Layer 2 vs Layer 3 Switch: Which One Do You Need?

This blog aims to elucidate these differences, highlight their advantages, and provide guidance on how to choose the most suitable switch for your needs.

A cable modem is only layer1 on one of its sides (the side connecting to the service provider). the part of it that connects to your router is layer2.

Layer 1: Physical Layer. Layer 1 is fairly easy ... Those are essentially Layer 2 switches with a router built into the backplane for speed.

Layer 2 and Layer 3 switches differ primarily in their routing capabilities. A Layer 2 switch operates solely based on MAC addresses, ...

In addition to this, Layer 1 switches also have the ability to convert one media type to another (e.g. Ethernet to Fiber) using cross-connects.

A Layer 1 switch does not read, manipulate or use packet/frame headers to route the data. Layer 1 switches are fully transparent to the data and typically have ...

Think of Layer 1 as the roads and highways in a city, ensuring connectivity between various locations, while Layer 2 acts as the traffic ...

The main difference is the operation.Layer2 switch operates within the same vlan whereas Layer3 switch can operate between different vlans. Both ...

A layer 2 switch “routes” based on MAC addresses. A router routes based on IP addresses. A layer 2 switch routes based on a table of MAC (CAM table) addresses.

Layer 2: data link layer. This is where a data frame is sent between nodes connected by a layer 1. The most common use is Ethernet framing.