Cisco Systems Intelligent Switching Q Why use Cisco Catalyst switches to ease network evolution?

Q:Why use Cisco Catalyst switches to ease network evolution?

Product Overview

A:Lots of reasons—as lots of people can attest.

Cisco Systems’ achievements and contributions have made it one of the world’s most admired companies. Service providers, PTTs, governments, academic institu- tions, Fortune 500 companies, and small-to-medium businesses around the world look to Cisco to enable and support their diverse networking requirements.

Cisco is uniquely qualified to help organizations adapt as their requirements change. After all, Cisco solutions are as scalable as the Internet itself, powering more than 80 percent of the World Wide Web.

Here are some of the reasons why Cisco Catalyst switches are the right choice:

•Cisco Catalyst 2950, 3550, 4500, and 6500 Series switches provide a complete Gigabit Ethernet switching solution, from the edge of the network to the core.

•The Cisco Catalyst family, a complete range of stackable and chassis switches, provides industry-leading performance, functionality, scalability, and flexibility, which deliver valuable enhancements to your network operations.

•Cisco offers end-to-end solutions for a variety of applications, from basic connectivity all the way up to complete edge-to-core IP telephony systems with Cisco CallManager, voice services gateways, IP phones, inline power support, and voice and auxiliary VLANs.

•Cisco Catalyst network platforms run on Cisco IOS Software, which creates a unified network and provides a solid foundation for building Internet applications. Extending common services and interfaces across the network also reduces training, management, and troubleshooting costs.

•Cisco provides comprehensive service and support, with the expertise to handle any situation that arises after installation. Warranty and SMARTnet support services ensure that operations staff can refresh their system software and access a wealth of knowledge. Customers can keep their technology up to date, aug- ment their knowledge and skills, gain access to resources and tools for rapid problem resolution, and minimize the challenges associated with the stocking of replacement hardware.

Q:But anything this advanced must be difficult to deploy

and manage, right?

A:Not at all—that’s a key advantage of these switches.

The whole point, after all, is to make it easier to accommodate new services and requirements. So Cisco Catalyst switches are designed to simplify all aspects of network management by providing a variety of deployment and management software solutions. All of the Catalyst switches offer Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) support, along with a comprehensive set of MIBs enabling effective in-band management, while Remote Monitoring (RMON) software support provides for granular traffic monitoring across the switch.

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