The ubiquitous networking wiring closet; each floor in your office space probably has one populated by patch panels, networking cables and perhaps a few Cisco Catalyst 3570, the expandable, stackable 24-port network switch from Cisco designed for the medium-sized business environment. In fact each of our 11 network closet contain at least (6) Catalyst 3570switches that communicate with the rest of the network at the standard 1000BaseX or Gigabit Ethernet via fiber optic cabling.

We currently house our servers in an industry standard Network Operations Center (NOC), or data center. The entire networking infrastructure is in the NOC; however there is a need to connect the various regions of our 11 story building directly to our servers; that is where our large contingent Cisco Catalyst 3750-PoE Series (24)-port switches comes into play.

The Catalyst 3750 Network Switch
(Product Description from Cisco) The Cisco Catalyst 3750 Series Switch is an innovative product for midsize organizations and enterprise branch offices. Featuring Cisco StackWise technology, the switch improves LAN operating efficiency by combining ease of use and the highest resiliency available for stackable switches. With Cisco StackWise technology, customers can create a single, 32-Gbps switching unit with up to nine Cisco Catalyst 3750 Series switches.

The Catalyst 3570 is a small foot-print, rack-mountable (1U) dynamic-configuration Layer 2 or Layer 3 Ethernet switch that provides high-performance, high bandwidth switching between workstations, servers, switches (network backbone), and routers. The particular Catalyst 3570switches we use, the PoE (Power-over-Ethernet) series, are equipped with 24 (48-port models are also available) auto-sensing switched 10BASE-T/100BASE-T/1000BASE-T ports, with full auto-negotiating capability on all ports; i.e. the switch automatically selects half- or full-duplex transmission mode to optimize bandwidth.

The Catalyst 3570and 3750G 24-port switches can support 24 simultaneous full-powered PoE ports at 15.4 watts (W) for maximum powered device support. The 48-port versions can deliver the necessary power to support 24 ports at 15.4W, 48 ports at 7.7W, or any combination in between.

Note: Power-over-Ethernet (PoE) or "Active Ethernet" eliminates the need to run 110/220 VAC power to Wireless Access Points and other devices on a wired LAN such as IP Phones. Utilizing PoE system installers need to run only a single CAT5 Ethernet cable that carries both power and data to each device. This allows greater flexibility in the locating of Wireless Access Points AP's and network devices and significantly decreasing installation costs in many cases.

Power-over-Ethernet begins with a CAT5 "Injector" that inserts a DC Voltage onto the CAT5 cable. The Injector is typically installed in the "wiring closet" near the Ethernet switch or hub. We use our complement of some 100 Catalyst 3750-PoE switches to power and connect our installed base of IP Phones.

The Catalyst 3570 switches we use also feature 2x (built-in) 1000Base-X ports. The GBIC/SFP density uplink connects the Catalyst 3570 to the backbone of the network via fiber-optics. Cisco equipped the Catalyst 3570 with a 24-gigabits-per-second (Gbps) data switching backplane, Virtual LAN (VLAN) support, for up to 4094 VLANS, and support for 802.1P, 802.1Q, PoE and VTP on all ports. The Catalyst 3570 uses the same Catalyst system software as the Cisco’s Catalyst 4000/4500/5000/5500 Series switches, thereby ensuring complete interoperability with existing Catalyst switches.

Since the Catalyst 3750-PoE Series is small, the power supply is in the rear of the unit, as is the power switch. There are also connections for stacking the switches together, as well as a DC power in connection for providing power to the PoE ports if desired. The front of the unit is festooned with the 24 Ethernet ports, their corresponding status display lights, and (2) GBIC/SFP density uplink ports.

Catalyst 3750 Use

Although the Catalyst 3570 could very well sit on my desk, we rack-mounted all of our production switches; but not before we configure all 24 ports to run 100BaseT and or PoE via a “console” connection on the back of the unit. Preparing the switch to communicate with our network took less then ten minute to accomplish; in addition to configuring the ports, I can also assign the switch an IP Address, as well supervisor ID and password for attaching locally or remotely.

As I stated above we currently utilize approximately 100 Catalyst 3570 network switches; but not all utilize the PoE functionality. Our complement of switches is spread throughout the organization and form the backbone of our dispersed network. The switches provide connectivity for desktops, servers, printers, and IP Phones.

Our complement of Catalyst 3750’s have been in place almost a year and have proved very reliable. Like the larger Catalyst switches in our network, the Catalyst 3750’s run 24/7/365. These little switches work and work well. Packet throughput is well within tolerance and actual packet collisions, as on all Cisco enterprise class switches, are rare.

Conclusion

Compared to the Catalyst 4000 and 6000 Series switches, the Catalyst 3570 is relatively inexpensive; a new unit can cost as little as $1,999 or as much as $5000.00, depending on functionality and port configuration. Not too bad a price considering the level of functionality you can expect from the switch; and the GBIC uplink ports are integrated into the unit.

If you need a diminutive, but reliable, network switch for a small, medium, or large sized corporate environments the Cisco Catalyst 3570, with or without PoE might be the solution you have been looking for.

Features & Benefits

• Ease of Use-"Plug-and-Play" Configuration
• Mix-and-Match Switch Types-Pay as You Expand Your Network
• Availability-Uninterrupted Performance at Layer 2 and Layer 3
• Smart Multicast-A New Level of Efficiency for Converged Networks
• Superior Quality of Service-Across the Stack and at Wire Speed
• Network Security-Granular Control for the Access Environment
• Single IP Management-Many Switches, One Address
• Jumbo Frames-Support for High-Demand Applications
• IPv6 Support
• Standard PoE Support-Graceful Addition of IP Communications
• 10 Gigabit Ethernet Support-Increase Uplink Bandwidth for Gigabit Ethernet Deployments


Catalyst 3750 Specifications:

• Number of Ports: 24 Ethernet (10Base-T), Fast Ethernet (100Base-TX); Gigabit Ethernet (1000Base-LX/SX/ZX/LH) 2 x GBIC/ SFP (empty) 1000BaseX Gigabit Ethernet.
• Data Transfer Rate: 10/100/1000Mbps
• Flash Memory: 4MB
• RAM: 8MB installed
• Throughput: 24-Gbps non-blocking switch fabric.
• Network Compliant Standards: IEEE 802.3, IEEE 802.3f, IEEE 802.3U, IEEE 802.3z, IEEE 802.1Q
• Communication Mode: Half-duplex, Full-duplex, uplink
• Rack Mountable: Yes



Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 4,997.00
Driver Availability: Other