A network switch primarily serves to 'connect devices' within a local area network (LAN). It intelligently forwards data to the appropriate device based on the device's MAC address, improving network efficiency.

Parallel processing in High-Performance Computing (HPC) aims to 'speed up individual tasks' by breaking them into smaller sub-tasks that can be processed simultaneously on multiple processors, increasing overall computation speed.

The approach of 'customization' in ERP entails tailoring the software to meet specific organizational needs. This can lead to longer implementation times but results in a more tailored solution.

Secure Multi-Party Computation (SMPC) is a cryptographic technique that enables multiple parties to jointly compute a function over their inputs while ensuring the privacy of those inputs. It's used in scenarios where data privacy is crucial, such as collaborative data analysis without revealing individual data points.

In IT governance, one of the pillars is to ensure that IT resources are used responsibly, efficiently, and 'transparently.' This means that actions and decisions related to IT should be clear and open to scrutiny, promoting accountability and trust.

To determine a task sequence while honoring dependencies, 'Topological Sorting' is the most appropriate approach. It is commonly used in project scheduling and task management to create a linear order of tasks in a directed acyclic graph (DAG) while ensuring all dependencies are met.

'Cache' is a type of high-speed, volatile memory used to store frequently accessed data and instructions, allowing for faster data retrieval by the processor. It acts as a bridge between slower memory (like RAM) and the processor, enhancing system performance.

The '204 No Content' status code indicates that the server successfully processed the request but is not returning any additional content in the response body. It's often used for operations that have no response data.

Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) are crucial for optimizing web page load times. CDNs distribute content to servers closer to the user, reducing latency and speeding up page loading. They cache assets and reduce the load on the origin server, improving performance.

Representing hierarchical data, such as the structure of an organization, is best done using a 'Tree Diagram' visualization. It visually displays the parent-child relationships between different levels of a hierarchy, making it clear and organized.