Catalyst 3560-E and 3750-E
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| Catalyst 3750-E | |||
 Cisco Catalyst 3750E Stack | |||
| Manufacturer: | Cisco Systems | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Design: | Fixed Configuration | ||
| Positioning: | Access, Aggregation | ||
| Throughput: | 101.2 Mpps (Max) | ||
| Switch Fabric: | 128Gbps local + 32Gbps Stackwise Ring | ||
| Max Ports: | 9x48 10/100/1000 + 9x2 10GE (X2) | ||
| Catalyst 3560-E | |||
 Cisco Catalyst 3560-E | |||
| Manufacturer: | Cisco Systems | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Design: | Fixed Configuration | ||
| Positioning: | Access Layer | ||
| Throughput: | 101.2 Mpps (Max) | ||
| Switch Fabric: | 128Gbps | ||
| Max Ports: | 48 10/100/1000 + 2 10GE (X2) | ||
This article is about the the 3560-E and 3750-E. For information on the original series switches see 3560 and 3750.
The 3560-E and 3750-E are a new series fixed-configuration desktop switch.
Contents |
[edit] Architecture
The basic architecture of the new switches is a 128Gbps switch fabric connected in to three major areas:
- (Up to) 48 1GE ports
- 2x10GE ports
- 1x32Gbps Stackwise+ connection (see below)
The major improvement over the Catalyst 3560 and 3750 is the disconnection of the port ASICs from the Stackwise ring.
In the previous generation, traffic entering a port would have its lookups performed locally, but then sent on the first available ring. In the worst case, this would involve traversing all switches and all ports in the ring, even if the egress port was local. An additional limitation was that all switches are limited to 32Gbps, which was shared among them (reducing overall performance for each additional switch in the stack).
With the E series, the traffic is looked up and switched locally. In other words, the ring is only used if the operating is not local (or a multicast/broadcast message). Because each switch fabric is 128Gbps, fast local switching is obtained.
[edit] Stackwise+
For non-local switching operations, the 32Gbps Stackwise ring is still used. In this case however, space partitioning is used. For example, if we have four switches in the ring (a, b, c and d) and a wishes to send to b, the ring is able to determine that bandwidth between c and d is free. Therefore, we get far better utilisation of the link. This is often quoted as 64Gbps, n x 32Gbps or 128Gbps.
In addition, Stackwise+ is backwards-compatible with the original 3750 switches. In this case, all of the above benefits are lost at the expense of backwards compatibility.
[edit] 10 GE
The 'E' Series switches by default have 2x10GE uplinks through Xenpaks. In addition to this, two adapter jackets are supplied, which allow 4xSFPs to fit in to the two slots. Importantly, these can be swapped at runtime without a reload.
The uplinks run at wire-rate with an ASIC speed of 23gbps for the pair.
[edit] IOS Activation
Starting with the 'E' series desktop switches, IOS features will be software activated. In this case, similar to the PIX, a PAK (Product Activation Key) will be ordered and then combined with the serial number to generate a license key entitling the end-user to certain features.
Upon ordering, the correct license key will be applied and generally one will not need to upgrade from this. In the case of sparing, bulk PAKs would be ordered and then applied to the switch to allow either IP Base, IP Services or Advanced IP Services. At launch, crypto will not be activated, but offered as a separate download.
The Cisco License Manager will aid with implementing the licensing part across a campus.
