How to check if a switch is a layer2 switch only or has layer3 routing ability?

Question

For example, I am going to buy a switch, and here's the spec:

Routing Protocol: OSPF, RIP, BGP-4, RIP-1, RIP-2, BGP, IGMPv2, IGMP, VRRP, OSPFv2, PIM-SM, static IP routing, PIM-DM, IGMPv3, OSPFv3

Features: ARP support, BOOTP support, manageable, port mirroring, stackable, trunking, DHCP support, DiffServ support, DoS attack prevention, IGMP snooping, IPv6 support, MAC address filtering, Syslog support, VLAN support

Compliant Standards: IEEE 802.1D, IEEE 802.1Q, IEEE 802.1ad, IEEE 802.1p, IEEE 802.1v, IEEE 802.1w, IEEE 802.1x, IEEE 802.3, IEEE 802.3ad (LACP)

And others, can I figure out if this switch is a layer 3 switch or not?

Answer 1

Think again about what features you expect from a "layer 3 switch". Usually that means IP routing capabilities, as layer 3 is where IP and other network protocols exist.

So since the switch lists "static IP routing" and a dozen of IP-oriented routing protocols (RIP, OSPF, even BGP!), that's a pretty good indicator of layer-3 IP routing support.

Well, at least for IPv4. But since it lists OSPFv3, there's a good chance it can route IPv6 as well.

Answer 2

Quite easy. If it supports Routing Protocols, it's considered Layer 3. In your example, it does.