Why is the CRC included in an Ethernet frame?

The inclusion of the CRC (Cyclic Redundancy Check) in an Ethernet frame serves to infer whether the data has been received without corruption. The CRC is a mathematical algorithm applied to the data in the frame, producing a fixed-size checksum value that is added to the frame before transmission. When the frame reaches its destination, the receiver recalculates the CRC based on the received data and compares it to the CRC value in the frame.

If the two values match, it indicates that the data was likely transmitted without errors. If they do not match, it suggests that there may have been some alterations or corruption of the data during transmission, prompting the receiver to either discard the frame or request a retransmission. This function is crucial in maintaining data integrity in network communications, ensuring that the information exchanged is accurate and reliable.