L2 Managed Switch Vs L3

Since vlans exist in their own layer 3 subnet routing will need to occur for traffic to flow in between vlans.

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. 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 3 switch work on layer 3 of osi model i e. The traffic forwarding decision is based on its mac address table entries.

Network layer where it route packet by using ip address it is used widely on vlans. 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. 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.

A layer 3 switch on the other hand is a specialized hardware device used for routing data packets using ip. This is also the biggest difference lies between layer 2 switch and layer 3 switch. A layer 2 switch works with mac addresses only and does not care about ip address or any items of higher layers. A layer 3 switch is basically a switch that can perform routing functions in addition to switching.

This is where a layer 3 switch can be utilized. Layer 2 switch work on layer 2 of osi model i e. These solutions are optimized for a wide range of industries including service providers financial services and the public sector. Now the exceptions l3 switches like 6500 can be loaded with cards which support wan connections also.

Layer 2 layer 3 in osi model. So l3 switch happen to be faster than router in forwarding packets. Cisco delivers a comprehensive portfolio of switching solutions for enterprise networks data centers and smaller businesses. 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. The image below shows an example of a multi vlan environment on a layer 2 switch.