SET 2
docx
keyboard_arrow_up
School
Harvard University *
*We aren’t endorsed by this school
Course
77967
Subject
Information Systems
Date
Nov 24, 2024
Type
docx
Pages
3
Uploaded by ColonelEnergy6151
1
What are the advantages and disadvantages of building the spine-and-leaf network at layer
2 (VLANs) or layer 3 (subnets)?
Student’s name
Affiliation
Professor’s name
Course
Date
2
What are the advantages and disadvantages of building the spine-and-leaf network at layer
2 (VLANs) or layer 3 (subnets)?
Spine and leaf network is a proficient tool that encompass spine switches and leaf
switches forming a two tier network topology. Spine and leaf network is efficient in a data
network center essential for solving the increased “hop” count and reducing the network latency
both which hamper the service delivery. The development of the two-tier full mesh network was
purposed to replace the three-tier designs that were more prevalent in the East-West network
traffic. The spine and leaf network can be incorporated in layer 2 and layer 3, however, they both
have their setbacks and merits that have to be considered. The advantages of spine and leaf
network incorporation in layer 2 or layer 3 are discussed herein.
The advantage of building spine and leaf network in layer 2 is the straightforward VLAN
tagging that enable the configuration and management of the installed network much easier
hence improving the overall performance of the network. However, layer 2 is short of features
such as firewall and access control list hence susceptible to attacks leading to an overall
jeopardized network (
Sallam et al., 2019)
. On the other hand, building spine and leaf network in
layer 3 provides the comfort of easier management and configuration as the subnets are less
complicated and provides capability of smooth operation. However, layer 3 have reduced
network throughput due to slow processing of the data packets hence a major setback leading to
slow transition of the network services.
Reference
Sallam, A., Refaey, A., & Shami, A. (2019). On the security of SDN: A completed secure and
scalable framework using the software-defined perimeter.
IEEE access
,
7
, 146577-
146587.
3
Reply
Everything said thus far in this discussion has my full and complete agreement. If
multiple pathways are used simultaneously, network performance may increase even further.
Furthermore, the efficiency of STP decreases when there is only one lane available and it is
backed up with cars waiting to turn. Although spine-and-leaf networks are possible to build at
Layer 2, they may be more difficult to set up and keep running than their Layer 2 counterparts.
The implementation of a spine-and-leaf network design at Layers 2 and 3 is analyzed in
great detail, along with its benefits and drawbacks. In a leaf-and-spine architecture, a leaf switch
(equivalent to an access switch in the three-tier model) is linked to many spine switches. The leaf
switches can talk to any spine switch in the data center.
Your preview ends here
Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version
- Access to all documents
- Unlimited textbook solutions
- 24/7 expert homework help