Layer 1 (Physical): This is all about wires, ports, and electrical signals—pure hardware. Layer 2 (Data Link): This layer understands MAC addresses and creates point-to-point connections between devices. This article breaks down the differences between L2 and L3 switches in the access layer, analyzes key decision factors like network scale and complexity, and finally provides a practical recommendation. In both switch types, we can use layer 2 functionalities, VLANs, Spanning Tree Protocol etc. But. The layer 2 switches prevent over-crowding of data packets in transmission links and access devices.
[PDF Version]