Chapter 1: Introduction

to Switched Networks

Routing And Switching

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 Chapter 1
1.0 Introduction
1.1 LAN Design
1.2 The Switched Environment
1.3 Summary

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 Chapter 1: Objectives
 Describe convergence of data, voice and video in the context of
switched networks
 Describe a switched network in a small to medium-sized business
 Explain the process of frame forwarding in a switched network
 Compare a collision domain to a broadcast domain

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 Converged Networks
Growing Complexity of Networks
 Our digital world is changing
• The ability to access the Internet and the
corporate network is no longer confined to
physical offices, geographical locations, or time
zones.
 Information must be accessed from
anywhere in the world
 Hence, networks are required to be secure,
reliable, and highly available
 Next generation networks must not only
support current expectations and equipment,
but must also be able to integrate legacy
platforms
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 Converged Networks
Elements Of A Converged Network
 Collaboration is a requirement
 To support collaboration, networks employ
converged solutions: Data services such as voice
systems, IP phones, voice gateways, video support,
and video conferencing
 Including data services, a converged network with
collaboration support may include features such as
the following
 Call control: Telephone call processing, caller ID,
call transfer, hold, and conference
 Voice messaging: Voicemail
 Mobility: Receive important calls wherever you are
 Automated attendant : Serve customers faster by
routing calls directly to the right department or
individual

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 Converged Networks
Elements Of A Converged Network

 Benefits of Converged
Networks include:
• Multiple types of traffic; Only one
network to manage
• Substantial savings over
installation and management of
separate voice, video and data
networks
• Integrates IT management so that
any moves, additions, and changes
are completed with an intuitive
management interface

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 Converged Networks
Borderless Switched Networks

 Cisco Borderless Network is a network architecture

that allow organizations to connect anyone,
anywhere, anytime, and on any device securely,
reliably, and seamlessly
 It is designed to address IT and business
challenges, such as supporting the converged
network and changing work patterns.

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 Converged Networks
Hierarchy in the Borderless Switched Network
 Borderless switched network design guidelines are
built upon the following principles:
 Hierarchical:
• Facilitates understanding the role of each
device at every tier and reduces fault domains
at every tier
 Modularity
• Allows seamless network expansion and
integrated service enablement on an on-
demand basis
 Resiliency
• Satisfies user expectations for keeping the
network always on

 Flexibility
• Allows intelligent traffic load sharing by using all
network resources

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 Core, Distribution and Core
 Access Layer
• The access layer represents the network edge, where traffic
enters or exits the campus network.
 Distribution Layer
• The distribution layer interfaces between the access layer and
the core layer to provide many important functions, including:
• Aggregating large-scale wiring closet networks
• Providing intelligent switching, routing, and network access
policy functions to access the rest of the network
 Core Layer
• The core layer is the network backboneThe primary purpose of
the core layer is to provide fault isolation and high-speed
backbone connectivity.

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 Converged Networks
Core, Distribution, Access

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 Switched Networks
Role of Switched Networks

 The role of switched networks has evolved dramatically

in the last two decades.
 It was not long ago that flat Layer 2 switched networks
were the norm. Flat Layer 2 data networks relied on the
basic properties of Ethernet and the widespread use of
hub repeaters to propagate LAN traffic throughout an
organization
 A switched LAN allows more flexibility, traffic
management
 It also support features such as quality of service,
additional security, support for wireless, support for IP
telephony and mobility services
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 Switched Networks
 There are various types of switches used in business
networks. It is important to deploy the appropriate types
of switches based on network requirements.
 When selecting the type of switch, the network designer
must choose between a fixed or a modular configuration,
and stackable or non-stackable.
 Another consideration is the thickness of the switch,
which is expressed in number of rack units- form factors.

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 Switched Networks
Form Factor
 Fixed
• We buy another switch if we
run out of switch
• Do not support features or
options beyond those that
originally came with the
switch .
• For example, a 24-port gigabit
fixed switch cannot support
additional ports.

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 Switched Networks
Form Factor
 Modular:
• offer more flexibility in their
configuration.
• typically come with different
sized chassis that allow for
the installation of different
numbers of modular line
cards or ports.
• A modular switch with a 24-
port line card supports an
additional 24 port line card,
to bring the total number of
ports up to 48.
• useful in core network
• Flexible add

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 Switched Networks
Form Factor
 Stackable
• can be interconnected using
a special cable that
provides high-bandwidth
throughput between the
switches
• the stacked switches
effectively operate as a
single larger switch.
• Important in bigger
networks
• We can manage four
switches, for example, at
one

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 Frame Forwarding
Switching as a General Concept
 A Switch makes a decision based on ingress port
(direction from which frames comes)and destination
port of the message
 A LAN switch keeps a table that it uses to determine
how to forward traffic through the switch
 Cisco LAN switches forward Ethernet frames based
on the destination MAC address of the frames.
 The only intelligence of the LAN switch is its ability
to use its table to forward traffic based on the
ingress port and the destination address of a
message.

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 Frame Forwarding
Dynamically Populating a Switch MAC Address Table
 A switch must first learn which devices exist on each port
before it can transmit a frame
 It builds a table called a MAC address, or content
addressable memory (CAM) table
 The mapping device <-> port is stored in the CAM table
 CAM is a special type of memory used in high-speed
searching applications.
 The information in the MAC address table is used to
send frames
 When a switch receives an incoming frame with a MAC
address that is not found in the CAM table, it floods it to
all ports but the one that received the frame.
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 Frame Forwarding
Switch Forwarding Methods

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 Frame Forwarding
Store-and-Forward Switching
 Store-and-Forwarding allows the switch to:
Check for errors (via FCS check)
Perform Automatic Buffering
 Slower forwarding

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 Frame Forwarding
Cut-Through Switching
 Cut-Through allows the switch to start forwarding in
about 10 microseconds
 It has the following problems
• No FCS check
• No Automatic Buffering

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 Switching Domains
Collision Domains
 The network segments that share the same bandwidth
between devices are known as collision domains,
because when two or more devices within that segment
try to communicate at the same time, collisions may
occur.
 Collision domain is the segment where devices must
compete to communicate
 All ports of a hub belong to the same collision domain
 Every port of a switch is a collision domain on its own
 A switch break the segment into smaller collision
domains, easing device competition.

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 Collision Domains

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 Switching Domains
Broadcast Domains
 Broadcast domain is the extend of the network where a
broadcast frame can be heard.
 Switches forward broadcast frames to all ports.
Therefore switches don’t break broadcast domains.
 All ports of a switch (with its default configuration) belong
to the same broadcast domain
 If two or more switches are connected, broadcasts will
be forward to all ports of all switches (except for the port
that originally received the broadcast)

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 Switching Domains
Alleviating Network Congestion
Switches help alleviating network congestion by:
 facilitating the segmentation of a LAN into separate
collision domains
 providing full-duplex communication between devices
 taking advantage of their high port density
 buffering large frames
 employing high speed ports
 taking advantage of their fast internal switching process
 having a low per-port cost

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 Chapter 1: Summary
 This chapter showed that the trend in networks is
towards convergence using a single set of wires and
devices to handle voice, video, and data transmission.
 In addition, there has been a dramatic shift in the way
businesses operate.
 No physical offices or geographic boundaries constraints.
Resources must now be seamlessly available anytime
and anywhere.
 The Cisco Borderless Network architecture enables
different elements, from access switches to wireless
access points, to work together and allow users to
access resources from any place at any time.

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 Chapter 1: Summary
 The traditional three-layer hierarchical design model
divides the network into core, distribution and access
layers, and allows each portion of the network to be
optimized for specific functionality.
 It provides modularity, resiliency, and flexibility, which
provides a foundation that allows network designers to
overlay security, mobility, and unified communication
features.
 Switches use either store-and-forward or cut-through
switching.
 Every port on a switch forms a separate collision domain
allowing for extremely high-speed full-duplex
communication.
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 Chapter 1: Summary
 Switch ports do not block broadcasts and connecting
switches together can extend the size of the broadcast
domain often resulting in degraded network performance

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Presentation_ID © 2008 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. Cisco Confidential 28