Cisco Systems announced a wide range of new software and hardware products for its Catalyst network switch line, supporting greater density of ports, faster interfaces and more-integrated security and management features.
Among the products formally unveiled today
at the CeBIT show in Hannover, Germany, are: a new 10-slot chassis for Cisco's 4500 series switches; a 48-port Gigabit Ethernet module for its 6500 series; a 10 Gigabit uplink option for its 3750 stackable switches; integrated security software features for the entire line of switches; and pre-set configuration software for all switches.
"These new products are the result of our continued drive around innovation," said Steven Shalita, senior manager for worldwide product marketing at Cisco. "It's how we're adding value to our intelligent switching strategy."
On the hardware side, Cisco's new 4510R chassis, available now priced at $12,495, gives customers the option to put three more line cards in a single chassis than previous models. While the 4510R can use all previous 4500 line cards, it does require the use of a new Supervisor Engine module, priced at $16,495. The new Supervisor Engine, which Cisco said adds features like broadcast and multicast storm supression and quality of service sharing on all ports, can also be used in any previous 4500 series switches.
For the 6500 series, Cisco introduced the 48-port Gigabit Ethernet line card, priced at $25,000. According to Shalita, growing use of gigabit connections to the desktop is driving the need for greater port density in the switch. "If you are running more gigabit to the desktop, you need to start aggregating to the core over higher [speed] uplinks," he said.
