Cisco Network Consulting

Cisco's Catalyst line of modular and fixed-configuration managed switches provides speed and intelligence at the access, aggregation, and core levels of converged IP voice, HD video, and data networks for organizations that range from small businesses and branches to multi-campus enterprises and SPs. Progent's Cisco-certified consultants can provide online and onsite support for Catalyst family switches to assist you to design an efficient network topology that meets your unique business needs, configure pilot testing systems, deploy Catalyst switches, establish and validate a sensible security and compliance strategy, streamline network management and performance tracking, deliver troubleshooting and maintenance services, maximize switch capacity, and configure Catalyst's high-availability (HA) solutions to achieve non-stop operation, Progent can help you to maintain and repair your older Catalyst switches or migrate seamlessly to up-to-date models of Catalyst switches following industry best practices to ensure that you receive the most business value from your investment in your network.

The demand for intelligent, high-speed switching is driven by a confluence of relatively recent computing patterns whose overall effect is a cyber tsunami of data:

• Cloud networking and an associated reliance on massive virtualization
• The proliferation of BYOD computing
• Bandwidth-intensive rich media apps
• Social business technologies
• The rise of Big Data in analytics

Cloud computing is only operationally realistic by utilizing network virtualization. Virtualized data centers slash expenses by allowing aggressively high resource utilization and demanding minimal real estate and power consumption. But this also means that comparatively sparse resources have to support large volumes of data traffic. The Bring-Your-Own-Device (BYOD) revolution has caused a dramatic increase in the amount of mobile users that have be supported by business networks, and these users tend to run a great deal of bandwidth-intensive, HD video apps. Social business technologies are displacing traditional email as the main driver for collaboration and is generating a growing requirement for data. Enterprises who want to stay competitive are resorting to Big Data techniques to mine vast and disparate silos of corporate data, which in turn produces Big Traffic. These computing trends are relatively new, and put together they create a serious need for a new generation of switches that feature much more throughput, intelligence, availability and manageability than older platforms were designed to provide.

Cisco's current portfolio of Catalyst switches are ideal for the distribution/core layers of enterprise campus environments where mobile and stationary employees must be accommodated by providing unvarying high throughput, strict client access management, careful segmentation, application awareness, and wired and wireless convergence. Cisco's Catalyst series switches are designed to meet the demand for performance and intelligence with features such as high-density 10, 40, and 100 Gigabit Ethernet services, switching throughput as high as 11.4 Tbps per switch and double that for each switching system, a comprehensive suite of tools including Easy Virtual Network (EVN) to facilitate the deployment of VLANs, VSS technology for switch failover with subsecond backup switch recovery and "five nines" (99.999%) uptime, IPv6 support, AVC to optimize network resource usage, and advanced QoS capabilities for video data prioritization.

Cisco Catalyst switches enable organizations of all sizes to build smart switching and routing features into their network architecture, creating an environment that can meet real-time needs, scale to support expected growth, protect sensitive information, and differentiate and manage processes to optimize network productivity.

Cisco Catalyst 2960 Swiches and Catalyst 3560-CX Switches
Cisco's Catalyst 2960-CX is a fixed-configuration switch that is low-profile, fanless, low power, and allows a variety of mounting options. The Catalyst 2960-CX has eight 10/100/1000 Ethernet ports and two Gigabit Ethernet uplinks and optionally provides Power over Ethernet. Cisco's Catalyst 3560-CX is a fixed-configuration switch packaged in a compact, quiet and low-power unit that can be placed almost anywhere convenient. Models are available with 8 or 12 10/100/1000 Ethernet ports or with six 10/100/1000 Ethernet ports and two multigigabit ports. Two or four uplink ports are available, and Power over Ethernet is also an option.

Cisco's Catalyst 2960-L family consists of entry-level fixed-configuration managed switches designed for small offices, retail areas, and other environments where space is limited. Catalyst 2900-L compact appliances have eight to 48 GE ports and two or four Small Form-Factor Pluggable uplink ports. Power over Ethernet support reduces clutter and fan-free operation for 16- and 24-port models eliminates noise. RJ-45 interfaces support 10BASE-T, 100BASE-TX, 1000BASE-T and 1000BASE-T SFP-ports.

Catalyst 2960-X and 2960-XR Series switches enhance the 2690-S line by delivering switching throughput as high as 216 Gbps and supporting Cisco's FlexStack-Plus Stacking by means of a live-swappable module that allows 8 switches in a stack with 80 Gbps of stacking performance. Catalyst 2900 family switches also work with NetFlow-Lite for application visibility and control. The Catalyst 2960-XR switch features L3 dynamic routing, offering the convenience of using a single device for Layer 2 and Layer 3 routing.

Cisco Catalyst 3650 and Catalyst 3850 Switches
Cisco Catalyst 3650 and Catalyst 3850 series switches are fixed-configuration, stackable access switches powered by Cisco's IOS XE operating system and featuring comprehensive wireless controller functionality that allows you to converge wired and wireless infrastructure on a one device powered by a single operating system. Cisco offers models with either 24 or 48 1Gb Ethernet ports with Power over Ethernet plus, four 1GE or four 10-Gigabit uplink ports, and support for up to 9 Catalyst switches per FlexStack stack. All versions provide expandable QoS, fast failover for high availability, software support for IPv4 and IPv6 routing, multicast routing, and advanced security features.

Since wireless data traffic is visible at the Catalyst 3000 family switch, network managers can identify and prioritize wireless traffic using Cisco's Flexible NetFlow solution along with advanced Quality of Service capabilities for an improved wireless user experience and quicker problem mediation. Fast Ethernet switching supports the high-bandwidth called for by the new 802.11ac Wave 2 wireless standard on currently in-place cabling infrastructure. (To find out about Progent's consulting services for Cisco's 802.11ac Aironet Wi-Fi technology, and Cisco's Meraki cloud-managed Wi-Fi access points, visit Planning and Deployment Consulting Services for Cisco Wireless Technology.)

The Catalyst 3650 Series switch offers stacking bandwidth of 160 Gbps and can control as many as 25 Wi-Fi access points and 1000 wireless clients per switch or stack. The Cisco Catalyst 3850 Series switch delivers stacking throughput of 480 Gbps and supports up to 50 Wi-Fi access points and 2000 wireless users per switch. Cisco Catalyst 3850 SFP Fiber Switches have 12 or 24 1G fiber data ports at line rate, providing long distance connections, advanced security, and an identical wired and wireless user experience.

Cisco Catalyst 4500-E Series and Cisco Catalyst 4500-X Series Switches
Catalyst 4500-E Series and and Catalyst 4500-X Series switches are intended for access and distribution deployments where physical space for networking equipment is at a premium. Powered by Cisco's IOS XE operating system, the 4500-E and Catalyst 4500-X product lines simplify network virtualization by supporting Cisco's Easy Virtual Network (EVN) and Virtual Switching System (VSS) technologies. Virtualization makes it possible to segment a physical network into a number of virtual networks whose data and control planes are logically separate. This provides the high resource utilization, security and compliance, resilience, and simplified management required for Cloud environments or other scenarios where a single infrastructure is shared by applications and services that need to run in complete isolation from one another. Easy Virtual Network speeds up the process of deploying virtual networks and can be expanded to 32 VNs per switch. Easy Virtual Network utilizes features of Multi-virtual routing and forwarding and includes additional technologies including VNET Tags and an easy technique for duplicating replicating routes connecting virtual networks. VSS makes it easy to set up Catalyst 4500-E and 4500-X Series switches to create non-stop virtual networks with advanced load balancing.

Cisco Catalyst 4500E Switches
The Supervisor Engine 8-E for the Catalyst 4500-E switch has an integrated wireless controller that supports Cisco's Unified Access solution for wired and wireless convergence. this is the first Cisco Catalyst supervisor to permit wired plus wireless services on a single platform powered by IOS XE. Features include Cisco's Flexible NetFlow solution for capacity planning encompassing wired and Wi-Fi networks, TrustSec/SGT2 wired and wireless data security, predictable Quality of Service for wired and wireless networks, and the extension of Nonstop Forwarding with Stateful Switchover to include wireless data traffic for enterprise-quality high availability.

Offered in chassis with from three to 10 slots, Cisco Catalyst 4500-E Series switches with Supervisor 8-E can support as many as 384 10/100/1000 Ethernet ports, 193 1GE non-blocking fiber connections, 96 10GE fiber connections, and eight 10-Gigabit Ethernet uplink ports. Cisco's Supervisor Engine 8-E delivers up to 928 Gbps of wired throughput for each system and 20 Gbps of wireless termination performance. 50 wireless APs and 2000 wireless users can be supported per chassis, and 250 wireless access points and 4000 wireless clients can be supported in a dual-switch installation without requiring a standalone wireless controller.

Cisco Catalyst 4500-X Switches
Catalyst 4500-X Series switches are fixed-configuration 10GE aggregation switches that provide as much as 800 Gbps of backplane switching performance per device. The Catalyst 4500-X supports up to 32 10-Gigabit Ethernet connections on the baseboard and eight additional 10GE ports on the optional expansion module for a total of 40 10-Gigabit Ethernet connections. Eight 10GE uplink ports are available with another module. In addition to providing non-stop performance and simple management, Cisco's VSS solution on Catalyst 4500-X Series switches provides higher system performance of up to 1.6 Tbps by enabling all available capacity between VSS-linked Catalyst 4500-X Series switches. Additional features include Flexible NetFlow solution for traffic analysis, TrustSec protection, and fast, hardware-based IPv6 forwarding.

Catalyst 6500 Series and Cisco Catalyst 6800 Series Switches
Cisco Catalyst 6500 Series and Cisco Catalyst 6800 switches are campus backbone switches that share the field-proven technology of the Cisco Catalyst 6500 line of switches, which were introduced over a decade ago and which have been steadily enhanced since then. Cisco Catalyst 6500 and Cisco Catalyst 6800 Series switches provide identical features and operational consistency, and the modular Catalyst 6807-XL switch accepts the Catalyst 6500 Supervisor Engine 2T and the associated portfolio of compatible line cards and service modules. This backwards compatibility and commitment to continual improvement preserves your IT investment and permits you to update your network with little downtime or IT team retraining.

Shared features of Cisco Catalyst 6500 and Cisco Catalyst 6800 modular switches equipped with Cisco's Supervisor Engine 2T include the Cisco ISE technology for simple, centralized management to put in place consistent policy across a distributed environment, Virtual Switching System technology for 99.999% availability via multi-level failover, and the Cisco Campus Locator/ID Separation Protocol (LISP) to support client roaming and mobility and to streamline network virtualization and migration to IPv6. Other virtualization tools to segment distinct user groups and support the unique security/compliance and Quality of Service policy needs of each group include Layer 2 and Layer 3 VPN, full Multiprotocol Label Switching, EVN, VRF-aware applications for Network Address Translation (NAT) NetFlow, GRE for v4/v6, and Layer 2 geographic extensions with virtual private LAN services. For unified wired/wireless environments, the Wireless Services Module 2 (WiSM2) controller Cisco Catalyst 6500 and Catalyst 6800 modular switches can manage as many as 1000 wireless access points and 15,000 wireless users.

Cisco Catalyst 6500-E Series Switches
The Cisco Catalyst 6500-E line of modular switches are intended for distribution and enterprise core networks that require world-class uptime and high concentrations of 1 Gigabit Ethernet, 1 Gigabit Ethernet fiber, and/or 10 and 40 Gigabit Ethernet access ports. Models have three to 13 expansion slots and accept a broad selection of interface modules. Integrated service modules enable wireless, traffic monitoring, and security. Only E-Series versions of Cisco's broad line of Catalyst 6500 switches work with the Supervisor Engine 2T.

The Cisco Catalyst 6503-E switch has a 4RU chassis, holds 3 slots, and delivers 180 Gbps of switching capacity per slot. The Catalyst 6503-E switch supports up to 97 1-Gigabit Ethernet ports, up to 99 Gigabit Ethernet fiber access ports, up to 34 10-Gigabit Ethernet ports, and up to 8 40GE ports.

The top-of-the-line Catalyst 6513-E switch has a 19RU, 13-slot chassis and can deliver up to 180 Gbps of bandwidth on each slot, providing a total system bandwidth as high as 4 Tbps. A VSS configured system can deliver 8 Tbps of throughout. The Catalyst 6513-E switch offers a maximum of 529 10/100/1000 Ethernet connections, up to 534 Gigabit Ethernet fiber ports, 180 10GE access ports, and 44 40-Gigabit Ethernet access ports.

Cisco Catalyst 6800 Series Switches
Cisco's Catalyst 6800 switches are programmable backbone platforms designed to provide best-of-breed 10/40/100 GE services. The Cisco Catalyst 6880-X switch is a fixed, compact switch for high-density Ethernet designed for small or medium-size campus backbones. The 6880-X switch delivers up to 2 Tbps switching bandwidth and features four slots for port cards. The top port density per chassis is 80 10/100/1000 Ethernet access ports or 10GE access ports or up to 20 40-Gigabit Ethernet connections. With VSS, a two-chassis system can provide 4 Tbps switching performance and support up to 158 10/100/1000 Ethernet ports or 10-Gigabit Ethernet connections or up to 20 40GE connections.

The modular Catalyst 6807-XL switch has a 10 RU form factor chassis that has 7 slots and supports existing Supervisor Engine 2T line cards and modules. (Two slots are reserved for the Supervisor Engine and five are for expansion modules.) The Cisco Catalyst 6807-XL offers as much as 880 Gbps of switching capacity per slot and a total of 11.4 Tbps of switching bandwidth while handling up to 240 10/100/1000 Ethernet connections or 1GE fiber ports, 80 10GE access ports or up to 20 40-Gigabit Ethernet connections. A two-chassis 6807-XL system with VSS can support 22.8 Tbps of switching performance, 480 10/100/1000 Ethernet connections or 1GE fiber ports, 160 10-Gigabit Ethernet access ports or 40 40GE access ports.

Legacy Catalyst Series Switches Still Supported by Progent
Progent's Cisco certified network consultants have broad experience providing online and on-premises consulting and troubleshooting expertise for legacy Catalyst Series switches which have reached End of Life. These outdated switches often cost more to manage and support than contemporary models, provide lower performance and functionality, and in many situations can subject organizations to regulatory and liability issues. Progent are available to assist you to manage and repair these older Cisco products and can also assist you to plan and implement seamless migrations to current products within the Catalyst line or to solutions from Cisco's Nexus portfolio of network switches which take advantage of Catalyst technology. Older Catalyst switches for which Progent offers support include:

Cisco Catalyst Express 500 and 520 Series Switches
Cisco's Catalyst Express 500 family of managed Ethernet switches are intended for companies with as many as 250 employees and provide the reliability, protection, scalability, and features small and mid-sized businesses require at an economical price. Power over Ethernet support makes it easy to add network appliances such as VoIP phones and closed-circuit cameras.

Models of the Cisco Catalyst Express 500 and 520 switches support from 8 to 24 10/100/1000BT Ethernet ports as well as optional redundant power with automatic fail-over for additional dependability. Interoperation with Cisco access points allows businesses to build a wireless LAN environment quickly and effectively. The Cisco Catalyst Express 500 and 520 platform provides strong protection against viruses With the Cisco Self-Defending Network strategy and Clean Access agents.

Cisco Catalyst 2940 Switch
Cisco Catalyst 2900 fixed-configuration, managed Ethernet switches provide basic workgroup connectivity for small to medium-size organizations. These wire-rate desktop switches offer Cisco IOS Software features for basic mixed-media traffic control at the edge of the network. The Catalyst 2940 Series switches are compact, entry-level switches with 8 Fast Ethernet connections and one built-in Fast Ethernet or Gigabit Ethernet uplink. They can be deployed away from the wiring closet in cramped areas such as on a user's desk or in a classroom.

Cisco Catalyst 2960-S Switch
The Cisco Catalyst 2960-S Series are fixed switches intended for small businesses and branch offices. Current models feature 24 or 48 1Gb Ethernet ports, four 1-Gigabit or two 10-Gigabit uplink ports, and deliver switching capacity of up to 176 Gbps. Cisco's FlexStack technology permits four 2960-S chassis to be grouped in a FlexStack stack to perform as one switching unit that offers 40 Gbps of stacking performance and that cuts administrative costs because of single-switch setup. IPv6 First Hop Security (FHS) capability guards networks against IPv6 address theft and malicious attacks.

Catalyst 3560 Switches
Cisco’s Catalyst 3560 family is a selection of fixed-configuration switches that includes IEEE 802.3af and PoE capability in 10/100 and Gigabit implementations. Cisco's Catalyst 3560 switch is an ideal access-layer switch for midsize business LAN connectivity or satellite-offices, combining both Gigabit and Power over Ethernet configurations for high productivity while streamlining the installation of key technology including VoIP, wireless connectivity, video surveillance, and building management systems. Customers can deploy comprehensive smart features such as quality of service, rate management, access control lists, multicast management, and fast IP routing with the ease of conventional network switching.

The Catalyst 3560 Series switch offers a powerful set of capabilities that allow for network expandability and enhanced resilience through IP routing plus a full suite of Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) improvements aimed to increase throughput in a Layer 2 LAN. Improvements to the standard STP Protocol, including PVST+, and Uplink Fast, combined with innovations like Flex Links, contribute to network efficiency. PVST+ supports Data Link Layer load sharing on redundant connections to efficiently use the extra bandwidth associated with a redundant design.

Important technologies such as Open Shortest Path First, Enhanced Interior Gateway Routing Protocol (EIGRP), BGP, static routing, and Policy Based Routing improve network capacity; Protocol Independent Multicast (PIM) increases utilization of network resources; and Virtual Route Forwarding Lite protects data.

Cisco Catalyst 3750 Family Switches
For mid-size businesses and enterprise branches, the Cisco Catalyst 3750 Series switch eases integration of converged technologies and adapts to evolving business needs by providing setup flexibility, support for converged network traffic, and management-free configuration of intelligent system services. In addition, the Cisco Catalyst 3750 Series switch is engineered for high-density Gigabit environments and includes a wide range of switches that meet the connectivity, distribution, and backbone-interface demands of small or mid-size systems.

The Cisco Catalyst 3750 Series includes the IP Base or the IP Services image. The IP Base image features include advanced QoS, rate-limiting, access control lists, and simple static and RIP routing capability. The IP Services image offers a richer set of enterprise-grade functions, including sophisticated built-in IP unicast/multicast routing.

StackWise technology is an architecture optimized for Gigabit interfaces. This technology is intended to respond to installs, deletions, and relocations while maintaining predictable performance. Cisco StackWise unites up to 9 individual switches into one functional unit, utilizing custom stack-interface cables and utilities. Any of the switches can be any mix of the Cisco Catalyst 3750 switches and the Cisco Catalyst 3750-E switches. The stack operates as a single switching device that is managed by a control switch, chosen from one of the stack of switches. The master switch automatically creates and updates all the switching and optional routing databases. A deployed stack can accept new members or remove old switches with no service interruption.

How Progent Can Assist Your Business with Cisco Catalyst Series Switches
Progent offers the online or onsite services of Cisco CCIE-certified consultants who have broad backgrounds providing Catalyst switch solutions for small and midsize organizations, branch offices, campuses, data centers, Cloud networks, and service providers. Progent's skills include Catalyst and Nexus families of managed switches and Cisco's IOS, IOS-XR and NX-OS operating systems. Consulting and support services offered by Progent for Catalyst switches include proof-of-concept testing and validation, network analysis, network architecture design, migrations and project management, network virtualization, wired/wireless convergence, network management, capacity planning, troubleshooting, business continuity planning, and information security and compliance assessment and verification.

Progent's Cisco-certified consultants have broad expertise with industry standards as well as with Cisco-owned protocols and technologies associated with switching and routing such as Border Gateway Protocol, MPLS, Protocol Independent Multicast, VPNs, STP, virtual LANs, Cisco FabricPath, VPC, HSRP, Virtual Router Redundancy Protocol, Open Shortest Path First (OSPF), Virtual Switching System (VSS), and LISP. Progent's network specialists also offer deep knowledge of crucial technologies such as TCP/IP, IPv4, IPv6, Enhanced Interior Gateway Routing Protocol (EIGRP), RIP, and Internet Group Management Protocol. Progent's CISSP-ISSAP certified information security consultants can assist you to create an enterprise-wide security strategy and implement Cisco Catalyst switches so they provide maximum enforcement to your security policies.

In case you require the highest available density or extremely low latency switches for an enterprise-class data center, Progent can help your organization to evaluate, plan, and carry out a transition to Cisco's Nexus switches. To find out about Progent's consulting and support services for Nexus switches, see Cisco Nexus Switch configuration and support services available from Progent. Progent can also assist you to connect Catalyst data center switches with Cisco Meraki distribution switches. (See Cisco Meraki switch integration consultants.)

To see additional details about Progent's engineering support for Cisco networking products, pick a topic:

• Overview of Cisco Network Support
• Timely Online Access to a Cisco CCIE Engineer
• Cisco Firepower Series Firewalls: Integration and Management Support
• ASA 5500-X Series Firewall with Firepower: Consulting and Troubleshooting Expertise
• Cisco ASA 5500 Series Firewall Management Services
• Cisco PIX Series Firewall Maintenance Help
• Cisco Routers Consulting Services
• Cisco Wireless Consulting Help
• Cisco Aironet APs Consulting Services
• Cisco Small Business 100, 300 and 500 Wireless Access Points System Design Support
• Cisco Wireless Controllers Integration Consulting
• Cisco Meraki Wireless Access Points Design Expertise
• Cisco Unified Communications Manager (CUCM or Unified CM) and Cisco CallManager Configuration and Technical Support
• Cisco Voice over IP Phones and IP Video Phones Expertise and Wireless VoIP Phone Configuration
• Cisco Jabber Consulting and Support Expertise
• Cisco Nexus Switches Configuration and Maintenance Expertise
• Cisco Meraki Switches Support and Troubleshooting Expertise
• Cisco VPN Setup and Troubleshooting Support
• SIP and CUBE Integration Solutions: SIP Trunking and CUBE Integration Consulting
• Design and Support for Cisco-based Datacenters and Colocation Centers
• Data Center Design Expertise for Service Providers
• Remote Network Management Strategies for Cisco Infrastructure

In order to contact Progent about engineering expertise for Cisco technology, phone 1-800-993-9400 or see Contact Progent.