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Technology Stocks : Cisco Systems, Inc. (CSCO) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: craig crawford who wrote (11442)	1/9/1998 12:34:00 PM
From: Scott Rafe	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 77400

Sorry wrong Craig, Craig. There is a LOT of FUD out there... If we talk about Layer3, that is the "Network" Layer in the OSI model of how we logically think of networks. That is the exclusive purview of _routing_. Not neccessarily _router_. If it is a Layer2 device it is a bridge. All switches are at heart multi-port bridges. They ADD on _routing_ to claim Layer3 capabilities. As far as "replacing" routers... one MUST route or pretty much the world as we know it stops. Routing interconnects different networks. Switching(bridging) make different networks into one giant network(a bad thing when talking about large systems or security on any size system). This layer3/2 stuff has become a semantic game played on the semi-knowledeable by marketing. Cisco apparently delayed as long as possible entering into this noise bath. Various companies... you know who you are, are using marketing and FUD about this subject to attempt to show something "unique". They may have a Layer2 device(switch) to which they have added some poor routing code and now call it a Layer3 device. Does anyone question who makes the best routers (routing)? Simply put... Remember, anyone can build a box, some even make good ones. But that is not the heart of the device. The heart is the SOFTWARE or operating system that runs the devices in a network. That is what provides the _routing_ or switching. The box just really provides the electrical signals and a place to plug in the wires. Ask around in the industry. The operating system that Cisco uses IOS(tm) is the best in the industry. Providing the fullest features, performance,and interoperability between Cisco devices as disparate as: routers, switches, ATM devices, and even firewalls. They can all talk and work together on a level that makes a real difference in network performance and security. No other vendor can come close to what Cisco has in IOS(tm). To finish up. If we have software in a box that makes it route we call it a router. If it switches we call it a switch. All routers switch packet from one network to another(they are switches). All switches are not routers. To explain this fully would require a MUCH longer post. Check the white papers in the public area of cisco.com Take care...