Cisco Catalysts switches equipped with the Enhanced Multilayer Image (EMI) can work as Layer 3 devices with full routing capabilities. Example switch models that support layer 3 routing are the 3550, 3750, 3560 etc.
On a Layer3-capable switch, the port interfaces work as Layer 2 access ports by default, but you can also configure them as “Routed Ports” which act as normal router interfaces. That is, you can assign an IP address directly on the routed port. Moreover, you can configure also a Switch Vlan Interface (SVI) with the “interface vlan” command which acts as a virtual layer 3 interface on the Layer3 switch.
On this post I will describe a scenario with a Layer3 switch acting as “Inter Vlan Routing” device together with two Layer2 switches acting as closet access switches.
