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Increasing network demands
Increased network traffic, new applications, data and voice convergence — these are just some of the challenges confronting IT managers as they migrate, adapt and expand their networks to meet new needs. As a result, unpredictable traffic patterns can emerge, hindering mission-critical applications; and holes can appear in security, leaving the network vulnerable to internal and external threats.
Intelligent capabilities
Intelligent switching isn't just about speeds and feeds. It's about adding brainpower. The key advantage of intelligent switching is the ability to look deeper into streams of data to gain a more complete understanding of the traffic flowing through the network.
Most other switches forward data and apply services based on MAC address headers attached to individual data packets. The industry calls this Layer 2 switching, because switches look no further than the second layer of the seven-layer OSI model (a standard framework for the design of networking systems). Cisco Catalyst intelligent switches identify not only the devices involved, but individual users and applications. In addition to Layer 2 information, Cisco Catalyst Series switches use Layer 3 IP information and Layer 4 port information to make decisions on transporting and delivering traffic. In certain cases, they can even use Layer 5 through 7 information to gain a more detailed understanding of how applications are being used.
That's what makes them intelligent — the ability to forward data and apply services based on a deeper understanding of the millions of data packets streaming through the network at any given moment.
Intelligent network features
Cisco Catalyst switches provide the high availability you need to keep network resources available around the clock, the advanced Quality of Service (QoS) needed to prioritise traffic based on your business needs, and the enhanced security necessary to protect your network from countless internal and external risks.
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High availability |
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Cisco Catalyst Series switches provide the highest availability and resiliency, from the core to the edge. They increase network uptime and employee productivity — through a unique combination of features including high-performance IP routing, Layer 2 and Layer 3 load balancing, bandwidth aggregation technology, multicast management via Internet Group Management Protocol (IGMP) snooping and Protocol Independent Multicast (PIM), and Cisco Spanning-Tree Protocol enhancements. These Spanning-Tree Protocol enhancements such as Rapid Spanning Tree (IEEE 802.1w) with IEEE 802.1s and Per VLAN Rapid Spanning Tree (PVRTS), can provide sub-second reconvergence.
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Quality of Service |
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QoS manages network traffic according to its needs. Time sensitive applications such as voice, video and real-time transactions receive high priority. With Cisco Catalyst Series switches, QoS can be extended to the network edge, minimising both upstream and downstream congestion. Cisco QoS is embedded in and operated via high speed, wire rate hardware, enabling per-user policies without impacting performance.
QoS is becoming more and more mission-critical — yet organizations simultaneously need to reduce the cost of operations, manage bandwidth, or deploy applications such as Voice over IP (VoIP) to the desktop. Cisco Catalyst Series switches can deliver these advanced QoS capabilities using Cisco AutoQoS, which simplifies network administration, reducing OPEX and Total Cost of Ownership (TCO). This makes QoS cheaper, faster, and safer to deploy.
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Enhanced Security |
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As services and devices are added to the network, the need for security increases — especially internally. Studies show disgruntled employees pose an increasing risk to network resources, and even trustworthy ones can unwittingly pass a computer virus to the rest of the organisation. Safeguards must be put in place — to ensure only authorised users can gain access to the network, to restrict access to sensitive network areas, and to prevent data and voice traffic from traveling to the wrong PC or IP phone.
Cisco Catalyst Series switches enhance security internally and externally, addressing three key issues:
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Authentication — Is the user supposed to have network access? |
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Authorisation — What's the user permitted to do? |
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Accounting — Who else is using the network and what are they doing? |
Cisco Catalyst switches support multiple layers of security for end-to-end protection of network controls and resources.
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Manageability |
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Cisco Catalyst Series switches offer more granular control over network resources, while simultaneously streamlining administrative tasks. This not only makes it possible to govern the various availability, QoS, and security features they support, it also makes it easy to deploy applications and uniformly configure a network. |
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