Designing Switch/Routers: Fundamental Concepts and Design Methods

This  book examines the fundamental concepts and design methods associated  with switch/routers. It discusses the main factors that are driving the  changing network landscape and propelling the continuous growth in  demand for bandwidth and high-performance network devices. Designing Switch/Routers: Fundamental Concepts and Design Methods focuses on the essential concepts that underlie the design of switch/routers in general.

This  book considers the switch/router as a generic Layer 2 and Layer 3  forwarding device without placing an emphasis on any particular  manufacturer’s device. The underlying concepts and design methods are  not only positioned to be applicable to generic switch/routers but also  to the typical switch/routers seen in the industry. The discussion  provides a better insight into the protocols, methods, processes, and  tools involved in designing switch/routers. The author discusses the  design goals and features switch/router manufacturers consider when  designing their products as well as the advanced and value-added  features, along with the steps, used to build practical switch/routers.  The last two chapters discuss real-world 6 switch/router architectures  that employ the concepts and design methods described in the previous  chapters.

This book provides an  introductory level discussion of switch/routers and is written in a  style accessible to undergraduate and graduate students, engineers, and  researchers in the networking and telecoms industry as well as academics  and other industry professionals. The material and discussion are  structured to serve as standalone teaching material for networking and  telecom courses and/or supplementary material for such courses.