L2 Managed Switch Vs L3

The image below shows an example of a multi vlan environment on a layer 2 switch.

L2 managed switch vs l3.

Layer 3 switch work on layer 3 of osi model i e. Layer 3 switch make its forwarding decision in hardware asic application specific integrated circuits and router make its decision in software intelligence from ios. The traffic forwarding decision is based on its mac address table entries. Layer 2 layer 3 in osi model.

Since vlans exist in their own layer 3 subnet routing will need to occur for traffic to flow in between vlans. Now the exceptions l3 switches like 6500 can be loaded with cards which support wan connections also. These solutions are optimized for a wide range of industries including service providers financial services and the public sector. This is where a layer 3 switch can be utilized.

A layer 3 switch on the other hand is a specialized hardware device used for routing data packets using ip. So l3 switch happen to be faster than router in forwarding packets. 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. Network layer where it route packet by using ip address it is used widely on vlans.

So layer 2 switches simple do switching. Layer 2 vs layer 3 switch the main difference between layer 2 and layer 3 is the routing function. This is also the biggest difference lies between layer 2 switch and layer 3 switch. A layer 2 managed switch forwards traffic between network hosts such as a server and a client pc within the same subnet.

Cisco delivers a comprehensive portfolio of switching solutions for enterprise networks data centers and smaller businesses. Layer 2 switch work on layer 2 of osi model i e. 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. 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. 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.