Is Catalyst 2948G-L3 layer 3 only or multilayer switch?

[goralka22]

The Catalyst 2948G-L3 switch is clearly Layer 3 switch but I wonder if it implies that it performs switching solely on L3 or is more like multi-layer switch and uses L2 or L3 switching depending on configuration. There in not much in depth information on CISCO site about it I could find.
any info would be greatly appreciated.
Tanks

 

[Nesmith]

I have configured three of them to function as a layer 2 device only. It is different from catalysts. You must set up a BVI interface, create a bridge group, and assign every port you wish to "switch" to the bridge group. The following information I received from Cisco.

Configure Transparent Bridging for your Layer 2 switch...

Please note: You don't have to configure irb and bvi for layer 3 routing.

Configuring Bridging
The following output shows how to configure the Catalyst 2948G-L3 for bridging. Interfaces fast 1 through fast 43 are assigned to a single bridge-group (bridge-group 200) and spanning tree is disabled on these interfaces.
Because inter-VLAN routing is required, Integrated Routing & Bridging (IRB) must be enabled using the bridge irb command. In addition, to route traffic between the bridged interfaces on the Catalyst 2948G-L3 and the other VLANs in the network, a bridge virtual interface (BVI) must be created.
Finally, a second bridge-group and BVI interface are created for the management VLAN. In the section Configuring the ISL Trunks Between Switches, the VLAN 1 subinterfaces are joined to this bridge-group to create a single Layer 2 domain for switch management.
On the Catalyst 2948G-L3:
2948G-L3#configure terminal
Enter configuration commands, one per line. End with CNTL/Z.
2948G-L3(config)#bridge irb
2948G-L3(config)#bridge 200 protocol ieee
2948G-L3(config)#bridge 200 route ip
2948G-L3(config)#interface bvi 200
2948G-L3(config-if)#ip add 10.200.200.1 255.255.255.0
2948G-L3(config-if)#exit
2948G-L3(config)#interface fast 1
2948G-L3(config-if)#no shutdown
2948G-L3(config-if)#bridge-group 200
2948G-L3(config-if)#bridge-group 200 spanning-disabled

. . .

2948G-L3(config)#interface fast 43
2948G-L3(config-if)#no shutdown
2948G-L3(config-if)#bridge-group 200
2948G-L3(config-if)#bridge-group 200 spanning-disabled
2948G-L3(config-if)#exit
2948G-L3(config)#bridge 1 protocol ieee
2948G-L3(config)#bridge 1 route ip
2948G-L3(config)#interface bvi 1
2948G-L3(config-if)#ip add 10.1.1.1 255.255.255.0
2948G-L3(config-if)#^Z
2948G-L3#
Notes:
The bridge irb command enables Integrated Routing & Bridging on the router, allowing you route traffic within the bridge groups
The bridge number route ip command allows IP traffic to be routed between the BVI interface and the other IP interfaces on the router

 

[Raziel]

The 2948G-L3 is a layer 3 switch only. Unlike multi layer switches (e.g. 3550XL) it will not do any Layer 4 stuff, for example, in access-lists it will not differentiate by port.