Core Layer for the Campus Network

Core Layer for the Campus Network
The devices in the core of a campus network are usually layer 2 switches that have high-speed
links from the Distribution layer. Sometimes multiple interfaces are aggregated to increase the
bandwidth from the Distribution layer to the core. The Core layer can optionally have layer 3
switches to provide for greater segmentation of the network and reduce the workload for the
Distribution layer. If layer 3 switches are used, then the core looks more like the WAN network
and functions very much the same.
This is the layer where WAN and Internet routers reside for traffic exiting the local area network.
Redundancy is achieved by utilizing a layer 2 redundancy technology such as STP, and
trunking between core devices is used to increase bandwidth. When you add layer 3 switches on
every layer of the campus network, it looks and acts like the WAN network design but with
higher bandwidths. Next, we will talk about allocating IP addresses within your network and
what design considerations you need to watch out for.