Cisco Catalyst 3550 Series User Manual

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Catalyst 3550 Multilayer Switch Software Configuration Guide
78-11194-09
Chapter 31 Configuring IP Unicast Routing
Configuring IP Addressing on Layer 3 Interfaces
Classless Routing
By default, classless routing behavior is enabled on the switch when it is configured to route. With
classless routing, if a router receives packets for a subnet of a network with no default route, the router
forwards the packet to the best supernet route. A supernet consists of contiguous blocks of Class C
address spaces used to simulate a single, larger address space and is designed to relieve the pressure on
the rapidly depleting Class B address space.
In Figure 31-2, classless routing is enabled. When the host sends a packet to 120.20.4.1, instead of
discarding the packet, the router forwards it to the best supernet route. If you disable classless routing
and a router receives packets destined for a subnet of a network with no network default route, the router
discards the packet.
Figure 31-2 IP Classless Routing
In Figure 31-3, the router in network 128.20.0.0 is connected to subnets 128.20.1.0, 128.20.2.0, and
128.20.3.0. If the host sends a packet to 120.20.4.1, because there is no network default route, the router
discards the packet.
Figure 31-3 No IP Classless Routing
Host
128.20.1.0
128.20.2.0
128.20.3.0
128.20.4.1
128.0.0.0/8
128.20.4.1
IP classless
45749
128.20.0.0
Host
128.20.1.0
128.20.2.0
128.20.3.0
128.20.4.1
128.0.0.0/8
128.20.4.1
Bit bucket
45748
128.20.0.0

Cisco Catalyst 3550 Series Specifications

General

Brand	Cisco
Model	Catalyst 3550 Series
Category	Network Router
Language	English