LANNET Lanswitch Plus 3LS Multilayer Switch - Module for LET-36 chassis (Historical documentation)

1. FA S T L AY E R 3
S W I T C H I N G
The LANNET
LANswitch Plus 3LS
allows communication
between networks
that is as fast as
communication within
the switched network
uickly dominating today’s LAN
environment, LAN switches
provide the throughput and
dedicated bandwidth necessary to support
users’ ever growing network needs. New
applications based on client/server technology,
multimedia, and collaborative computing
have all benefited from the speed, price and
performance afforded by switching.
But LAN switches do not provide all the
answers. In most networks, LAN switches
must be used in conjunction with routers,
and this has a major impact in a number of
areas. Routers are significantly slower than
switches. Networks combining two types of
equipment are inevitably more expensive to
implement. And moves and changes are
much more complicated in router-based
networks.
The LANNET LANswitch Plus 3LS
Multilayer switch:
.. Transforms the LANswitch Plus into a
fully scalable, integrated system with
Layer 2 and Layer 3 capabilities.
.. Integrates with the LANswitch Plus
backplane, which has interfaces to
Ethernet, Fast-Ethernet, FDDI and ATM.
.. Costs about 20% of a traditional routing
solution, but has the award-winning
performance of the LANswitch Plus.
.. Performs both IP and IPX switching,
unlike many other IP only systems.
.. Reduces or eliminates the need for
expensive routers in the local network.
.. Is fully standards-based and interoperates
with traditional routers, providing full
investment protection.
LANNET LANswitch Plus 3LS
Multilayer Switch
H I G H - P E R F O R M A N C E L AY E R 3 S W I T C H I N G
The LANNET LANswitch™ Plus 3LS Multilayer Switch is a Layer 3 switch
module that effectively provides the functions of a LAN router but several times cheaper and
faster. It is the next stage for switching technology, which first replaced bridges (Layer 2) in
LANs and is now advancing to handle the more complicated function of routers (Layer 3).
Q
LANswitch Plus/3LS –
clear winner of the
Multilayer switching
evaluation.

2. M U LT I L AY E R S W I T C H I N G
With the addition of the 3LS, LANswitch
Plus becomes a fully integrated multilayer
switch providing wire-speed connectivity
between IP and IPX workgroups and
VLANs, while working with existing router-
based network topologies and
configurations.
Multilayer switching is an intelligent
combination of switching and routing
technologies that provides a complete and
integrated solution for all kinds of LAN
infrastructures. Unlike systems from other
vendors, LANNET multilayer switching is
standards based, using no proprietary
protocols, nor is it an IP-only technology.
G U A R A N T E E D I N V E S T M E N T P R O T E C T I O N
The LANswitch Plus 3LS maintains the
strong LANNET tradition of investment
protection and future-readiness. The 3LS
fits into the customer's existing
environment and can added to the network
in a staged process to gradually reduce the
load on routers and improve client/server
performance.
The 3LS interoperates seamlessly with
standard routers and Layer 3 elements such
as TCP/IP stacks, and IPX servers and
clients. It uses standard protocols only:
Open Shortest Path First (OSPF) and
Router Information Protocol (RIP).
L O G I C A L M I G R AT I O N PAT H
In a conventional router-based network,
building LANs connect via a router to a
shared FDDI backbone. The routers in
each building service both local and
backbone traffic and can become a
congested bottleneck. The diagram shows
two possible solutions. The first option is
for multilayer LANswitches to provide local
routing to the buildings. This off-loads local
traffic from the backbone router, and
provides wire-speed Layer 3 switching to
the building LANs. The second option also
migrates the backbone to switched FDDI.
The two 3LS modules share the load, while
all the buildings benefit from multilayer
switching. One router remains for WAN
connectivity and complex internetworking.
L O O K I N G U N D E R T H E H O O D
The LANswitch Plus 3LS plugs directly
into the Cellenium™ Bus, giving it a multi-
gigabit switching-speed routing throughput.
All time critical tasks such as packet
forwarding are executed in fast VLSI
hardware, and are separated from tasks such
as route determination. Packets shoot across
the switching fabric with a very low delay
and at a speed that no router can match.
Even if there are many multilayer
switches in the network, packets only have
to pass through one of them to reach their
destination. One hop routing translates
directly into better network performance.
LANNET
LANswitch Plus
3LS Multilayer
Switch
WAN
Router
Multilayer switch
(LANswitch
with 3LS)
Plus
WAN
3
3
3
3
3
FDDI
Fast-
Ethernet
The diagram shows two options
for migrating to multilayer
switching, with investment
protection guaranteed.

3. LANNET
LANswitch Plus
3LS Multilayer
Switch
R E D U N D A N C Y A N D L O A D S H A R I N G
It is not necessary to place a 3LS in each
LANswitch Plus hub, and it is this which
makes it an especially cost-effective
proposition. However, in order to guarantee
uptime in a centrally located multilayer
switch, a redundant 3LS module can be used.
In a network with widely dispersed
switches, multiple modules can be used to
share the workload and shorten data paths.
3LS modules can be configured to take on
primary responsibility for one set of VLANs or
subnets, and secondary responsibility for
others.
A C C E S S C O N T R O L
The LANswitch Plus 3LS provides
sophisticated access control to network
devices for security purposes. The user can
specify whether to forward or block packets,
and can control access based on the station IP
address, IP subnet, IPX network address and
the application type (Telnet, FTP etc.).
Filters are implemented using fast, custom
designed ASICs, so that performance is
unaffected.
S I M P L I F I E D M O V E S A N D C H A N G E S
A major limitation of some router-based
networks is that IP addresses in end-stations
have to be reconfigured when they are moved
to a different LAN segment. VLANs make
membership of logical networks independent
of physical location. LANNET has the tools
to make the true logical network a reality.
Advanced VirtualMaster™ is a Montage™
application that makes it easy for network
managers to automatically create and
maintain VLANs based on IP and IPX
addresses, while the 3LS performs fast
switching between VLANs.
I N T E G R AT E D M A N A G E M E N T
Montage and SMONMaster™ make up an
integrated management system that allow
Layer 2 and 3 switches and hubs to be
managed and monitored from a single
console.
Unlike a router, the 3LS is simple to
configure. 3LS View™ is a Montage add-on
application for simple point-and-click
configuration of the 3LS module.
I N D U S T R Y - L E A D I N G S M O N M A N A G E M E N T
Comprehensive, integrated network
management is the key to keeping switched
enterprise networks running smoothly.
Network managers must be able to obtain a
real-time view of all switched traffic in order
get a meaningful picture of network activity.
As part of the LANswitch Plus product
line, the 3LS is managed by the
SMONMaster application which works in
conjunction with Montage, LANNET’s
graphical SNMP-based Network
Management System.
With SMONMaster you get a complete
and accurate picture of backbone, workgroup
and desktop traffic, from global views to port-
specific perspectives. SMON™ technology
allows traffic to be examined per VLAN. It
alerts the network manager to problems at
the highest level and enables problem
isolation and in-depth examination.
Montage and SMONMaster are fully
integrated with such popular management
platforms as HP OpenView for UNIX, HP
OpenView for Windows, and IBM NetView
for AIX. SMON is in the process of becoming
an industry standard.
M U LT I S E R V I C E S R E A DY
The LANswitch Plus 3LS is designed for
multiservice networks running data, voice
and video applications. Exceptionally low,
fixed latency, packet prioritization and
LANswitch Plus class performance make it
ideal for the most demanding environments.
It handles IP multicast packets, which are
used in applications such as
videoconferencing, by forwarding them to
pre-defined VLANs.
I N T E L L I G E N T B R I D G I N G
Many organizations use IP and IPX in
conjunction with other protocols. Some
protocols are in fact non-routable so that
ordinary routers are unable to deliver those
packet types to a destination outside their
own subnet or broadcast domain. LANswitch
Plus multilayer switches have the
intelligence to deal with packets from non-
routable and non-IP/IPX protocols by
bridging them to specific Virtual LANs rather
than broadcasting them indiscriminately at
Layer 2. The service is available for DECnet,
NetBIOS, Apple Talk and LAT stations.

4. C U S T O M E R S U P P O R T W I T H O U T L I M I T S
The 3LS Multilayer Switch is backed by
LANNET’s expertise in networking and a
worldwide network of Value Added
Resellers.
Customers can also download information
from the LANNET World Wide Web home
page (http://www.lannet.com).
The 3LS comes with a one-year hardware
warranty.
LANNET
LANswitch Plus
3LS Multilayer
Switch
Israel
LANNET Ltd.
Atidim Technology Park
Building 3
Tel-Aviv 61131
Israel
Tel +972 3 645 8458
Fax +972 3 648 7146
http://www.lannet.com
USA
LANNET Inc.
150 Knowles Ave.
Los Gatos, CA 95032
USA
Tel 1-888-ETHERNET
(408) 871-4000
Fax (408) 871-4100
http://www.lannet.com
Other Offices
Benelux
Brazil
China
France
Germany
Honk Kong
Iberia
Italy
Japan
Korea
Mexico
Republic of S. Africa
Singapore
Sweden
Switzerland
United Kingdom
LANNET, the LANNET logo, Cellenium, LANswitch, Montage, MultiNet, SMON, TerrainMaster, and Visage are trademarks, and in some jurisdictions may be registered
trademarks, of LANNET Ltd., Madge Networks or its affiliated companies. Other trademarks appearing in this document are the property of their respective owners.
© Copyright 1998 LANNET. All Rights Reserved. 143008 Rev. 0 1/98
P R O D U C T S P E C I F I C AT I O N S
M O D U L E H A R D WA R E
Intel 80960 33Mhz RISC processor
2 Mbyte Flash memory
4 Mbyte DRAM
I N T E R FA C E S
Backplane 2.56 Gbps
I/O Ports WAN ready
Terminal RS232, RJ45 connector, 9600 bps
P R O T O C O L S A N D S TA N D A R D S
Network IP, IP Multicasting RFC 1812
IPX, IPX RIP/SAP
BOOTP client RFC 1542
Router to Router RIP1, RIP2 RFC 1058, 1722-24
OSPF
CIDR RFC 1519
Management SNMP version 1
SNMP MIB II RFC 1213
IP forwarding MIB
Interface table MIB RFC 1575
RIP2 MIB RFC 1389
OSPF MIB RFC 1850
Intelligent Bridging DECnet, NetBIOS, Apple Talk, LAT
(LANswitch Plus bridges all MAC
layer protocols)
P E R F O R M A N C E
Throughput:
Single 3LS 1.0 Mpps
Multiple 3LS 1.9 Mpps
(64 byte frames)
Latency: 12 microseconds for a 64 byte
packet
P H Y S I C A L C H A R A C T E R I S T I C S
Dimensions (h,w,d): 266mm x 40mm x 230mm
Hub Slots: Occupies two slots in hub
P O W E R R E Q U I R E M E N T S
Consumption 4.5A @ 5V
E N V I R O N M E N TA L
Operating
Temperature: 0-40 degrees Celsius
Humidity: 5% to 95% non-condensing
A G E N C Y A P P R O VA L
EMI
Emission: FCC Part 15, subpart J, class A;
EN55022 class B; CE
Immunity: Meets EN50082-1
F R O N T PA N E L I N D I C AT O R S
Front Panel LEDs: Transmit, Receive
Port Activity
Error status
WAN link (for future use)
N E T W O R K M A N A G E M E N T
Montage for Windows version 5.2 or higher
Montage for UNIX version 4.1 or higher
O R D E R I N G I N F O R M AT I O N
PA R T N O . D E S C R I P T I O N
860185 LANswitch Plus 3LS
Multilayer Switch
Specifications subject to change without notice.