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What is the difference between a Layer 3 Switch and a Layer 3-aware switch

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by drovai

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Can anyone tell me exactly what a layer 3-aware switch is? My company currently has Dell Powerconnect 3424 switches, the specs say they are layer 2 and layer 3-aware switches. This leads me to believe that they are not truely a layer 3 switch but i can't find any specific info about the differences.

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by robo_dev

I believe that means that it recognizes Differentiated Services Code Point (DSCP) layer3 QOS protocol, AKA "Layer 3 QoS Trusted Mode". So it would 'play well with others' in a L3 environment.

Since true Layer-3 involves routing, a layer 2 switch has no routing functionality.

by shakeelshamsi

According to the Networking 7 Layer Diagram Layer 3 corresponds to Network layer (IP adddress) and Layer 2 is MAC address. so a layer 3 switch would be a combination of a layer 2 device (switch) and a layer 3 device (router) meaning a switch that can also do routing run routing protocols.

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