Related Link Catalyst 5509

Packet™ Magazine Archives, Fourth Quarter 1998 New Model Extends Catalyst 5500 Switch Series Cisco's commitment to its Catalyst® 5500 series continues with the introduction of the Catalyst 5509, a high-performance, nine-slot switching powerhouse. The newest addition to the Catalyst 5500 series combines performance with an additional form factor that fits between the Catalyst 5500 and 5505 models. With a gigabit-ready architecture that scales to more than 50-Gbps switching capacity, the Catalyst 5509 provides the scalability, flexibility, and redundancy required for building next-generation switched intranets. The Catalyst 5509 is ideally suited for both wiring closet and backbone applications. For Gigabit Ethernet backbone applications, the Catalyst 5509 supports up to 38 ports of Gigabit Ethernet, the highest port density available today for the Catalyst 5500 series. This capability can be combined with Cisco's Gigabit EtherChannel® technology, which enables multiple Gigabit Ethernet links to be treated as one logical link for up to 8 Gbps (full duplex) of device-to-device throughput. Used in such a configuration, the Catalyst 5509 creates a scalable, industry-leading Gigabit Ethernet backbone solution to meet the demands of fast-growing enterprise intranets. As a cost-effective wiring-closet solution, the Catalyst 5509 supports high-density, dedicated Token Ring or 10/100/1000-Mbps Ethernet switching. The Catalyst 5509 can support up to 384 dedicated switch ports with only a 15-amp circuit requirement, allowing for easy installation in most wiring-closet environments. It also supports all of Cisco's advanced features for the wiring closet, such as automatic protocol broadcast filtering to conserve valuable bandwidth, intelligent multicast forwarding to handle multimedia traffic, and load balancing over redundant links. With its support for hot-swappable modules, power supplies, and fans, the Catalyst 5509 chassis delivers high availability for production networks. Dual redundant switching engines, power supplies, and a passive backplane design ensure full system redundancy for mission-critical environments. Robust Feature Set The Catalyst 5509's media-independent architecture supports all legacy LAN and ATM switching technologies through a wide range of Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, Gigabit Ethernet, Fiber Distributed Data Interface (FDDI), Token Ring, and ATM LAN Emulation (LANE) modules. The new Catalyst 5509 protects users' investments in the Catalyst 5000 and 5500 series by seamlessly integrating all existing Catalyst 5000 interface modules into the new Catalyst 5509 chassis. In addition, the architecture delivers 3.6 Gbps to all slots, with modules that support local switching and deliver added forwarding capacity. Because customers need a growth path to faster, more resilient links, Cisco is leading the industry by innovation with Gigabit EtherChannel technology. Based on proven Fast EtherChannel technology, which is already deployed in many production networks, Gigabit EtherChannel technology allows critical backbone trunks to be scaled to multiple gigabits of throughput as backbone traffic continues to grow. By combining four Gigabit Ethernet links into one logical link, up to 8 Gbps of throughput is possible between devices. Dedicated hardware automatically load-balances traffic between physical links to provide wire-speed switching performance. Fully integrated support for Cisco IOS® multiprotocol routing is provided on the Route Switch Module. This module delivers the enterprise Cisco IOS routing feature set for the Catalyst 5000 and 5500 series. When configured with a Supervisor Engine III and the NetFlow feature card, the Catalyst 5509 supports Cisco's distributed NetFlow Switching, delivering high-speed, Layer 3 switching for the Catalyst 5500 series. The combination of the Route Switch Module and the NetFlow Switching feature card optimizes the power of the CiscoFusion architecture, combining the speed and simplicity of switching with the intelligence and scalability of routing on a single platform. In addition to the performance benefits of wire-speed Layer 3 switching for the backbone, the Catalyst 5509 supports multilayer services geared for the wiring closet. With the protocol filtering feature, broadcast traffic is automatically controlled on a port-by-port basis, resulting in more efficient use of bandwidth for end stations. The Catalyst 5509 also delivers end-to-end, scalable bandwidth for multimedia and multicast applications through industry-standard protocols such as Internet Group Management Protocol (IGMP), IGMP "snooping," and Cisco-enhanced protocols such as Cisco Group Management Protocol (CGMP). Quality of service (QoS) to every desktop will be supported in the future by mapping Resource Reservation Protocol (RSVP) to Catalyst 5000/5500 series priority queues, ensuring timely delivery of time-sensitive intranet applications. Best Fit for Today's Enterprise Intranets "For many customers, especially those looking for a performance boost to keep pace with the needs of fast-growing enterprise intranets, the Catalyst 5509 is a smart investment," says Wes Walls, the Cisco product manager responsible for the Catalyst 5509 system. "The product's design is based upon proven Cisco switching technology that's being used in the largest campus networks in the world. For network planners in search of high-performance, high-density switching that's cost-effective and dependable, the Catalyst 5509 is the right platform." Table of Contents Posted: Thu Feb 4 17:06:38 PST 1999 Copyright © 1998 Cisco Systems, Inc.