Technology Overview of Cisco Switches

Local-area network (LAN) switches are at the core of all networks, providing high-speed connectivity, applications, and communications systems. Today’s networks not only need to efficiently and securely transmit bandwidth-intensive data, voice, video, and wireless applications, they also need to provide for evolving traffic patterns, new services, and optimized application performance. To meet current and future network needs, all LAN switch designs must incorporate the following six attributes:

• Application Intelligence: Recognition, prioritization and control of applications is referred to as application intelligence. Today’s networks must recognize many types of applications and understand the importance of securing and prioritizing applications running on the network to provide the best user experience.
• Unified Network Services: Combine the best elements of wireless and wired networking to connect to any resource or person through any device with consistent, unified services. Switches can now apply and scale security or multicast services consistently across the network or use quality of service (QoS), 10 Gigabit Ethernet technology, and Power over Ethernet (PoE) technology to support new applications and devices.
• Nonstop Communications: Existing features and capabilities that help ensure nonstop communications in LAN switches include: redundant hardware, non-stop forwarding and stateful switch over (NSF/SSO) technology, in-service software upgrades (ISSU) and software modularity.
• Virtualization: To support dynamic resource and service utilization over a shared infrastructure, it is necessary for businesses to adopt new services on a common, virtualized network. This enables securing guest or contractor access to network resources, and provides department segregation for business compliance.
• Integrated Security: Network security is essential. LAN switches provide the first line of defense against internal security attacks and also prevent unauthorized users from entering the network. Security services provided by LAN switches include Network Admission Control; Man-in-the-Middle attack mitigation; and integrated security service modules that provide virtual private networks, firewalls, intrusion prevention, intrusion detection, and many more security services.
• Operational Manageability: To enhance ease of manageability, it is critical that IT staff be able to remotely configure and monitor network devices from a central location, automate responses via embedded event management and use real-time diagnostic management tools to troubleshoot and apply changes.

The Benefits of Cisco Switches

n today’s increasingly complex business environments, the network is facing new challenges and must offer more services than ever before. Applications, and the network infrastructure of switches and routers that transport them, are crucial tools for enhancing user productivity and increasing an organization's ability to grow and remain competitive. Large enterprises, small businesses, educational institutions, and government agencies alike must optimize their network switching. This entails these organizations deriving the greatest value from their existing infrastructures while positioning themselves to take full advantage of such technological innovations as IP telephony and wireless LANs.

Instead of purchasing point switching products, organizations can use a systems approach of data switch and wireless switch equipment, to build integrated, secure, resilient networks that incorporate intelligence. This approach helps them to quickly and easily deploy new applications and communications systems that merge wireless, voice, video, and storage capabilities.

Organizations are investing in providing greater access to advanced applications across extended geographies, which creates new network infrastructure demands, including requirements for:

• More network switch capacity to support bandwidth-hungry applications
• Converged services support including IP telephony, voice over WLANs, and video services
• High availability and uninterrupted access to information assets enterprisewide
• Greater protection against internal and external security threats
• More manageable solutions as IT administrators seek to reduce cost and complexity of network switches

The operational gap between IT staffing levels and the requirements that companies are placing on their networks continues to widen, especially in small and medium-sized organizations where resources are typically limited. Organizations must use network switches with more intelligent features and functionality to:

• Ensure the availability of bandwidth-intensive applications
• Enable greater simplicity in terms of automating time-consuming IT tasks
• Provide new functionality to allow people to get the most value from their applications

The Value of Used Cisco Products

The network switches in the Cisco Catalyst Series offer some of the industry’s most intelligent and advanced technologies. These switches are designed to extend the value of network throughout the infrastructure. These innovative network switches are part of a continuously expanding portfolio of offerings that can strengthen and simplify network performance, and help deliver the greatest investment protection available. Available in modular, stackable and stand-alone configurations these network switches can be used anywhere they are needed in the network.

Network Switch Services Deliver an Integrated End-to -End Solution

• Integrated security for end to end protection
• High availability for maximum network uptime
• Application delivery optimization to ensure a consistent user experience
• Enhanced manageability for more simple operations