fragmentation Referring to the process by which a switch or router breaks up or divides a large data- gram. If the receiving network cannot accommodate a datagram of a given total length, it must be fragmented.There must be some form of fragmentation control to ensure that the fragments can be re-associated when they exit the network and that the datagram can be reconstituted. In Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4), for example, fragmentation control requires that each fragment contain a copy of an identification 74570c06.qxd 9/11/07 12:21 PM Page 192 |