Thank you for the replies.

We've noticed a significant amount of broadcast traffic on our switches.

Priorities:

#1 Reduce the amount of broadcast traffic

#2 Increase the amount of available addresses

Also, do I need a different subnet per vlan or can i use the same subnet for all vlans?

If I create a unique vlan for each department would i need to create acls to get the different vlans to talk to one another. OR do i create one vlan (aside of vlan 1 for management) for all clients that connect to that switch?

We are in the process of purchasing a catalyst 4500 for our core and catalyst 3560 and/or 2975 for our closets.

Thanks again for your help.

Moving from your flat network, to a routed network, is generally the way to contain broadcast traffic.

Normally you have one subnet per VLAN. You can have multiple subnets per VLAN, but usually don't want to have a subnet span VLANs.

No, you shouldn't need to create any ACLs to allow inter-VLAN communication. Their purpose is, generally, to block (some) communication. For instance, you might not permit other depts. to send to an accounting subnet yet allow the account subnet to send to other dept. subnets.

Unclear how you intend to use 3560 and 2975 in closets. If you wanted to route in closets, stack of 3750s likely a better choice. Plus if you route in closet, you'll also likely want an advanced IOS image on the 3560 unless you planned on only using statics or RIP.

The 4500 is a fine box, much depends on what you populate it with. For your size network, you might not need it, but again, it can be a solid choice.

If you have the budget for a hardware upgrades you describe, you might want to carefully consider the core/server relationship. My preference is, besides trying to get servers on the same "fabric", I like maximum bandwidth between them and the core. In smaller networks, this might be accomplished by combining the core/server on the same "fabric".

Since you mentioned gig connected servers, do note the original 4500 only supports 6 Gbps per slot. The -E version is much better at 24 Gbps per slot, but if you do consider combining core/server, you might also consider the 6500 which can provide up to 40 Gbps per slot.