D-Link DES-3326 User Manual - page 18
DES-3326 Layer 3 Fast Ethernet Switch User’s Guide
4
Introduction
The DES-3326 can be thought of as 24 Fast Ethernet Layer 2
switching domains with a wire-speed router between each domain.
It can be deployed in a network between a traditional router and
the intranetwork. The traditional router and its associated WAN
interface would then handle routing between the intranetwork and
the WAN (the Internet, for example) while the Layer 3 switch
would handle routing within the LAN (between the Fast Ethernet
Layer 2 domains). Any installed Layer 2 switches, and indeed the
entire subnetting scheme, would remain in place.
The DES-3326 can also replace key traditional routers for data
centers and server farms, routing between these locations and the
rest of the network, and providing 24 ports of Layer 2 switching
performance combined with wire-speed routing.
Backbone routers can also be replaced with DES-3326 and a series
of DES-3326 could be linked via the optional Gigabit Ethernet
ports. Routers that service WAN connections would remain in
place, but would now be removed from the backbone and connected
to the DES-3326 via an Ethernet/Fast Ethernet port. The
backbone itself could be migrated to Gigabit Ethernet, or faster
technologies as they become available.
The DES-3326 accomplishes two objectives. First as a tool to
provide high-performance access to enterprise data servers and
infrastructure, and second, to enhance the performance of network
equipment already installed. Many network segments display poor
performance, but the Ethernet wire is only carrying a fraction of its
total traffic capacity. The problem is not the network, but the
ability of the connected devices utilize the full capacity of the
network. The DES-3326 can eliminate network bottlenecks to
high-traffic areas, and improve the utilization of the network’s
installed bandwidth.