Could someone please explain what the benefits are of layer 2 switching over jsut a baseline switch and layer 3 over layer 2. I was looking at getting a managed switch but didn't see that much in the management options that seemed usefull. For anything usefull (ie bandwidth restriction) I need to get a layer 3 switch it seems and that is mega $$$.
Thank you in advance for the help.
One last little question. Why do so many switches have backplanes that are so damm tiny. I have seen switches with 2 gigabit uplink and 8 ports with 2.1Gbps backplane.
Just a fyi. We are not talking about 4 or 5 port SOHO switches here. While those switches are very good at thier price point and will do what you need them to do you will unfortunalty probably not find the talked about management options on them. On other hand you don't have to worry about administration or configeration of such options. A good way to check if you switch might have these options is too look for a console port (usually a serial port) on the switch. If there is such a port your switch jsut might be manageable. If not don't worry. YOur are not missing much unless you have at least 20+ pc's on a busy network.
Thank you in advance for the help.
One last little question. Why do so many switches have backplanes that are so damm tiny. I have seen switches with 2 gigabit uplink and 8 ports with 2.1Gbps backplane.
Just a fyi. We are not talking about 4 or 5 port SOHO switches here. While those switches are very good at thier price point and will do what you need them to do you will unfortunalty probably not find the talked about management options on them. On other hand you don't have to worry about administration or configeration of such options. A good way to check if you switch might have these options is too look for a console port (usually a serial port) on the switch. If there is such a port your switch jsut might be manageable. If not don't worry. YOur are not missing much unless you have at least 20+ pc's on a busy network.