Stupid question about managed switches

[Don Bowman]

From: Marc G. Fournier [mailto:scrappy at hub.org]
> 
> Please excuse this, but my experience with them is zilch ... 
> am going with
> the HP Procurve 2826(?) Layer2/Layer3 switch, as was 
> suggested, but I'm
> curious as to how they work ...
> 
> For instance, I know when I setup a router, I have an IN IP 
> and an OUT IP
> configured ... but, with a managed switch, what do I have?
> 
> For instance, right now, I have a default gateway on the 
> providers switch
> of 200.46.204.1 ... and my servers are .2, .3, .4 and .5 ... 
> if I put a
> managed switch, vs the unmanaged we have now, between the 
> providers switch
> and the servers, does my default route then change to be the switch
> itself?  Or is the 'login part' of the switch thought of the 
> same way as
> adding just another server to the network, for connectivity purposes?
> 
> As I said, stupid question, but for someone whose never played with a
> managed switch before ... :(
> 
> Thanks ..

In layer-2 mode, its nothing but a hub. It doesn't change your
default route or anything. Pretend its not there.

you will need a router connected to this switch, and its 
IP will remain your default route (likely).