Cisco Catalyst Products
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As already noted, three separate levels do not have to imply three separate
routers. It could be fewer, or it could be more. Remember that this is a lay-
ered approach.
Cisco Catalyst Products
U
nderstanding the campus size and traffic is an important factor in
network design. A large campus is defined as several or many colocated
buildings, and a medium campus is one or more colocated buildings. Small
campus networks have only one building.
By understanding your campus size, you can choose Cisco products that
will fit your business needs and grow with your company. Cisco switches are
produced to fit neatly within its three-layer model. This helps you decide
which equipment to use for your network efficiently and quickly.
Access Layer Switches
The access layer, as you already know, is where users gain access to the inter-
network. The switches deployed at this layer must be able to handle connect-
ing individual desktop devices to the internetwork.
The Cisco solutions at the access layer include the following:
1900/2800 Provide switched 10Mbps to the desktop or to 10BaseT
hubs in small to medium campus networks.
2900 Provides 10/100Mbps switched access for up to 50 users and giga-
bit speeds for servers and uplinks.
4000 Provides a 10/100/1000Mbps advanced high-performance enter-
prise solution for up to 96 users and up to 36 Gigabit Ethernet ports for
servers.
5000/5500 Used in large campuses to provide access for more than 250
users. The Catalyst 5000 series supports 10/100/1000Mbps Ethernet
switching.
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