Purchasing vswitch knowledge Summary

I. Switch purchasing standards

A vswitch is very important. He grasps the lifeblood of a Network. How can he buy a vswitch? What vswitch is used? When purchasing a vswitch, the advantages and disadvantages of the vswitch are undoubtedly very important, and the advantages and disadvantages of the vswitch should begin with the overall architecture, performance and functions.

When purchasing a vswitch, in addition to meeting the RFC2544 standard, throughput, latency, and packet loss rate, some additional metrics are also met, such as the number of MAC addresses, the capacity of the route table (layer-3 Switch), the number of ACLs, the LSP capacity, and the number of VPN connections.

The switch function is the most direct indicator

For general access layer switches, simple QoS Assurance, security mechanisms, support for network management policies, spanning tree protocols, and VLANs are all essential functions. After careful analysis, some features are further subdivided, and these subdivided functions are the main cause of product Differences and an important way to reflect the added value of products.

Application-level QoS Assurance for vswitches

The QoS policy of a vswitch supports multi-level packet priority settings. This allows you to set priorities for MAC addresses, VLANs, IP addresses, and ports respectively, so as to provide users with more flexibility in actual applications. At the same time, if the switch has good congestion control and traffic limit capabilities and supports Diffserv Differentiated Services, it can intelligently distinguish different application flows based on the source/Target MAC/IP addresses, this satisfies the needs of real-time Internet cafe network multimedia applications. Note that some vswitches on the market currently claim to have QoS Assurance. In fact, they only support single-level priority settings, which brings a lot of inconvenience to the actual application. All Internet cafe owners should pay attention when purchasing them.

Vswitch should support VLAN

VLAN is a virtual LAN. By dividing a LAN into virtual network vlan cidr blocks, network management and network security can be enhanced to control unnecessary data broadcast, working Groups in the network can break through the geographic location restrictions in the shared network and divide subnets based on the management function. Vswitches of different manufacturers have different support capabilities for VLANs, and the number of supported VLANs varies.

Vswitch should have the network management function

The Network Management Function of Internet cafe switches can be managed and configured using management software, such as Web browsers, Telnet, SNMP, and RMON. Generally, vswitch vendors provide management software or third-party management software to remotely manage vswitches. The general switch meets the SNMPMIBI/MIBII statistical management functions, and supports configuration management, service quality management, alarm management, and other policies, the complex gigabit switches support the active RMON monitoring function by adding the built-in RMON group (mini-RMON.

Switch should support link Aggregation

Link aggregation makes the link bandwidth between vswitches and servers very scalable. For example, two, three, and four Gigabit Links can be bound together, multiply the bandwidth of the link. Link aggregation technology can achieve load balancing of different ports, and also backup each other to ensure link redundancy. In some Gigabit Ethernet switches, a maximum of four link aggregation groups are supported, and each group has a maximum of four ports. But there are also support eight groups of link aggregation switch, like the flying fish Star Security linkage switch VS-5524GF is eight groups of link aggregation, each group has a maximum of eight ports. Both the Spanning Tree Protocol and link aggregation can ensure the redundancy of a network. Set redundant links in a network and use the Spanning Tree Protocol to block the backup link. Logically, no loops are formed. In the event of a fault, the backup link is enabled.

Vswitch must support VRRP Protocol

VRRP (virtual router redundancy protocol) is a solution to ensure network reliability. In this protocol, the default gateway (DefaultGateway) of the terminal IP device on the shared multi-access media is backed up redundant, so that when one of the three-tier switch devices goes down, the backup device takes over the forwarding in a timely manner and provides transparent switching to users, improving the network service quality. VRRP is similar to Cisco's HSRP Protocol, except that HSRP is private to Cisco. Currently, mainstream switch manufacturers have supported VRRP in their products, but it still takes a few days to widely use VRRP.

Ii. vswitch brand model Introduction

Huawei Switches

LI (Lite software Image) indicates that the device is a weak feature version.

SI (Standard software Image) indicates that the device is in the Standard version and contains basic features.

EI (Enhanced software Image) indicates that the device is an Enhanced version and contains some advanced features.

HI (Hyper software Image) indicates that the device is an advanced version and contains some more advanced features.

Z, indicating that there is no upstream interface; this bit is not allowed by the new product)

G, indicating the upstream GBIC interface;

P indicates the upstream SFP interface;

T, indicating the upstream RJ45 interface;

V indicates the upstream VDSL interface;

W indicates that the WAN interface can be configured on the uplink;

C, indicating that the upstream interface is optional;

M, indicating that the uplink interface is a Multimode Optical port;

S indicates that the uplink interface is a single-mode optical port;

F indicates that the downstream interface is a template board, and the optical interface board or electrical interface board can be plugged in. It is compatible with old products such as 3526F, 3526EF, and 3552F.

If both interfaces exist, the uplink interface is composed of multiple interface types.

Note: The Combo port is not displayed in the name.

Cisco switches

We teach you how to identify Cisco switch models in the network industry. Cisco System Inc. With its IOS (Internet Operating System), Cisco is an absolute leader in the multi-protocol router market. Currently, nearly 80% of routers on the Internet come from Cisco.

In fact, Cisco also has a full range of network devices, including hubs, switches, access servers, hardware and software firewalls, and network management software. Cisco pays great attention to the tracking of New Technologies. Through a series of cooperation and mergers, Cisco has successfully intervened in emerging markets such as broadband access and wireless communication.

Cisco vswitch products are trademarks of Catalyst, including more than 10 series including 1900, 2800, 2900, 3500, 4000, 5000, 5500, 6000, and 8500. In general, these vswitches can be divided into two types:

The first type is a fixed configuration switch, including most models of 3500 and below. For example, 1924 is a 24-port 10 M Ethernet switch with two 100 M upstream ports. In addition to limited software upgrades, these switches cannot be expanded. The other type is modular switches, which mainly refer to 4000 or more models. network designers can meet network requirements, select different numbers and models of interface boards, power supply modules, and corresponding software.

When choosing a device, many people have a headache for long product models. In fact, Cisco has a rule for product naming. For A Catalyst switch, the product name is in the format of Catalyst nn xx [-C] [-M] [-A/-EN], where NN is the serial number of the switch, XX indicates the number of ports for fixed-configuration vswitches and the number of slots for modular switches. The-C mark indicates the interface with optical fiber, and the-M indicates modularization, -A and-EN respectively refer to the switch software as the standard board or Enterprise Edition.

Currently, Cisco switches commonly used in network integration projects include the following series: 1900/2900 series, 3500 series, and 6500 series. They are used at the low end, middle end, and high end of the network respectively. The following describes the products of these series:

1. Low-end products

Let's talk about low-end products. 1900 and 2900 are typical low-end products. In fact, Cisco does not take a special advantage in the low-end switch market, because 3Com, Dlink and other companies have better performance and price ratios.

The 1900 vswitch is a typical low-end product for desktop computer access at the end of the network. It provides 12 or 24 10 M ports and 2 100 M ports. The 100 M port supports full-duplex communication and provides port bandwidth up to 200 Mbps. The server's backboard bandwidth is 320 Mbps.

1900 of the software with the Enterprise Edition also supports VLAN and ISL Trunking, with a maximum of four VLANs. However, low-end products generally do not require this function.

Some models of the 1900 with 100 BaseFX optical fiber interface. For example, C 1912C and C 1924C have a 100 MB Tx port and a MB Fx port, and C 1924F has two BaseFX interfaces. The main models of the 1900 Series are as follows:

C1912: 12 ports: 10 BaseTx, 2 ports: 100 BaseTx, and 1 AUI Port

C 1912C: 12 ports: 10 BaseTx, 1 port: 100 BaseTx, 1 AUI port, 1 port: 100 BaseFx Port

C1924: 24 ports: 10 BaseTx, 2 ports: 100 BaseTx, and 1 AUI Port

C 1924C: 24 ports 10 BaseTx, 1 port 100 BaseTx, 1 AUI port, 1 port 100 BaseFx Port

C 1924F: 24 ports, 10 BaseTx, 1 AUI port, and 1 100 BaseFx Port

If some desktop computers are 2900 m in your network, the series may be more suitable. Compared with 1900, 2900 is characterized by an increase in speed. Its backplane speed can reach up to 3.2 GB and a maximum of 24 10/100 M Adaptive ports. All ports support full-duplex communication, this greatly improves the speed of desktop access. In addition to the port speed, many other performance of 2900 has also significantly improved compared with the 1900 Series. For example, 2900 of the MAC address table capacity is 16 KB, 1024 VLANs can be divided, and ISL Trunking Protocol is supported.

The product line of the 2900 series is very long. Some of them are general 10/100 BaseTx switches, such as C 2912 and C 2924, some are with Optical Fiber interfaces, such as C 2924C with two 100BaseFx ports, and some are modular, for example, C 2924M has two expansion slots. The plug-in card of the expansion slot can be placed in the 100BaseTx module and 100baseFx module, or even the ATM module and Gigabit Ethernet Interface Card (GBIC ). The details are as follows:

C 2912-XL: 12 port 10/100 BaseTx adaptive

C 2912MF-XL: 2 expansion slots, 12 ports, 100 BaseFX

C 2924-XL: 24 port 10/100 BaseTX adaptive

C 2924C-XL: 22 port 10/100 BaseTX adaptive, 2 port 100 BaseFX

C 2924 M-XL: 2 expansion slots, 24 port 10/100 BaseTx adaptive

In the 2900 series, there are two products more unique, one is C2948G, two is the C2948G-L3. The cost-performance ratio of 2948G is good. It uses the same software as ipvst5000/5500, and has 48 10/100 Mbps adaptive Ethernet ports and 2 Gigabit Ethernet ports and 24g backboard bandwidth, redundant power supply with hot swapping, with a series of fault tolerance features and network management features. On the basis of C2948G, The C2948G-L3 adds the three-layer switching capability, and the maximum three-layer packet throughput can reach 10 Mpps. However, in general, the 2900 series switches are generally used at the low end of the network. The gigabit and routing capabilities are not very important, so the two 2948 switches are not used much in actual projects.

2. Mid-range products

Let's look at the mid-end products. The 3500 series of mid-end products are widely used and representative.

The basic features of the C3500 series switches include a backboard bandwidth of up to 10 Gbps and a forwarding rate of 7.5 Mpps. It supports 250 VLANs, IEEE 802.1Q and ISL Trunking, and CGMP/Gigabit Ethernet switches, optional redundant power supply. However, the biggest feature of C3500 is management and gigabit.

In terms of management features, C3500 implements Cisco's switch cluster technology. It can interconnect 16 C3500, C2900, and C1900 series switches and manage them through an IP address. The Cisco Visual Switch Manager (CVSM) software in C3500 can also be used to conveniently set and manage switches through a browser.

In terms of gigabit features, C3500 fully supports Gigabit interface cards (GBIC ). Currently, GBIC has three types of 1000 BaseSx, which are applicable to multimode optical fiber, with a maximum distance of 550 m; 1000 BaseLX/LH, multimode/single-mode optical fiber, and a maximum distance of 10 km; 1000 BaseZX is applicable to single-mode optical fiber, the maximum distance is 100 km.

There are four major C3500 models:

Catalyst 3508g xl: 8 GBIC slots

Catalyst 3512 XL: 12 port 10/100 M adaptive, 2 port GBIC slots

Catalyst 3524 XL: 24 port 10/100 M adaptive, 2 port GBIC slots

Catalyst 3548 XL: 48 Port 10/100 M adaptive, 2 port GBIC slots

3. High-end products

For enterprise data networks, the C6000 series replaces the original C5000 series and is the most common product. The Catalyst 6000 series switches provide high-performance, multi-layer switching solutions for the campus network. They are designed specifically for application environments that require Gigabit scalability, high availability, and multi-layer switching, it is mainly intended for backbone connections in the park.

The Catalyst 6000 series is composed of two types of switches: Catalyst 6000 and Catalyst 6500, both of which contain 6 or 9 slot models: 6006, 6009, 6506, and 6509, specifically, 6509 is the most widely used. All models support the same super engine and interface module, protecting users' investment. This series of features mainly include:

Large port: supports up to 384 10/100 BaseTx adaptive Ethernet ports, 192 100 BaseFX optical fiber fast Ethernet ports, and 130 Gigabit Ethernet ports (GBIC slots ).

Fast: The C6500 switching backplane can be expanded to 256 Gbps, and the multi-layer switching speed can be expanded to 150 Mpps. The C6000 switching backboard bandwidth is 32 Gbps, and the multi-layer switching rate is 30 Mpps. Supports up to 8 Fast/Gigabit Ethernet ports connected using Ethernet Channel Technology (Fast EtherChannel, FEC or Gigabit EtherChannel, GEC), logically achieving a port rate of 16 Gbps, you can also implement port aggregation across modules.

Multi-layer switching: multi-layer switching modules of the C6000 series can be used for line-rate IP, IPX, and IP-multicast routing.

Good Fault Tolerance: C6000 series with redundant super engine, redundant Load Balancing power supply, redundant fan, redundant system clock, redundant uplink connection, redundant switching back board (only for C6500 series ), high Availability of the system is achieved.

Rich software features: C6000 supports a wide range of protocols, including NetFlow, VTP (VLAN Trunking Protocol), VQP (VLAN Query Protocol), ISL Trunking, HSRP (Hot Standby Router Protocol) port Security, TACACS, CGMP (Cisco Group Management Protocol), IGMP, and so on.

Vswitch brands are not the above two types. They are only the mainstream products on the market. Readers can also pay more attention to some other brand models. This site will also try to organize as many brands as possible.