LevelOne GTL-2691, Installation Manual

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2-6
Network Planning
2
Using Layer 3 Routing
VLANs can significantly enhance network performance and security. However, if you
use conventional routers to interconnect VLANs, you can lose most of your
performance advantage. The Gigabit Ethernet Switch is routing switch that provide
wire-speed routing, which allows you to eliminate your conventional IP routers,
except for a router to handle non-IP protocols and a gateway router linked to the
WAN. Just assign an IP address to any VLANs that need to communicate. The
switch will continue to segregate Layer 2 traffic based on VLANs, but will now
provide inter-VLAN connections for IP applications. The switch will perform IP
routing for specified VLAN groups, a directly connected subnetwork, a remote IP
subnetwork or host address, a subnetwork broadcast address, or an IP multicast
address.
Figure 2-5 IP Routing for Unicast Traffic
IP Net w ork 1
R&D
VLAN 1
VLAN 2
Testin g
IP Net w ork 2
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21 22 23 24
Stack
Master Power
Module Diag
Stack ID
RPU
Master
Select Console Stack ID
Power
Stack
Master
RPS
Diag Module
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Stack
Link