L2 Managed Switch Vs L3

A layer 2 managed switch forwards traffic between network hosts such as a server and a client pc within the same subnet.

L2 managed switch vs l3.

Layer 2 layer 3 in osi model. The image below shows an example of a multi vlan environment on a layer 2 switch. 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 layer 2 switches simple do switching.

So a layer 3 switch is aware of subnets and networks in addition to being aware of vlans. Layer 3 switch make its forwarding decision in hardware asic application specific integrated circuits and router make its decision in software intelligence from ios. These solutions are optimized for a wide range of industries including service providers financial services and the public sector. A layer 3 switch is basically a switch that can perform routing functions in addition to switching.

A layer 3 switch includes the functionality of a layer 2 switch and also is able to use layer 3 information ip addresses to make its forwarding decisions. Network layer where it route packet by using ip address it is used widely on vlans. Layer 3 switch work on layer 3 of osi model i e. This is where a layer 3 switch can be utilized.

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. Cisco delivers a comprehensive portfolio of switching solutions for enterprise networks data centers and smaller businesses. This is also the biggest difference lies between layer 2 switch and layer 3 switch. A layer 3 switch builds a layer 2 forwarding table to be able to forward within a vlan.

So l3 switch happen to be faster than router in forwarding packets. The traffic forwarding decision is based on its mac address table entries. Now the exceptions l3 switches like 6500 can be loaded with cards which support wan connections also. A layer 2 switch works with mac addresses only and does not care about ip address or any items of higher layers.

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. A layer 3 switch on the other hand is a specialized hardware device used for routing data packets using ip.