balaji

• Jul 27th, 2006

 

 routing depends on ip address : layer 3 s/w

routing depends on mac- address : layer 2 s/w

sony

• Sep 15th, 2006

 

A layer 2 switch provides switching

A Layer 3 switch provides Switching as well as Routing

Thomas Whitten

 Profile Answers by Thomas Whitten 

• Jun 27th, 2011

 

A layer 2 switch provides connectivity but doesn't act upon the packets at all.  These switches are often found in small offices, your home or on the very edge of a LAN to provide Internet or client/server communication.

A layer 3 switch provides connectivity but can also provide routing, access lists, QOS and even security.  These are usually much more expensive switches with IOS's installed.  They are best used in video conferencing to keep video packets together through QOS.  For video, your cable should run directly to the layer 3 switch and not pass through any other lessor switch to avoid tiling, delays and other issues that affect video quality.