Ethernet Switches

The Cisco Catalyst^® 4948E and 4948E-F Ethernet Switches are the Cisco Catalyst 4900 Series data center switches built from the start to deliver best-in-class, full-featured server-access switching. The switches include identical features except that the Cisco Catalyst 4948E offers front-to-back cooling, and the Cisco Catalyst 4948E-F offers back-to-front cooling. Each switch offers forty-eight 10/100/1000-Gbps RJ45 downlink ports and four 1 and 10 Gigabit Ethernet uplink ports. The switches are designed to simplify data center architecture and operations by offering service provider-grade hardware and software in a one-rack-unit (1RU) form factor optimized for full-featured top-of-rack (ToR) data center deployments (Figure 1).

The Cisco Catalyst 4948E and 4948E-F build on the advanced technology of the Cisco Catalyst 4948 Switches, the most widely deployed ToR switch in the industry, with more than 10 million ports deployed worldwide. The Cisco Catalyst 4948E and 4948E-F double the uplink bandwidth and offer true front-to-back and back-to-front airflow with no side or top venting. The airflow direction is controlled by the changing of fans. Optional front-to-back and back-to-front airflow management reduces data center operating costs by providing strict hot-aisle and cold-aisle isolation.

Hot-aisle and cold-aisle deployment remains the widely adopted best practice for data center cabinet layouts today. Networking switches and computing servers mounted in a single cabinet need to maintain the separation of the inlet cold air and the exhaust hot air for efficient use of cooling resources. The Cisco Catalyst 4948E and 4948E-F switches provide the option of front-to-back airflow (Cisco Catalyst 4948E) and back-to-front airflow (Cisco Catalyst 4948E-F) for ToR switch deployments.

Exceptional reliability and serviceability are delivered with optional internal AC and DC 1+1 hot-swappable power supplies and a hot-swappable fan tray with redundant fans (Figures 2 and 3).

The Juniper Networks® EX4200 line of Ethernet switches with Virtual Chassis technology combine the high availability (HA) and carrier-class reliability of modular systems with the economics and flexibility of stackable platforms, delivering a high-performance, scalable solution for data center, campus and branch office environments.Offering a full suite of Layer 2 and Layer 3 switching capabilities as part of the base software, the EX4200 satisfies a variety of high-performance applications, including branch, campus and data center access deployments as well as Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) aggregation deployments. A single 24-port or 48-port switch can be deployed initially; as requirements grow, Juniper Networks Virtual Chassis technology allows up to 10 EX4200 switches to be interconnected over a 128 gigabit-per-second (Gbps) backplane and managed as a single device, delivering a scalable, pay-as-you-grow solution for expanding network environments. Flexible Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) and 10-Gigabit Ethernet (10GbE) uplink options enable high-speed connectivity to aggregation- or core-layer switches which connect multiple floors or buildings.All EX4200 switches include HA features such as redundant, hot-swappable internal power supplies and field-replaceable, multi-blower fan trays to ensure maximum uptime. In addition, the base EX4200 partial PoE switch models offer Class 3 Power over Ethernet (PoE), delivering up to 18.6 watts on the first eight ports to support networked devices such as telephones, video cameras and wireless LAN (WLAN) access points for low-density converged networks. Full PoE options delivering up to 18.6 watts on all 24 or 48 ports are also available, making them ideal for high-density IP telephony deployments. Furthermore, PoE+ models deliver up to 30 watts of standards-based 802.3at PoE+ on 24 or 48 ports making them ideal for all PoE applications including campus deployments with 802.11n wireless access points