Gain an in-depth understanding of the main functions and applications of smart Switches

Although smart switches can process different types of traffic, they can also limit the broadcast traffic. But objectively speaking, with the current technology, smart switches cannot meet the needs of all users. When smart switches gradually move towards the edge of the network, they are always faced with various questions from users: whether smart switches are used to make minor use of the edge, whether they can completely solve network congestion problems, and whether they support VoIP, can it replace the firewall. In fact, smart switches can and cannot.

The emergence of the concept of smart switches has been given a lot of mythical colors, as if all network problems will be solved. Many users have lost interest in the various concepts launched by the vendor after the. com era. We will answer all questions about smart switches one by one.

Is it necessary for a smart switch to be deployed on the network edge? Is it a small use?

With the development of enterprise network applications, various types of network traffic occupy a large amount of bandwidth, which puts a great burden on the backbone. These types of traffic are not all critical business traffic. For example, the FTP download traffic that is common in enterprise networks is not a critical traffic. The time needed to download files or programs is several minutes later, which does not have much impact on users, however, if the latency of VoIP traffic or IP video traffic is several seconds, the user will feel very uncomfortable. The importance of other traffic, such as Email, is between the two. In the face of such rich applications, if the edge of the network is not differentiated and transferred at an important level, traffic congestion will occur on the backbone. In addition, broadcast traffic needs to be restricted at the edge of the network, so that the broadcast traffic of all clients cannot be spread to the backbone. Otherwise, a severe broadcast storm will occur.

This is the need to deploy smart switches on the edge of the network. With the decline in the price of smart switches, smart switches are no longer a luxury, and the price is only about 30%-40% more expensive than traditional two-layer switches, from the perspective of improving performance, this investment is worthwhile.

After deploying smart switches, all the network congestion problems that previously plagued the system have been solved?

Although smart switches can classify traffic at the edge of the network to give different priority levels and limit broadcast traffic, smart switches are not a cure for all diseases, for different network congestion situations, we should carefully analyze and find the correct solution. For example, for an HTTP server, if there is congestion in its network segment, You need to analyze whether the traffic is caused by a broadcast storm or the traffic volume is too large. If it is caused by a broadcast storm or other levels of traffic, you can configure a smart switch correctly to solve this problem. If it is caused by a large number of HTTP visitors, you cannot simply solve the problem through traffic priority. You need to upgrade the server to handle more access requests.

Does a smart switch support VoIP applications?

Smart switches support QoS is a good message for VoIP applications because VoIP applications are sensitive to data latency, such applications often encounter packet loss and delay. packet loss or packet delay will seriously affect the session Quality Based on LAN phones. Smart switches can identify VoIP traffic based on IP addresses, physical ports, and protocols, and then assign priority to all VoIP traffic using the 802.1p protocol. This ensures that the VoIP traffic can pass through the LAN architecture without interruption even in high-load network usage.

What kind of network security does a smart switch support? Can it replace the firewall?

Network security has become one of the most important issues in today's networks. Smart switches have a lot of security enhancements, far exceeding the traditional layer-2 common switches. Enabling smart switches on the edge of the network facilitates the start of network security deployment and prevention at the edge of the network, eliminate the unstable factors in the early stage.

First, the smart switch uses the ACL Access Control List) to enhance security capabilities. The access control list was originally used only on the core router and has been extended to the smart switch. In the network, the ACL not only allows network administrators to set network policies, but also allows or denies the control of individual users or specific data streams. It can also be used to enhance network security shielding.

In addition, security enhancements include virtual private network VLANs, which can restrict unauthorized access between different VLANs. The IP/MAC Address binding function can restrict access from unauthorized users, the access control system (TACACS +) of the terminal access controller can coordinate the access control of a large number of network devices in a centralized manner. The 802.1x access authentication mechanism, extended tree enhanced protection, and port isolation are all security enhancement functions.

Although the smart switch has certain security functions, it is not a dedicated security device after all, and the chip of the switch cannot be used for a large amount of processing time for security enhancement, the main purpose is to transmit data. Therefore, it is a security enhancement device in the network and cannot completely replace a dedicated firewall. In some small enterprises, if they do not have a budget to buy a firewall, they can also use it for security protection.