Application point of view: There are some tips for choosing the routing and switching machine

The routing switch all-in-one machine makes the user group more convenient and fast. We can use it to replace the router function. However, when selecting the routing switch all-in-one machine, you must pay attention to it to suit your needs. Vrouters and vswitches are both very mature products. Vswitches mounted under vrouters are a mature application model with a distributed design. The switch module has an independent operating system and a high degree of software maturity. It also facilitates function expansion and rich functions, it can provide all the complete functions of vswitches and vrouters.

Further analysis: the distributed switching architecture processes all the packets sent by the Exchange Protocol locally, such as all the layer-2 attack packets and 802. The EAP authentication packets of 1X, The BPDU packets of the Spanning Tree Protocol, ARP packets, and multicast packets can all be independently processed by the CPU of the switch part, and do not need to be uploaded to the primary CPU part of the router. Greatly reduces the burden on the primary CPU. For cost considerations, manufacturers are willing to promote integrated switching architecture routing and switching machine to users.

How to select a Routing Switching Machine

In important cases, the distributed routing and switching machine is selected. For some less important network areas, if they have low requirements on the switching function, you can select the centralized architecture routing and switching machine. Because the cost of the centralized Routing Switching machine is relatively low and the price is relatively low. From several aspects:

1. From the perspective of rich software features: the Routing Switching all-in-one machine is a brand new product innovation. In the early stages of its appearance, it is often enough to use some simple functions such as switching ports and VLANs. With the development of the business, the demand for switching functions is further expanded, and other functions are likely to be used in the future. The centralized architecture provides limited functions, while the distributed switching architecture provides all the functions of routers and switches and is easy to expand.

2. From the perspective of stability and software maturity: Exchange and routing are two relatively independent network systems with their respective focuses. In an integrated switching architecture, any new functions are innovative, and new switching functions must be added to the routing platform. Both routing and switching are a huge set of software systems. Such innovation requires the exchange function to be rolled onto the routing platform. The result is that the software system is larger, the software maturity and stability and reliability will be affected. At the same time, because of this architecture, the switch function must be limited, and the complete switch function cannot be provided. The distributed design has an independent CPU and operating system in both routing and switching. The software is highly sophisticated and easy to expand functions and rich functions, it can provide all the complete functions of vswitches and vrouters.

3. From the perspective of Device Performance and Network Attack resistance: the integrated architecture has only one CPU for the route, and the CPU needs to simultaneously process the switch and route functions, which has an impact on the performance. For example, in a bank in Fujian, a manufacturer provides an integrated architecture routing and switching machine. After sub-interfaces and QOS are enabled, the performance is reduced by 70%. Insufficient performance poses potential risks for future bandwidth expansion. In the distributed architecture, routes and switches are implemented by their independent CPUs. Switching CPUs can process all switching packets, greatly reducing the burden on the primary CPU of the route, improve the overall performance of the device. Layer-2 Packet Exchange attacks are also directly handled by the switch CPU, which is not sent to the routing CPU, greatly improving the device's anti-network attack capability.

4. From the perspective of maintenance: Due to the rich software functions of the distributed architecture, the complete switching function is provided by default, which is in advance for functions that may be required in the future. Even if function expansion is required in the future, you do not need to upgrade the software or change the device frequently to reduce maintenance costs.

5. From the perspective of scalability: the distributed architecture Routing Switching all-in-one machine adopts modular design and can be flexibly upgraded and extended. At the same time, because the switching and routing are independent operating systems, functions can be easily expanded. However, integrated architecture devices often adopt a solid mode to provide switching ports. After the switching chip is determined, it cannot be replaced, if you want to upgrade only the entire device, you cannot extend the upgrade. In addition, adding any function may require a large amount of development and testing resources, which is more difficult for manufacturers and better scalability for distributed architecture.

In terms of management, the integrated switching architecture can manage configurations under the unified CLI, which is more convenient. However, the distributed architecture has independent CPU and OS for switching and routing, configuration is often done independently. Users who require frequent device configuration may feel inconvenient. However, some manufacturers in China have already solved this problem. For example, the RSR20 series routing and switching machine provided by ruijie network adopts the distributed switching architecture design, which can also achieve unified management and maintenance. It should be a better choice to have all the advantages of distributed architecture while having both the advantages of unified management and maintenance.

It is understood that there are manufacturers in order to further reduce costs, the use of integrated exchange architecture, but also further adopt the solidification mode to provide the exchange port. In this way, users may have potential business expansion risks. The switching function is determined by the switch chip. The fixed mode directly provides the switch chip. If the switch chip needs to be expanded in the future, the entire machine is replaced.

Comprehensive consideration: the distributed architecture of the Routing Switching all-in-one machine has rich functions, high software maturity, good stability, higher performance, strong anti-attack capability, and strong scalability. In the long run, selecting a distributed routing and switching machine will reduce maintenance costs. It is recommended that you select a distributed routing and switching machine in important scenarios. For some relatively unimportant network areas, they have low requirements on the switching function, you can choose the centralized architecture routing and switching machine, because the cost of the centralized routing and switching machine is relatively low and the price is relatively low.