Cisco unveils stackable switch line

Catalyst 3500s aimed at small and mid-size businesses.

By Jim Duffy
Network World, 05/31/99

SAN JOSE - Cisco's first stackable switches are designed to provide users with increased port densities through a variety of configurations, including stacking geographically dispersed switches.

Cisco last week announced the Catalyst 3500 XL LAN switch line, which features three stackable models for backbone, desktop and aggregation switching in small and mid-size businesses. Cisco also announced a proprietary interface for stacking the switches and software for configuring switches into single IP domains.

Each member of the Catalyst 3500 XL line sports Gigabit Interface Converter (GBIC)-based Gigabit Ethernet ports. GBIC technology supports interchangeable physical media interfaces.

The 3512 features 12 10/100M bit/sec Ethernet ports and two GBIC-based Gigabit Ethernet ports. The 3524 sports 24 10/100 ports for desktop connectivity and two GBIC-based Gigabit Ethernet ports for server and switch connectivity. The 3508 features eight GBIC-based Gigabit Ethernet ports for linking other 3500 XL switches into a localized stack or distributed cluster.

Each GBIC slot on the new 3500 XL switches or existing Catalyst 2900 XL switches can hold a Cisco-developed hardware interface specifically for Gigabit Ethernet stacking. Users can daisy chain up to nine switches via Cisco's new GigaStack GBICs.

For grouping distributed switches into a single cluster, or domain, Cisco rolled out Cisco Switch Clustering software. This software lets users group up to 16 geographically dispersed switches, or 384 switch ports, into a single domain.

"The switches can be managed over a single IP address," says Walter Miller, manager of technology and infrastructure at Business Resource Group in San Jose. "I use a single address to get to the cluster and then manage all the switches in the cluster."

The Catalyst 3500 XL line is priced from roughly $2,500 to $5,500, including the clustering software. The switches are available now. The GigaStack GBIC costs $250 and will be available in June.

Cisco: (408) 526-4000