Module 2: Switching

Concepts
Switching, Routing, and
Wireless Essentials v7.0
(SRWE)
Switch Hardware

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Switch Hardware
Switch Platforms
There is a variety of switch platforms, form factors, and other features that must be
considered before choosing a switch. When designing a network, it is important to select
the proper hardware to meet current network requirements, as well as to allow for network
growth. Within an enterprise network, both switches and routers play a critical role in
network communication.

Campus LAN Switches, such as the Cisco

3850 series shown here, support high
concentrations of user connections with
speed and security appropriate for the
enterprise network.

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Switch Hardware
Switch Platforms (Cont.)
Cisco Meraki cloud-managed access
switches enable virtual stacking of switches.
They monitor and configure thousands of
switch ports over the web, without the
intervention of onsite IT staff.

The Cisco Nexus platform

promotes infrastructure
scalability, operational
continuity, and transport
flexibility in the data center.

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Switch Hardware
Switch Form Factors
When selecting switches, network administrators must determine the switch form
factors. This includes fixed configuration, modular configuration, stackable, or non-
stackable.

Features and options on fixed configuration switches

are limited to those that originally come with the
switch.

The chassis on modular switches accept field-

replaceable line cards.

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Switch Hardware
Switch Form Factors (Cont.)

Special cables are used to connect stackable switches

that allow them to effectively operate as one large switch.

The thickness of the switch, which is expressed in the number of rack units, is also
important for switches that are mounted in a rack. For example, the fixed configuration
switches shown in the figure are all one rack units (1U) or 1.75 inches (44.45 mm) in height.

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Switch Hardware
Port Density
The port density of a switch refers to the number of ports available on a single switch.

Fixed configuration switches support a

variety of port density configurations.
The Cisco Catalyst 3850 come in 12, 24,
48 port configurations. Modular switches can support very high
port densities through the addition of
multiple switchport line cards. The
modular Catalyst 9400 switch supports
384 switchport interfaces.
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Scalable Networks

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Scalable Networks
Design for Scalability
Scalability is the term for a network that can grow without losing availability and
reliability.

Network designers must develop strategies to enable the network to be available and to
scale effectively and easily.

This is accomplished using:

• Redundancy
• Multiple Links
• Scalable Routing protocol
• Wireless Connectivity

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Scalable Networks
Plan for Redundancy
Redundancy can prevent disruption of network services by minimizing the possibility of a
single point of failure by:
• Installing duplicate equipment
• Providing failover services for critical devices

Redundant paths offer alternate physical

paths for data to traverse the network
supporting high availability.
• However, redundant paths in an Ethernet
network may cause logical Layer 2 loops.
• Therefore, Spanning Tree Protocol (STP)
is required.

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Scalable Networks
Increase Bandwidth
Link aggregation (e.g., EtherChannel) allows an administrator to increase the amount
of bandwidth between devices by creating one logical link made up of several physical
links.
• EtherChannel combines existing switch
ports into one logical link using a Port
Channel interface.
• Most configuration tasks are done on the
Port Channel interface (instead of on each
individual port) to ensure configuration
consistency on the links.
• EtherChannel can load balance between
links.

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Scalable Networks
Expand the Access Layer
An increasingly popular option for extending access layer connectivity is through
wireless.
• Wireless LANs (WLANs) provides increased flexibility, reduced costs, and the ability to grow
and adapt to changing network and business requirements.
• To communicate wirelessly, end devices require a
wireless NIC to connect to a wireless router or a
wireless access point (AP).

Considerations when implementing a wireless

network include:
• Types of wireless devices connecting to the
WLAN
• Wireless coverage requirements
• Interference considerations
• Security considerations
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Hierarchical Networks
Hierarchy in the Borderless Switched Network
Hierarchical networks use a tiered design of access, distribution, and core layers with
each layer performing a well-defined role in the campus network.

There are two time- Three-tier layer Two-tier layer

tested and proven
hierarchical design
frameworks for
campus networks.

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Hierarchical Networks
Access, Distribution, and Core Layer Functions
Access Layer
• The access layer provide network access to the user.
• Access layer switches connect to distribution layer switches.

Distribution Layer
• The distribution layer implements routing, quality of service, and security.
• It aggregates large-scale wiring closet networks and limits Layer 2 broadcast domains.
• Distribution layer switches connect to access layer and core layer switches.

Core Layer
• The core layer is the network backbone and connects several layers of the network.
• The core layer provides fault isolation and high-speed backbone connectivity.
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Frame Forwarding

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Frame Forwarding
Switching in Networking

A switch forwards based on the ingress interface

and the destination MAC address.
A switch uses its MAC address table to make
forwarding decisions.

Note: A switch will never allow traffic to be

forwarded out the interface it received the traffic.

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Frame Forwarding
The Switch Learn and Forward Method
The switch uses a two-step process:
Step 1. Learn – Examines Source Address
• Adds the source MAC if not in table
• Resets the time out setting back to 5 minutes if source is in the table
Step 2. Forward – Examines Destination Address
• If the destination MAC is in the MAC address table, it is forwarded out the specified
port.
• If a destination MAC is not in the table, it is flooded out all interfaces except the one it
was received – Unknown Unicast.

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Frame Forwarding
Example
Switch 1 Switch 2 Switch 3
Port 1: Port 1: Port 1:
Port 2: Port 2: Port 2:
Port 3: Port 3: Port 3:
Port 4:

A B C D
E F

A -> E
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Frame Forwarding
Example – Learning + Unknown Unicast
Switch 1 Switch 2 Switch 3
Port 1: A Port 1: A Port 1: A
Port 2: Port 2: Port 2:
Port 3: Port 3: Port 3:
Port 4:

A B C D
E F
A -> E
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Frame Forwarding
Example – Learning + Simple Unicast
Switch 1 Switch 2 Switch 3
Port 1: A Port 1: A Port 1: A
Port 2: Port 2: Port 2: E
Port 3: E Port 3: Port 3:
Port 4: E

A B C D
E F

E -> A
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Frame Forwarding
Example – Layer 2 Convergence
Switch 1 Switch 2 Switch 3
Port 1: A Port 1: AB Port 1: ABCD
Port 2: B Port 2: C Port 2: E
Port 3: CDEF Port 3: D Port 3: F
Port 4: EF

A B C D
E F

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Frame Forwarding
Example – Layer 2 Convergence
Switch 1 Switch 2 Switch 3
Port 1: A Port 1: AB Port 1: ABCD
Port 2: B Port 2: C Port 2: E
Port 3: CDEF Port 3: D Port 3: F
Port 4: EF

A B C D
E F

C -> B
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Frame Forwarding
Switch Forwarding Methods
Switches use software on application-specific-integrated circuits (ASICs) to make
very quick decisions.
A switch will use one of two methods to make forwarding decisions after it receives
a frame:
• Store-and-forward switching - Receives the entire frame and ensures the
frame is valid. Store-and-forward switching is Cisco’s preferred switching method.
• Cut-through switching – Forwards the frame immediately after determining
the destination MAC address of an incoming frame and the egress port.

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Frame Forwarding
Store-and-Forward Switching
Store-and-forward has two primary characteristics:
• Error Checking – The switch will check the Frame Check Sequence (FCS) for CRC errors.
Bad frames will be discarded.
• Buffering – The ingress interface will buffer the frame while it checks the FCS. This also
allows the switch to adjust to a potential difference in speeds between the ingress and
egress ports.

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Frame Forwarding
Cut-Through Switching • Cut-through forwards the frame
immediately after determining the
destination MAC.
• Fragment (Frag) Free method will check the
destination and ensure that the frame is at
least 64 Bytes. This will eliminate runts.
Concepts of Cut-Through switching:
• Is appropriate for switches needing
latency to be under 10 microseconds
• Does not check the FCS, so it can
propagate errors
• May lead to bandwidth issues if the
switch propagates too many errors
• Cannot support ports with differing
speeds going from ingress to egress
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Switching Domains

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Switching Domains
Collision Domains
Switches eliminate collision domains and
reduce congestion.
• When there is full duplex on the link the
collision domains are eliminated.
• When there is one or more devices in
half-duplex there will now be a collision
domain.
• There will now be contention for the
bandwidth.
• Collisions are now possible.
• Most devices, including Cisco and
Microsoft use auto-negotiation as the
default setting for duplex and speed.
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Switching Domains • A broadcast domain extends across all Layer
Broadcast Domains 1 or Layer 2 devices on a LAN.
• Only a layer 3 device (router) will break
the broadcast domain, also called a MAC
broadcast domain.
• The broadcast domain consists of all devices
on the LAN that receive the broadcast traffic.
• When the layer 2 switch receives the
broadcast it will flood it out all interfaces
except for the ingress interface.
• Too many broadcasts may cause congestion
and poor network performance.
• Increasing devices at Layer 1 or layer 2 will
cause the broadcast domain to expand.
• Solution - VLANs
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