4506: Distribution layer?

[gautamzone]

Hi friends,

What exactly is the role of a 4506 in this data flow:

Client-->Access Switch-->4506-->3560-->2611 Gateway router-->MPLS switch-->MPLS network

Can this 4506 switch be positioned in the distribution layer? If 4506 is the distribution, can the 3560 switch also be part of the distribution layer? I can understand that the 2611 will be at the core layer.

Thanks a lot

Gautam

[ciscosri18]

Hi,

In your setup, the Cisco 4506 is acting as a collapsed core, i.e. doing the functionality of Core and Distribution, the Cisco 3560 is acting as the Edge Switch connecting to the Router for your WAN Connectivity. Yes Cisco 4506 can be positioned at Distribution Layer and I assume the Supervisor that you are using is Sup2+ and the later models.

Regards,

Sriharshaa Prabhakar

[gautamzone]

Hi Sriharshaa,

Thanks a lot for your response. Yes, the 4506 uses the Sup2+ IOS based supervisor engine.

My understanding of core was that it is a high speed routing + switching layer that connects inside to outside network. I am not really able to clearly understand the position of 4506 in this kind of setup.

Thanks a lot

Gautam

[amit-singh]

Hi Gautam,

The positiong of the switches depends upon the network size. If you are smallmediam enterprise you can use 4500 switches as your distribution/core switch. This switch has all the capabilities to be a part of the core in a small enterprise like routing/switching, scalability, High availability, redundancy etc.

If you are a big enterprise with lots of data travelling across the network, you might need 6500 or 7600 at the core.

HTH,Please rate if it does.

-amit singh