layer 7 switch
Layer 7 switches, also called web switches, are far more intelligent than the purely transport-oriented Layer 4 switches. A layer-7 switch is a content switch that makes its switching decision based on the data content. Intelligent services can be supported with such a switch.
This is realized with layer-7 switches with the help of additional filter functions. In the case of web switching, these filter functions focus on the URL address and cookies.
The advantages are more flexible distribution of requests, higher server efficiency by filtering requests, separation of HTTP transactions running over a common TCP connection, and Differentiated Services( DiffServ) design for prioritization.