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| 1.3 |  | Building-Block Approach |
| 1.3.5 |  | Advantages of the building-block approach |

As shown so far, the implementation of a building-block approach and hierarchical model has many advantages, including redundancy, scalability, loop-free topologies, fast convergence, and load balancing. The examples in Figures - illustrate these advantages.

In the sample network, there are two buildings that have an access switch on each floor and redundant connections to a distribution-layer switch. Each distribution-layer switch has redundant connections into the core of the network.

In Figure , notice the flow of traffic from switch M to switch P. Suppose there is a port failure in the access switch. Notice in Figure how the switch immediately chooses an alternate path. Assume, in Figure that the link between the distribution switch and the core switch fails. As shown, the switches will choose an alternate path through the core. The following modules will explain how to configure these behaviors on the switch.

| Interactive Media Activity Drag and Drop: Advantages of the Building-block Approach After completing this activity, the students will be able to understand advantages of the building block.