This book focuses on the design goals (i.e., key features), architectures, and practical applications of switch/routers in IP networks. The discussion includes some practical design examples to illustrate how switch/routers are designed and how the key features are implemented. Designing Switch/Routers: Architectures and Applications explains the design and architectural considerations as well as the typical processes and steps used to build practical switch/routers. The author describes the components of a switch/router that are used to configure, manage, and monitor it. This book discusses the advantages of using Ethernet in today's networks and why Ethernet continues to play a large role in Local Area Network (LAN), Metropolitan Area Network (MAN), and Wide Area Network (WAN) design. The author also explains typical networking applications of switch/routers, particularly in enterprise and internet service provider (ISP) networks.

This book provides a discussion of the design of switch/routers and is written to appeal to undergraduate and graduate students, engineers, and researchers in the networking and telecom 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.