Routing Protocols

The switch supports both static and dynamic routing.
• Static routing requires routing information to be stored in the switch either manually
or when a connection is set up by an appl ication o utside the switch.
• Dynamic routing uses a routing protocol to exchange routing information, calculate
routing tables, and respond to changes in the status or loading of the netw ork.
Basic IP Interface Configuration
To allow routing between different IP subnets, you must enab le IP Routi ng as
described in this section. You also nee d to you def ine a V LAN for e ach IP subn et
that will be connected directly to this switch. Note that you must first creat e a VLAN
as described under “Creating VLANs” on page 11-6 before configurin g the
corresponding subnet. Remember that if you need to manage the switch in-band
then you must define the IP subnet address for at least one VLAN.
Command Attributes
• IP Routing Status – Configures the switch to opera te as a La yer 2 s wit ch or a s a
multilayer routing switch. (Options: Disable this field to restrict operation to Lay er 2
switching; enable it to allow multilayer operation at eit her Lay er 2 o r 3 as requ ir ed .)
- This command affects both static and dynamic unic ast routing .
- If IP routing is enabled, all IP packets are routed using either static routing or
dynamic routing via RIP or OSPF, and other packets for all non-IP pro tocols
(e.g., NetBuei, NetWare or AppleTalk) are switched ba sed on MAC add resse s.
If IP routing is disabled, all packets are switch ed, wi th filte ring and forwardin g
decisions based strictly on MAC addresses.
•
Default Gateway
– The routing device to which the switch will pass packets for all
unknown subnets; i.e., packets that do not match any rout ing ta ble e ntry. (Va lid IP
addresses consist of four numbers, 0 to 255, separated by periods.)

19-4

IP Routing

19