The essential difference between a layer-2 switch and a layer-3 switch is that the working protocol layer is different. A layer-2 switch works at the data link layer, and a layer-3 switch works at the network layer.

It can be simply understood as a layer 2 switch. You can think that it only has the switching function, that is to say, it can only process data frames. In addition to the function of a layer 2 switch, a layer 3 switch also has a layer 3 routing function, which means it can process data. Bag.

(1) Layer 2 switches work on the second layer of the data link layer of the OSI reference model. The main functions include physical addressing, error checking, frame sequence, and flow control.

(2) A layer-3 switch is a device with a layer-3 switching function, that is, a layer-2 switch with a layer-3 routing function, but it is an organic combination of the two, not simply a router device hardware and software Superimposed on the LAN switch.