Home CCNP Study Guide Catalyst Does Browser Management

Catalyst Does Browser Management

Written by Wendell E. Jaynes    Sunday, 08 March 2009

Network switching hub As a network manager, you already know that faster network switches will provide a better, more responsive experience for your Web browser. But what you might not know is that a browser can also improve your switching experience -- with a little help from Cisco's latest line of network switching hubs. Ideally suited as workgroup segment or edge switches, Cisco's Catalyst 2900 Series XL products, including the Catalyst 2916M XL that I tested, offer a strong solution for sites looking for a midrange feature set. Although it offers extras over competing units from Bay Networks and 3Com, the Catalyst currently lacks key features demanded by enterprise customers. Like most new network switches, the 2916M XL has only basic expansion capabilities. However, Cisco expects to add more expansion accessories down the line. The Catalyst 2916M XL is a 16-port 10/100Mbps Fast Ethernet switch that sports a 3.2 Gigabit Ethernet switching fabric and supports as many as 2,048 Media Access Control addresses, making it ideal as a segment switch. The unit also has two expansion bays that support either a four-port 100Base-TX or a two-port 100Base-FX module. Cisco expects to add other modules, including a Gigabit Ethernet module, and other feature upgrades later this year. Browser-based managementM The feature I found to be most useful is the 2916M XL's built-in Web server, which provides network administrators with browser-based access to virtually every aspect of switch management. I was pretty impressed with this capability, which allowed me to perform quick-and-dirty remote management tasks, such as viewing port and unit statistics or configuring other unit settings. The Catalyst's Web-based management is indeed powerful. For example, I was able to send Cisco IOS (the OS embedded on the unit) commands to the Catalyst via my Web browser. I also performed browser-based management from both Netscape's Communicator and Microsoft's Internet Explorer. However, I did run into one problem with this feature. When connecting to the unit through a proxy server, I was able to view the unit's configuration and statistics but was unable to set configuration parameters. So if you're using a proxy server, you'll want to exclude the IP addresses of Catalyst units from your proxy server's cache table. Some speed boosts Although the 2916M XL does not offer a separate data cascade for combining multiple units into a single stack, the product does support a Fast EtherChannel feature, which helps to achieve faster speed uplinks between units or high-speed load balancing to multiple network interface cards on a single server. With Fast EtherChannel, I was able to combine or aggregate as many as four 100Base-TX ports into a single data channel, offering a 400Mbps data cascade (800Mbps in full-duplex mode). The 2916M XL supports as many as four separate Fast EtherChannel configurations operating concurrently. One other highlight is the 2916M XL's 10/100Mbps, half/full-duplex autonegotiation feature. Overall, I found that the autonegotiation feature worked well. But the latency associated with determining a node's speed and duplex rating could cause minor problems if you plan to connect a client directly to the 2916M XL. Overall, the Catalyst 2916M XL offers extras that differentiate it from competing switching hubs, but it could use some expansion features better suited for enterprise use. It lacks Layer 3 switching capabilities and its virtual LAN (VLAN) support is limited to one VLAN, although Cisco plans to add more VLAN support this summer. But if these enhancements aren't a priority for you, the 2916M XL is a solid edge or segment switch.

Last Updated ( Sunday, 08 March 2009 )