "measurement" }, { "id": "ratings-q02", "text": "What happens beyond the rating - degradation, refusal, damage - and how is that detected?", "kind": "action" } ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "operation-and-state", "name": "Operation, controls and state", "description": "How network switch is operated and what state it is in right now.", "rationale": "An agent acting on a device needs its current state and the controls that change it, not just its specification.", "layers": [ { "id": "controls-and-modes", "name": "Controls and modes", "description": "What can be set, what that changes, and what is interlocked.", "findings": [ { "id": "control-surface", "name": "Control surface and interlocks", "description": "The settings available and the conditions that block them.", "questions": [ { "id": "control-surface-q01", "text": "What controls and modes does network switch have, and what does each change?", "kind": "definition" }, { "id": "control-surface-q02", "text": "Which actions are interlocked or forbidden in which state, and what must be true before acting?", "kind": "action" } ] } ] }, { "id": "condition-and-maintenance", "name": "Condition and maintenance", "description": "Wear, service intervals, consumables and the line between working and broken.", "findings": [ { "id": "service-record", "name": "Condition, service and consumables", "description": "What is consumed, what is serviced, and how condition is judged.", "questions": [ { "id": "service-record-q01", "text": "What consumables and service does network switch need, at what interval, and on whose authority?", "kind": "measurement" }, { "id": "service-record-q02", "text": "What evidence separates a unit that is working from one that is out of service?", "kind": "boundary" } ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "kind-model-unit", "name": "Kind, model and unit", "description": "Whether a claim about network switch is about the kind, a product line, or one physical unit.", "rationale": "This is the boundary most often got wrong for made things, and getting it wrong mixes a catalogue entry with the machine in the yard.", "layers": [ { "id": "level-of-reference", "name": "Level of reference", "description": "The three levels and what belongs at each.", "findings": [ { "id": "level-rules", "name": "What belongs to kind, model and unit", "description": "Which properties are shared by all of them and which are not.", "questions": [ { "id": "level-rules-q01", "text": "Which facts about network switch hold for every one of them, which for a model, and which only for one unit?", "kind": "boundary" }, { "id": "level-rules-q02", "text": "What identifies an individual unit, and what should an agent do when it has only the kind?", "kind": "action" } ] } ] }, { "id": "standards-and-conformity", "name": "Standards and conformity", "description": "The standards a working example must meet and who attests it.", "findings": [ { "id": "conformity", "name": "Standards, marks and attestation", "description": "Which standard applies, who certifies, and what the mark means.", "questions": [ { "id": "conformity-q01", "text": "Which standards govern network switch, issued by whom, and what does conformity actually assert?", "kind": "provenance" }, { "id": "conformity-q02", "text": "What may an agent conclude from a certification mark, and what may it not?", "kind": "boundary" } ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "provenance-and-evidence", "name": "Provenance, evidence and time", "description": "Where every claim about a network switch came from and when it held.", "rationale": "A claim without a source and a time cannot be superseded, only overwritten, and an agent that overwrites loses the ability to explain itself.", "layers": [ { "id": "source-and-authority", "name": "Source and authority", "description": "Who said it, on what evidence, and how strongly.", "findings": [ { "id": "claim-provenance", "name": "Claim provenance and confidence", "description": "The authority behind each claim about a network switch and how confident it is.", "questions": [ { "id": "claim-provenance-q01", "text": "What identifies and describes a claim about a network switch, and in what units or vocabulary?", "kind": "definition", "answer_data": [ "identifiers", "types and classes", "values with units", "explicit unknowns" ] }, { "id": "claim-provenance-q02", "text": "Who or what asserted this about a claim about a network switch, by which method, and when was it true?", "kind": "provenance", "answer_data": [ "authority", "method", "evidence", "event time", "knowledge time" ] }, { "id": "claim-provenance-q03", "text": "What may an agent decide or do once a claim about a network switch is known, and what must it refuse?", "kind": "action", "answer_data": [ "permitted actions", "preconditions", "refusals", "escalation" ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "time-and-versions", "name": "Time, versions and supersession", "description": "When a claim was true, when it was learnt, and what replaced it.", "findings": [ { "id": "validity-and-supersession", "name": "Validity period and supersession", "description": "How an old claim about a network switch is retired without being erased.", "questions": [ { "id": "validity-and-supersession-q01", "text": "What identifies and describes the validity of a claim about a network switch, and in what units or vocabulary?", "kind": "definition", "answer_data": [ "identifiers", "types and classes", "values with units", "explicit unknowns" ] }, { "id": "validity-and-supersession-q02", "text": "Who or what asserted this about the validity of a claim about a network switch, by which method, and when was it true?", "kind": "provenance", "answer_data": [ "authority", "method", "evidence", "event time", "knowledge time" ] }, { "id": "validity-and-supersession-q03", "text": "What may an agent decide or do once the validity of a claim about a network switch is known, and what must it refuse?", "kind": "action", "answer_data": [ "permitted actions", "preconditions", "refusals", "escalation" ] } ] } ] } ] } ] }, "statistics": { "bundles": 8, "layers": 17, "findings": 19, "questions": 51 } } } }