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Difference between L3 Switch and Multilayer Switch ?

Nabarun Halder
Level 1
Level 1

Difference between L3 Switch  and Multilayer Switch ?

5 Replies 5

There is no difference. A Layer3-switch is capable of switching the traffic (L2) and routing the traffic (L3). The routing is done in hardware which is the difference to a traditional router which acts mainly in software.

A Multilayer-Switch can operate both on Layer2 and Layer3. So both terms describe the same thing.

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Sandeep Sharma
Cisco Employee
Cisco Employee

Hi Nabarun

A L3 switch is a Multilayer switch witch support both L2 and L3 (i.e switching and routing both).

Thanks & Regards

Sandeep

Bilal Nawaz
VIP Alumni
VIP Alumni

No difference, they are the same as far as definition goes.

Please rate useful posts & remember to mark any solved questions as answered. Thank you.

Please rate useful posts & remember to mark any solved questions as answered. Thank you.

Joseph W. Doherty
Hall of Fame
Hall of Fame

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Posting

Although L3 switch and multilayer switch are generally considered the same thing now adays (as noted by the other posters), a L3 switch does multilayer switching (MLS), but a multilayer switch might be incapable of L3 routing itself.

A good example of this, a multilayer switch, was the Catalyst 5000 series.  The 5000 could do MLS in conjunction with a standalone router (while it had no on-board L3 routing capability - i.e. so the 5000 without its optional RSM wasn't a single device L3 switch).  It could also do L3 routing (with its optional RSM) while not doing MLS, so then it wasn't acting like a L3 switch.  Only when you configured MLS with its optional RSM did you have it operating as what we today consider a single device L3 switch.

InayathUlla Sharieff
Cisco Employee
Cisco Employee