What does 'Flow Control' in Ethernet networking address?

Flow control in Ethernet networking primarily addresses the management of data transmission rates between devices to prevent overload situations. This mechanism ensures that a sender does not transmit data faster than the receiver can process, thus maintaining a smooth and efficient flow of information. When the receiver's buffer becomes full, it can signal the sender to pause or slow down data transmission until it is ready to process more data. This prevents packet loss and ensures the integrity of the data being transmitted, which is crucial for maintaining reliable communications in network environments.

In scenarios where devices send or receive data at different speeds or where network congestion occurs, employing flow control helps to create a balance to optimize performance. This is particularly important in applications that require reliable data transfer, such as file transfers, video streaming, and other real-time applications.