SMB switch, access switch, aggregation switch, core switch

SMB switches are small and medium-sized business switches. This switch is relative to some large, high-end switches. SMB switches support commonly used Layer 2 protocols, but their performance and number of interfaces are weaker. Access switches and aggregation switches are another classification method. In data center or enterprise network planning, the network is layered, divided into access layer, aggregation layer, and core layer. The switches placed in these three layers correspond to access switches, aggregation switches, and. Hardware: Generally speaking, access switches are box devices (TOR), and there are also box devices (such as EOR). Box switches are small in size, have few interfaces, and are not expandable. Aggregation switches and are frame-type, large in size, large in number of interfaces, can be plugged into different boards to meet different needs, scalability is better. In terms of performance, it can be considered as core switch> aggregation switch> access switch function: access switch is used for access terminals, aggregation switch is used for aggregation of access switches, core switch is used for aggregation switches, and is also responsible for connecting to the Internet. Software: Both support basic Layer 2 protocols. Then, depending on the needs, the three switches may need to additionally support different protocols. For example, core switches may also support Layer 3 functionality, TRILL protocol. Aggregation switches may also support FCoE, DCB, whatever. Access switches support 802.1Qbg, 802.1BR protocols and so on.