> 1) define "functionality" > > 2) define "difference" > > in either case, the net result is the same. for inter-vlan > forwarding on the > same box, the integrated L3 switch will be faster because a) > electrons don't > have to travel as far and b) the stripping and rewriting of L2 > headers can > be more efficiently done ( if it is necessary at all ) on the > integrated L3 > switch. > > once in a while this group has entertained the discussion of > the relative > merits of L3 switches versus routers. it occurs to me that at > the electron > level integrated L3 switching is indeed superior to routing, or > at least > inter-vlan routing versus router on a stick. Howard - care to > offer your > insight here? I'm talking about things as they happen at the EE > level.
I'm not Howard of course. But if by "EE level" you mean propogation delay, I would think it wouldn't even be a consideration. I use 10 microseconds per mile (or 1 millisecond per hundred) as an "in-your-head" calculation in WAN environments. It isn't real exact, but with 10 or so feet of cable, that 10 microseconds per mile turns out to be a pretty small number. > Router on a stick has to be "slower" and "less efficient" than > integrated L3 > for inter-vlan routing. OTOH, I don't see any advantage for an > integrated L3 > switch acting solely as a router, forwarding traffic from > itself to another > router down the wire, all other things being equal. I would have to agree. Have you seen the new ethernet switch module for the 2600/3600/3700 series routers? I'm buying several for an upcoming project. You now can get an integrated switch in your router vs. and integrated router in your switch!! This is really cool if you have a small number of machines that all need to be in a different VLAN (multiple network management platforms at remote sites, for example) but you don't want to / don't have the rack space / cash for a switch. Only drawback: requires lots of flash and DRAM on the router. Older non-MX 2600s are not a candidate I recently found out because they cap out at 16M flash (required minumum 32M). A final note: I've been warming up to L3 switches in recent months and can say that they are definately easier to configure than router on a stick. Lots of stuff is on by default. > > > > > > > Thanks in advance! > > > > Maurice > > Message Posted at: http://www.groupstudy.com/form/read.php?f=7&i=62196&t=62166 -------------------------------------------------- FAQ, list archives, and subscription info: http://www.groupstudy.com/list/cisco.html Report misconduct and Nondisclosure violations to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
