Happy World wrote: > > Dear All, > > I read a lot of router/switch specifications and always find > the above terminology. Can anyone explain the difference > between them? > > Switching Capacity talking about Layer2 performance and > Forwarding Rate is above Layer3???
Switches, routers, L3 swithces, and L2 routers, also forward frames. Switch, when used as a verb, is just another word for forward. Switching happens on train tracks, in electrical circuits, and in networking devices when bits/frames/packets come in one interface and go out another. Switching capacity and forwarding rate probably refer to the same thing essentially, though we do tend more often to use the word switch when talking L2 and forwarding when talking L3, but no, I take that back, that's not really true when we talk aobut L3 switches. Bottom line, we would need the context of the specifications you refer to, in order to help you. For more background info, I refer you to Merriam Webster's definition of a switch: Main Entry: 1switch Pronunciation: 'swich Function: noun Etymology: perhaps from Middle Dutch swijch twig Date: 1592 1 : a slender flexible whip, rod, or twig 2 : an act of switching : as a : a blow with a switch b : a shift from one to another c : a change from the usual 3 : a tuft of long hairs at the end of the tail of an animal (as a cow) -- see COW illustration 4 a : a device made usually of two movable rails and necessary connections and designed to turn a locomotive or train from one track to another b : a railroad siding 5 : a device for making, breaking, or changing the connections in an electrical circuit 6 : a heavy strand of hair used in addition to a person's own hair for some coiffures If anyone else brings up L3 switch versus router, they should have the first definition applied to them. Or perhaps, a whipping with the 6th defintion, if they're nice. _______________________________ Priscilla Oppenheimer www.troubleshootingnetworks.com www.priscilla.com > > TIA. > > Message Posted at: http://www.groupstudy.com/form/read.php?f=7&i=63172&t=63134 -------------------------------------------------- FAQ, list archives, and subscription info: http://www.groupstudy.com/list/cisco.html Report misconduct and Nondisclosure violations to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
