Differences between vswitches and vrouters

Vro is the main node device on the Internet. The router determines data forwarding through routing. A forwarding rule is called routing, which is also the origin of the router name (router, forwarder ). As a hub connecting different networks, the router system forms the main context of the TCP/IP-based Internet. It can also be said that the router forms the backbone of the Internet. The processing speed is one of the major bottlenecks of network communication. Its Reliability directly affects the quality of network interconnection. Therefore, in the field of campus network, Regional Network, and even Internet research, router technology is always at the core position, and its development history and direction have become a microcosm of Internet research. As China's network infrastructure and information construction are in the ascendant, we will discuss the role, position, and development direction of routers in the interconnected networks, it is of great significance to clarify the plausible concepts of vrouters and network interconnection in the network market.

A vswitch is a network device that can encapsulate and forward data packets based on MAC address recognition. The switch can "Learn" the MAC address and store it in the internal address table. By creating a temporary exchange path between the initiator of the data frame and the Target receiver, make the data frame directly arrive at the destination address from the source address.
So what is the difference between a vro and a vswitch? Specifically, it is divided into the following four parts:

1. The two have different levels of work

The original switch was working on the data link layer of the OSI/RM open architecture, that is, the second layer. At the beginning, the router was designed to work on the network layer of the OSI model. Because the switch operates on the second layer (data link layer) of OSI, its working principle is relatively simple, while the router works on the third layer (Network Layer) of OSI ), more protocol information can be obtained, and routers can make more intelligent forwarding decisions.

2. The data forwarding between the two depends on different objects.

A vswitch uses a physical address or a MAC address to determine the destination address for data forwarding. A vro uses the idnumber (IP address) of different networks to determine the data forwarding address. IP addresses are implemented in software and describe the network where the device is located. Sometimes these layer-3 addresses are also called protocol addresses or network addresses. The MAC address is usually provided by the hardware and allocated by the NIC manufacturer, and has been fixed to the NIC. Generally, it cannot be changed. The IP address is usually automatically assigned by the network administrator or the system.

3. Traditional vswitches can only be divided into conflicting domains, but not broadcast domains. vrouters can be divided into broadcast domains.

The CIDR Block connected by the vswitch still belongs to the same broadcast domain. broadcast packets are transmitted across all CIDR blocks connected to the vswitch. In some cases, communication congestion and security vulnerabilities may occur. The CIDR blocks connected to the vro are allocated to different broadcast domains, and the broadcast data does not pass through the vro. Although vswitches above Layer 3 Have VLAN functions and can also be divided into broadcast domains, communication between subbroadcast domains is not allowed, and communication between them still requires routers.

4. The vro provides firewall services, while the vswitch does not

A vro only forwards data packets of a specific address. It does not support packet transmission through the routing protocol or unknown destination network, thus preventing broadcast storms.
To sum up, the switch is generally used for the LAN-WAN connection, the switch belongs to the bridge, is the data link layer equipment, some switches can also realize the third layer of the exchange. A vro is used for Wan-WAN connections. It can resolve forwarding groups between different networks and act on the network layer. They only accept the input group from one line and then forward it to another line. These two lines may belong to different networks and adopt different protocols. In comparison, vro features more powerful than vswitches, but the speed is relatively slow and expensive. layer-3 vswitches have both the ability to forward packets at the wire speed of vswitches and the good control function of vrouters, therefore, it is widely used.

The above are the differences between vswitches and vrouters. You can also learn how to create a USB flash drive boot disk!

Differences between vswitches and vrouters