1-21
Catalyst 3750-X and 3560-X Switch Software Configuration Guide
OL-21521-01
Chapter 1 Overview Network Configuration Examples
You can use the switches and switch stacks to create the following:
• Cost-effective wiring closet (Figure 1-1)—A cost-effective way to connect many users to the wiring
closet is to have a switch stack of up to nine Catalyst 3750-X switches. To preserve switch
connectivity if one switch in the stack fails, connect the switches as recommended in the hardware
installation guide, and enable either cross-stack Etherchannel or cross-stack UplinkFast.
You can have redundant uplink connections, using SFP modules in the switch stack to a Gigabit
backbone switch, such as a Catalyst 4500, Catalyst 3750-X, Catalyst 3750-E, or Catalyst
3560E-12D switch. You can also create backup paths by using Gigabit or EtherChannel links. If one
of the redundant connections fails, the other can serve as a backup path. If the Gigabit switch is
cluster-capable, you can configure it and the switch stack as a switch cluster to manage them through
a single IP address. The Gigabit switch can be connected to a Gigabit server through a 1000BASE-T
connection.
Figure 1-1 Cost-Effective Wiring Closet
An evolving demand for IP telephony • Use QoS to prioritize applications such as IP telephony during congestion and to
help control both delay and jitter within the network.
• Use switches that support at least two queues per port to prioritize voice and data
traffic as either high- or low-priority, based on IEEE 802.1p/Q. The switch
supports at least four queues per port.
• Use voice VLAN IDs (VVIDs) to provide separate VLANs for voice traffic.
A growing demand for using existing
infrastructure to transport data and
voice from a home or office to the
Internet or an intranet at higher
speeds
Use the Catalyst Long-Reach Ethernet (LRE) switches to provide up to 15 Mb of IP
connectivity over existing infrastructure, such as existing telephone lines.
Note LRE is the technology used in the Catalyst 2950 LRE switch. See the
documentation sets specific to this switch for LRE information.
Table 1-2 Providing Network Services (continued)
Network Demands Suggested Design Methods
Si
Layer 2
StackWise Plus
switch stack
Catalyst
Gigabit Ethernet
multilayer switch
Gigabit
server
200851