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Access Layer Switch


 

AN ACCESS LAYER SWITCH IS A TYPE OF NETWORK SWITCH THAT IS USED TO CONNECT END DEVICES, SUCH AS COMPUTERS, PRINTERS, AND SERVERS, TO THE NETWORK. IT IS THE LOWEST LAYER IN A HIERARCHICAL NETWORK DESIGN, AND IT IS RESPONSIBLE FOR PROVIDING CONNECTIVITY TO END DEVICES AND FOR SWITCHING TRAFFIC BETWEEN THEM.

ACCESS LAYER SWITCHES ARE TYPICALLY LESS EXPENSIVE AND LESS POWERFUL THAN CORE AND DISTRIBUTION LAYER SWITCHES, BUT THEY ARE STILL IMPORTANT COMPONENTS OF A NETWORK. THEY NEED TO BE ABLE TO HANDLE THE TRAFFIC LOAD GENERATED BY END DEVICES, AND THEY NEED TO BE ABLE TO PROVIDE BASIC SECURITY FEATURES.

SOME OF THE COMMON FEATURES OF ACCESS LAYER SWITCHES INCLUDE:

SWITCHING

ACCESS LAYER SWITCHES SWITCH TRAFFIC BETWEEN END DEVICES. THIS MEANS THAT THEY TAKE INCOMING TRAFFIC FROM ONE DEVICE AND FORWARD IT TO THE APPROPRIATE DESTINATION DEVICE.

VLAN SUPPORT

ACCESS LAYER SWITCHES CAN BE USED TO CREATE AND MANAGE VLANS (VIRTUAL LANS). VLANS ALLOW YOU TO SEGMENT YOUR NETWORK INTO DIFFERENT GROUPS OF DEVICES, WHICH CAN IMPROVE SECURITY AND PERFORMANCE.

SECURITY FEATURES

ACCESS LAYER SWITCHES CAN PROVIDE BASIC SECURITY FEATURES, SUCH AS MAC FILTERING AND ACLS (ACCESS CONTROL LISTS). THESE FEATURES CAN HELP TO PROTECT YOUR NETWORK FROM UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS AND MALICIOUS ATTACKS.

HERE ARE SOME EXAMPLES OF HOW ACCESS LAYER SWITCHES MIGHT BE USED IN A TYPICAL ENTERPRISE NETWORK:

AN ACCESS LAYER SWITCH MIGHT BE USED TO CONNECT THE WORKSTATIONS IN A DEPARTMENT TO THE NETWORK.

AN ACCESS LAYER SWITCH MIGHT BE USED TO CONNECT THE PRINTERS IN A BUILDING TO THE NETWORK.

AN ACCESS LAYER SWITCH MIGHT BE USED TO CONNECT THE WIRELESS ACCESS POINTS IN A BUILDING TO THE NETWORK.

WHEN CHOOSING AN ACCESS LAYER SWITCH, IT IS IMPORTANT TO CONSIDER THE SPECIFIC NEEDS OF YOUR NETWORK. SOME FACTORS TO CONSIDER INCLUDE:

NUMBER OF PORTS

THE NUMBER OF PORTS REQUIRED WILL DEPEND ON THE NUMBER OF DEVICES THAT NEED TO BE CONNECTED TO THE SWITCH.

PERFORMANC

THE PERFORMANCE REQUIRED WILL DEPEND ON THE AMOUNT OF TRAFFIC THAT THE SWITCH NEEDS TO HANDLE.

SECURITY FEATURES

THE SECURITY FEATURES REQUIRED WILL DEPEND ON THE SECURITY NEEDS OF YOUR NETWORK.

MANAGEABILITY FEATURES

THE MANAGEABILITY FEATURES REQUIRED WILL DEPEND ON HOW YOUR NETWORK IS MANAGED.

BUDGET

THE BUDGET WILL ALSO BE A FACTOR TO CONSIDER.

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THE CISCO CATALYST 2960 SWITCH IS CALLED AN ACCESS LAYER SWITCH BECAUSE IT IS DESIGNED TO CONNECT END DEVICES, SUCH AS COMPUTERS, PRINTERS, AND SERVERS, TO THE NETWORK. IT IS TYPICALLY PLACED AT THE EDGE OF THE NETWORK, WHERE IT CONNECTS TO END DEVICES.

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