Cisco releases IOS-based Catalyst 6500 series software

Cisco's flagship Switch replaces the new brain with the new IOS software modularization to bridge the "operational gap" between IT talent and network service needs ".

On April 9, August 29, Cisco Systems announced the launch of a number of software improvements based on Cisco Internet Operating System IOS. These improved IOS software is mainly used in the Catalyst 6500 series switches, Cisco's flagship product. It will help IT managers improve network operation efficiency, prolong normal network operation time, and thus improve enterprise productivity.

In particular, Cisco has improved its existing IOS software for the Catalyst 6500 switch so that the modular Cisco IOS subsystem can run on multiple independent self-recovery duplex processes. At the same time, the improved IOS software sets new standards for network availability and provides a series of advantages:

Through the process failure control and stateful process restart function, the speed of fault control and recovery is accelerated, and the time of unexpected interruption is minimized, thus helping enterprises save money;

Simplify software changes by upgrading Subsystem Service software. This feature reduces software verification and deployment time, reduces business risks, and minimizes downtime required for maintenance upgrades.

By integrating Cisco IOS Embedded event manager EEM), process-Level Automatic policy control is implemented. This function can be used to help IT managers automatically execute time-consuming tasks, thus saving their time.

This new intelligent software for the Catalyst 6500 switch represents an important IT development trend. Today's network is becoming the most strategic component of enterprise IT infrastructure. However, at the same time, most enterprises have not significantly increased the number of IT personnel to cooperate with technological innovation.

"We describe this phenomenon as the 'growing operational gaps 'between the number of IT personnel and the company's IT infrastructure, especially network needs '." Zeus Kerravala, vice president of Yankee Group, said. "One way to eliminate this operation gap is to allow network providers to develop more intelligent products and functions, thus greatly improving the efficiency of IT managers ."

As a well-known investment company with over $100 billion in assets, American Century investors tried Cisco IOS software modularization for the Catalyst 6500 series switches. Based on the test results, the company expects that the new features will greatly improve its operational efficiency. "We estimate that by using the Cisco IOS software modularization, we will take the time required to upgrade over 60 Catalyst 6500 software units over six weeks. We had to perform network disconnection maintenance tasks over the weekend) reduced to less than six hours." Dave Rogers, senior IT network manager for American Century investors, said.

"Because we are facing fierce competition, we hope our IT staff can effectively control costs while providing world-class services ." Rogers. "Cisco's achievements in intelligent network technology, such as the Cisco IOS software modularization for the Catalyst 6500 series switches, enable our IT staff to effectively support key business processes and transactions, to help us achieve this goal."

As one of Switzerland's major information technology service providers, Swisscom's IT Services have been focused on how to effectively integrate and run complex IT infrastructure at a low cost. It also tested Cisco IOS software modularization on its own Catalyst 6500 switch.

"By using Cisco IOS software modularization and high availability features on a Catalyst 6500 switch, we can now use targeted software patches to reduce operating costs while improving network availability ." Said Hugo Hirzel, Chief network engineer of Swisscom IT Services.

"We no longer need to restart the switch after installing the patch, so we do not need to schedule a long maintenance task after work. Embedded event manager integration provides us with precise control capabilities, allowing us to automatically execute routine tasks and simplify the detection of abnormal behavior, thus improving work efficiency. We welcome this feature from Cisco and look forward to implementing software modularization on a large number of Catalyst 6500 deployments ."

Cisco IOS software modularization for Catalyst 6500 series switches is another important technical achievement of Cisco in building an Intelligent Information Network (IIN. IIN is Cisco's technical goal and development direction for the systemic development of networks. Meanwhile, Cisco IOS software modularization reflects Cisco's high investment in its flagship product Catalyst 6500 exchange platform, especially in the high availability network HAN field. Cisco IOS software modularization is another important innovation Cisco has made to consolidate Cisco Catalyst 6500's leading position in the HAN field.