L2 Managed Switch Vs L3

Data link layer and sends a frames to destination port using mac address table which stores the mac address of a device associated with that port.

L2 managed switch vs l3.

So a layer 3 switch is aware of subnets and networks in addition to being aware of vlans. Cisco delivers a comprehensive portfolio of switching solutions for enterprise networks data centers and smaller businesses. Now the exceptions l3 switches like 6500 can be loaded with cards which support wan connections also. The image below shows an example of a multi vlan environment on a layer 2 switch.

Layer 2 layer 3 in osi model. A layer 2 switch works with mac addresses only and does not care about ip address or any items of higher layers. This is where a layer 3 switch can be utilized. Network layer where it route packet by using ip address it is used widely on vlans.

Layer 2 switch work on layer 2 of osi model i e. A layer 2 managed switch forwards traffic between network hosts such as a server and a client pc within the same subnet. Routing in layer 2 and layer 3 switch switching operates at layer 2 of the osi reference model where data packets are redirected to a destination port based on mac addresses. This is also the biggest difference lies between layer 2 switch and layer 3 switch.

These solutions are optimized for a wide range of industries including service providers financial services and the public sector. The traffic forwarding decision is based on its mac address table entries. Layer 3 switch make its forwarding decision in hardware asic application specific integrated circuits and router make its decision in software intelligence from ios. Layer 2 vs layer 3 switch the main difference between layer 2 and layer 3 is the routing function.

However if the server and the client pc are located on different subnets and the traffic needs to be sent across between subnets then a layer 3 managed switch is needed which makes traffic. So l3 switch happen to be faster than router in forwarding packets. A layer 3 switch on the other hand is a specialized hardware device used for routing data packets using ip. Layer 3 switch work on layer 3 of osi model i e.

A layer 3 switch builds a layer 2 forwarding table to be able to forward within a vlan. A layer 3 switch is basically a switch that can perform routing functions in addition to switching.