In this section, you're going to be reintroduced to a networking model you first saw in your CCNA studies. No, it's not the OSI model or the TCP/IP model - it's the Cisco Three-Layer Hierarchical Model. Let's face it, just about all you had to do for the CCNA was memorize the three layers and the order they were found in that model, but the stakes are raised here in your CCNP studies. You need to know what each layer does, and what each layer should not be doing. This is vital information for your real-world network career as well, so let's get started with a review of the Cisco three-layer model, and then we'll take a look at each layer's tasks. Most of the considerations at each layer are common sense, but we'll go over them anyway!

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