LAN Switching &

Wireless Networks
Suez Canal University – Faculty of Computers & Informatics - Cisco Local Academy
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Labs and Study Guide

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 Chapter 1

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 Switching & L2 Devices
•  Switching: means receiving data on a certain port and
forwarding it to appropriate port transparently, just
care about the next hop, so it is a layer 2 action.
•  Transparent Switching means
ü Hosts don’t aware of the presence of the switch in
LAN.
ü The switch doesn’t change the frame.
•  Layer 2 devices are
1. NIC
2. Bridge
3. Switch
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 The Hierarchical Network Model
•  Hierarchical network design involves dividing the network
into discrete layers. These layers are easier to manage and
expand, and problems are solved more quickly.

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 The Hierarchical Network Model
  Access Layer:
§  Connects end devices to the network and controls which
devices are allowed to communicate on the network.
§  Includes routers, switches, bridges, hubs, and wireless AP.
  Distribution Layer:
§  Aggregates the data received from the access layer
switches before it is transmitted to the core layer.
§  Controls the flow of traffic using policies and delineates
broadcast domains by performing routing between VLANs.
§  Its Switches are highly available and redundant to ensure
reliability.
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 The Hierarchical Network Model
Core Layer:
§  Is the high-speed backbone of the internetwork.
§  Should be highly available and redundant.
§  Collapsed Core, distribution and core layers are
combined into 1 layer.

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Benefits of a Hierarchical Network

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Hierarchical Network Design Principles:
Network Diameter
• Network diameter is the number of devices that a packet has to
cross before it reaches its destination.
ü  The smaller, the better.

Latency?

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Hierarchical Network Design Principles:
Bandwidth Aggregation
• Bandwidth Aggregation is implemented by combining several
parallel links between two switches into a logical link.

EtherChannel

Logical

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Hierarchical Network Design Principles:
Redundancy
• Modern networks use redundant links between hierarchical network
layers in order to ensure network availability.

Redundant
links?

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Hierarchical Network Design Principles:
Redundancy
•  You can double up the network connections between
devices, or you can double the devices themselves.
•  Implementing redundant links can be expensive.

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What is a Converged Network?
•  Is a network that allows for voice, video and data to use
the same IP network. ”Multiple services on one network”

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Switch Features:
Form Factors (Fixed, Modular and Stackable)

Extra cards

Recovery

Cisco StackWise technology

Up to 9 switches
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Switch Features:
Performance (Port Density)

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Switch Features:
Performance (Forwarding Rates & Link Aggregation)

Suez Canal University – Faculty of Computers & Informatics - Cisco Local Academy
forwarding rates define the processing capabilities of a switch by rating how much
data the switch can process per second
Switch Features:
Performance (Forwarding Rates & Link Aggregation)

As part of bandwidth aggregation, you should determine

if there are enough ports on a switch to aggregate to
support the required bandwidth. For example, consider
a Gigabit Ethernet port, which carries up to 1 Gbps of
traffic. If you have a 24-port switch, with all ports
capable of running at gigabit speeds, you could
generate up to 24 Gbps of network traffic.

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 Switch Features:
PoE
• Power over Ethernet allows the switch to deliver power to
a device over the existing Ethernet cabling.

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Switch Features:
L3 Functions

Suez Canal University – Faculty of Computers & Informatics - Cisco Local Academy
 Switch Features:
L3 Functions

Typically, switches operate at Layer 2 of the OSI

reference model, where they deal primarily with the MAC
addresses of devices connected to switch ports. Layer 3
switches offer advanced functionality that will be
discussed in greater detail in the later chapters of this
book. Layer 3 switches are also known as multilayer
switches. Figure 1-24 illustrates some functions of Layer
3 switches.

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Access Layer Switch Features

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Distribution Layer Switch Features

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Core Layer Switch Features

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Layer Features
of the Hierarchical Model

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Features of Cisco Catalyst Switches

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