The Beginner’s Guide to Understanding the Basics of Cisco Switches Series

While procuring Cisco switches from Cisco products suppliers in the UAE is quite easy with IT Networks Technologies, understanding the basics of Cisco switches can very difficult, especially if you are a beginner.

What is a network switch?

A switch is a fundamental component that helps interconnect different segments of networks by facilitating full-duplex communication, high network performance data, and excellent utilization of network bandwidth.

Which switches does Cisco offer?

Catalyst switches and Nexus switches are offered by Cisco where the first class is for campus networks and the second class is for data centers.

In this post, we will mainly focus on Catalyst switches.

Catalyst 6500 is one of the oldest switches launched in 1999, which was quickly replaced by the Catalyst 6800 switch later. Since then Cisco has released various new switches to replace the old ones. Even the Catalyst 2960 series which was quite popular a decade ago is now replaced with the Catalyst 9000 series switches.

What are the latest Cisco Switches?

At present, businesses that are upgrading their network infrastructure are now replacing C2960X-XR, C3650, and C3850 with C9000 series and C2960L with C1000.

Cisco Catalyst 9000 series of campus LAN switches are specially designed to work well with the new era of intent-based networking. The Catalyst 9000 series includes Catalyst 9100, 9200, 9300, 9400, 9500, 9600, and 9800 switches.

On the other hand, Cisco Switch Catalyst 1000 is designed to provide enterprise-grade network access for small businesses. For flexible next-generation and automated data centers, Cisco has also launched the Nexus 9000 series which includes Nexus 9500 modular switches and Nexus 9300 fixed switches.

Thanks to the advent of networking technology, modern networks can now learn, adapt, and evolve. These networks are designed to be intuitive so that they can identify the intent, mitigate possible threats through segmentation and encryption, and learn and evolve.

What are the types of Cisco Switches?

In general, Cisco designs two types of network switches, namely fixed-configuration switches and modular switches. You cannot swap or add another module in a fixed-configuration switch as you can do in a modular switch.

In which layers Cisco Switches are exactly installed?

In the enterprise access layer, you will find fixed-configuration switches, such as the Cisco Catalyst 2960X series (in a traditional infrastructure) or the Cisco Catalyst 9000 series (in an upgraded network infrastructure).

In the enterprise distribution layer, you may find fixed-configuration or modular switches based on the specific network requirements of the enterprise (or campus). The Cisco Catalyst 3850-X series is often present in the distribution layer that allows selection of different network modules (Ethernet or fiber optic) and redundant power supply modules.

Besides, you can also find C3850-X in the core layer in the network infrastructure of a small business that doesn’t have a distribution layer. On the other hand, in large enterprise networks, Cisco 3850-X switches are common in the access layer, especially in those cases where high redundancy and full Layer 3 functionality are essential requirements at the access layer.

Even today, you may find many businesses that are still using older versions of Cisco switches. In their enterprise core layer, most often Cisco Catalyst 6500 or the Catalyst 6800 series are installed. When there is a lot of traffic, it is often handled by leveraging C4500-X switches in the distribution layer as they are capable of supporting 10 Gigabit Ethernet.

All Cisco switches available within the 2960-X, 3850-X, 4500-X, and 6800-X series are managed. This means one can easily configure an IP address on the device.

If you are looking at the upgraded network infrastructure, you might have to work on the latest switches of the Cisco Catalyst or Nexus 9000 series.

Author: TechBlonHub

As a passionate blogger, I'm thrilled to share my expertise, insights, and enthusiasm with you. I believe that technical knowledge should be shared, not hoarded. That's why I take the time to craft detailed, well-researched content that's easy to follow, even for non-tech. I love hearing from you, answering your questions, and learning from your experiences. Your feedback helps me create content that's tailored to your needs and interests