CIS 271

Chapter 1:
Fundamentals Review

Kevin McLaughlin Spring 2006

HVCC Networking Program

Implementing Cisco IP Switched Network (SWITCH)

CCNP-SWITCH 300-115

Fundamentals Review

The term LAN switching is becoming legacy (popular term 1990s-mid-2000s)

In todays networks, LANs have been segmented into distinct functional areas: data
centers and campus networks

Campus Networks
The focus of this course
Take a generally more conservative approach to architectures
Use Cisco Catalyst switches
Leverage traditional Layer 2 and Layer 3 hierarchical designs
Data Centers
In a state of evolution
Focus on applications, dev/ops, and software programmability
Use bleeding-edge technologies such as FabricPath, Dynamic Fabric Allocation
(DFA), Application Centric Infrastructure (ACI), etc.
Kevin McLaughlin Spring 2006

HVCC Networking Program

Switching Introduction

Hubs and Switches

Kevin McLaughlin Spring 2006

HVCC Networking Program

Hubs are archaic terminology should be

avoided
Even the simplest mulitport home Ethernet
devices (usually termed as wireless routers) are
in fact switches

Hubs

Kevin McLaughlin Spring 2006

HVCC Networking Program

Hubs died off as a product because they are

shared-bandwidth devices
Allowed multiple devices to be connected to the
same network segment
Devices on a segment shared bandwidth with
each other
A hub is a Layer 1 (physical layer device)

Switches

Kevin McLaughlin Spring 2006

HVCC Networking Program

Introduced dedicated bandwidth

Bandwidth between a switch and a end-use
device is reserved for communication to and
from that device alone
Greatly increase available bandwidth on
networks and lead to improved network
performance
Support additional capabilities (such as PoE)

Bridges and Switches

Kevin McLaughlin Spring 2006

HVCC Networking Program

A basic switch is a Layer 2 device

Assembles electrical signals into a frame (layer 2)
and decides what to do with it
Switches determine what to do with a frame by
borrowing the algorithm from another legacy
networking device: a transparent bridge
Act like a transparent bridge would, but handle
frames much faster than a bridge could (due to
special hardware and architecture)
Switches decide where frames should be sent
and passes the frames out the appropriate port(s)

Todays Switches

Kevin McLaughlin Spring 2006

HVCC Networking Program

Have evolved beyond switching frames

Most modern switches can also route (Router)
traffic
Switches can also:
- Prioritize traffic
- Support no downtime through redundancy
- Provide convergence services (IP Telephony and
Wireless networks)

Cisco Catalyst Switches

Kevin McLaughlin Spring 2006

HVCC Networking Program

Application Intelligence secure and prioritize

Unified Network Services 10-Gig (Te) and PoE (Power
over Ethernet) technology supporting new application and
devices
Nonstop communications redundant hardware, nonstop
forwarding, stateful switchover providing reliability
Integrated security first line of defense against internal
network attacks and preventing unauthorized intrusion
Operational manageability remote access, monitoring

CCNA Review

Kevin McLaughlin Spring 2006

HVCC Networking Program

Broadcast Domains
A broadcast domain is a set of network devices
that receive broadcast frames originating from any
device within the group
MAC Addresses
Standardized data link layer addresses that are
required for every port or device that connects to
a LAN

IEEE Basic Ethernet Frame Format

HVCC Networking Program

The IEEE 802.3 standard defines a basic frame format that is required for
all MAC implementations, plus several additional optional formats that are
used to extend the protocols basic capability
Kevin McLaughlin Spring 2006

Basic Switching Function

Switches learn the locations of all devices on the segment

through the CAM, or content addressable memory, table.
The CAM table shows device MAC addresses and the port
the MAC is reachable at
Kevin McLaughlin Spring 2006

HVCC Networking Program

Switches must decide what to do with frames it

receives. Should the switch:
Ignore the frame?
Pass it out a single port?
Pass it out multiple ports?

CAM table decisions

HVCC Networking Program

Forwarding - if the destination MAC address is

found in the CAM table, the switch sends the frame
out the associated port that the address is
connected to
Filtering if the associated port is the same port that
the frame originated from, the frame is ignored, as
forwarding is not needed
Flooding if the destination MAC address is not
found in the CAM table (unknown unicast), or is the
broadcast address of a segment, the switch sends
the frame out all other ports that are in the same
VLAN (but not out the receiving port)
Kevin McLaughlin Spring 2006

Other Refreshers

Kevin McLaughlin Spring 2006

HVCC Networking Program

VLANs
Special grouping of ports to further segment traffic
Spanning Tree Protocol
Used to identify and temporarily block the loops in
a network segment or VLAN
Trunking
Allows multiple VLANs to function independently
across multiple switches
Port Channels
Grouping ports together to work as one unit

Multilayer Switching

Kevin McLaughlin Spring 2006

HVCC Networking Program

Ability of a switch to forward frames based on

information in the Layer 3 and sometimes Layer 4
header.
Almost all Cisco Catalyst switches model 3500 or
later support MLS
Becoming a legacy term due to wide support
Switches can route or switch frames at wire-rate
speeds using specialized hardware