Traffic Between 2 Ports on Different VLANs on the Same Switch

Question

Hi,
This question probably results from a flaw in my understanding of network layer 2 versus layer 3 and VLANs so any additional context in that regard would be very welcome
If I've got 2 systems on difference VLANs that are connected to ports on the same switch (e.g. 2950), with that switch being connected via an uplink to a router or layer 3 switch and i want to pass traffic between the 2 systems (e.g. copy a file from a folder shared on one system to another), will the traffic pass directly from one port on the 2950 to the other? Or will it need to go through the uplink? I guess it will need to go through the uplink initially as layer 3 needs to be involved for inter-VLAN routing but wondering if layer 2 MAC address will ultimately be learned, allowing traffic to pass directly between the systems, not over the uplink.
Thanks in advance,
cisco_reader.

Answer 1

If the hosts are on different Layer 2 Vlans and you want to pass data between them, that data needs to be 'Routed'.
In order to Route data from one Layer 2 Vlan to another, you need a device capable of Layer 3 Routing. That device can be a traditional Router or can be something called a Layer 3 switch.
A 2950 switch is Layer 2 only so has the ability to create many Layer 2 Vlans which is what you have done. In order to route traffic between those Vlans, you can either use a router or a L3 switch.
If you decided to use a router, look up something called 'Router on a Stick' which involves creating a Trunk link from the 2950 to the Router and then setting up Subinterfaces on the Routers port to act as the 'Default Gateway' for each of your Vlans.