Layer 3 Switch Buying Decision

[mkhalil770]

Would it be a wise decision to invest in 4948 switch. Does any one here has any good experience of using it? If not, then I am looking for 4503 as well as its alternative [48 ports]. Any comments are welcome.

[guruprasadr]

HI, [Pls Rate if HELPS]

In my Experience i would recommend Cisco 4506 Switch for your Environment.

You need to consider your Future Scalability Factors in your Environment.

Pls See link below for Comparison Chart:

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/hw/switches/ps4324/prod_models_comparison.html

Refer link below for Data Sheet (4506):

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/hw/switches/ps4324/products_data_sheet0900aecd801792b1.html

Refer link below for Data Sheet (4503):

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/hw/switches/ps4324/products_data_sheet0900aecd801792b1.html

PLS RATE if HELPS

Best Regards,

Guru Prasad R

[mkhalil770]

Thanks buddy. Besides the scalability part, you are still not advising for 4948. Yes, I am looking for 4506, 4507R and 4503. However, keeping my budget constaint in my mind, I think 4503 w/ SUP V, 10 GE is scalable upto 72Gbps and it should work fine with one slot available to have another 48 port UTP or Fiber connectivity.

[guruprasadr]

HI, [PLS Rate if HELPS]

Considering at your Budget point of view, Cisco 4948 is advisable and recommended.

Cisco 4948 Switch:

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Cisco Catalyst 4948 offers 48 ports of wire-speed 10/100/1000BASE-T with 4 alternative wired ports that can accommodate optional 1000BASE-X Small Form-Factor Pluggable (SFP) optics

Cisco 4948 10G Switch:

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The Cisco Catalyst 4948 10GE Switch offers 48 ports of wire-speed 10/100/1000BASE-T with 2 ports of wire-speed 10 Gigabit Ethernet (X2 optics).

INFO: With Cisco 4948 Switch you can have 48 port UTP with 4 Ports of Fiber Connectivity. Consider how many Fiber UPlink you will have your Environment.

Key Feature:

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The Cisco Catalyst 4948 delivers wire-speed throughput with low latency for data-intensive applications using a 96 Gbps switching fabric with a 72 Mpps forwarding rate in hardware for Layer 2-4 traffic. Switching performance is guaranteed regardless of the number of route entries or Layer 3 and 4 services enabled. Hardware-based Cisco Express Forwarding routing architecture allows for increased scalability and performance.

Refer link below for Cisco 4948 Data Sheet:

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/ps6021/products_data_sheet0900aecd8017a72e.html

PLS RATE if HELPS

Best Regards,

Guru Prasad R

[Jon Marshall]

Hi

It really depends on what you are using the switch for. The 4948 is really a data centre switch for connecting servers at wire speed. It is not modular so there is no upgrade path other than purchasing a new switch.

The 4500 is modular and if you think you may need more capacity in the future i would go for a 4507 if you have the space. The chassis cost is never that much compared to the modules that go in it.

To be honest i would say it should be a choice between 4500 or 3750 switches which can be stacked to allow futher port capacity.

You only need to look at the 4948 for sheer throughput terms.

HTH

Jon