1900 v 2950. difference?

[wiimike]

What is the difference between a 1900 and 2950 switch? I mean in terms of what it can do, not the commands to do it. Dumb question I'm sure, but I can't seem to find a definitive answer.

 

[voltron1011]

1900 is much older and is just a 'simple' switch. 2900 series allows you to break up the switch into numerous virtual-lans. Also, I think the 1900 was only 10mbs, whereas the 2900 is 10/100.

 

[ADB100]

The 1900's main user ports were only 10Mbps, however they could have a choice of 100Mbps uplinks (fibre or copper). They supported VLAN's so you could chop up the switch into several VLAN's. They only supported ISL as a trunking protocol (cisco proprietary) whereas the 2950 only supports 802.1q (IEEE standard). The 2950 also supports Rapid Spanning Tree (MST etc) whereas the 1900 only supports IEEE 802.1d STP. Security was also possible on the EMI versions of the 2950 (port-based ACL's), plus QoS where you can apply inbound QoS policies to classify & police traffic.

The 1900 has been EOL for a while, coupled with what it can't do I would suggest unless you just want to connect a few PC's together then don't bother with the 1900.

HTH

Andy

 

[wiimike]

thanks andy.

Voltron I am able to configure a VLAN on my 1900 switch.

 

[voltron1011]

I stand corrected on the VLAN's... I must have confused the 1900 with one of the older Cisco hubs that looked really similar.

 

[kcbell]

Other than TX and FX uplink, there are two version of 1900 that I know of.

The short (I'm talking about front to back) one can do trunk with ISL just like the 2900. It understands VTP.

The long one can do VLAN just like a hub. You use VLAN to separate traffic - if you configure three VLAN then you have three separate switches.

For learning and using, I would not buy the 1900. I am still supporting about 70 of this kind of switch in my company! It never failed for sure...

KCBell

 

[wiimike]

Can a 2950 and a 1900 connect ti each other using trunk ports?

 

[Minue]

Hello
No!The Cat 2950 only supports 803.1Q,where as the 1900 only ISL.
Regards

 

[kcbell]

minue:

Are you sure? I have a cisco WS-C2924-XL and it shows the following. ISL is the Cisco standard. You could connect both of them together with ISl if the 1900 is a Enterprize Edition.

Switch(config-if)#switchport trunk encapsulation ?
dot1q Interface uses only 802.1q trunking encapsulation when trunking
isl Interface uses only ISL trunking encapsulation when trunking

KCBell

 

[wiimike]

ok so I should make sure and check if my 2950 switch supports ISL right? If it does go ahead and snag some 1900s, if not then I'm stuck buying another 2950? ugh.

(would check it now but am in the process of moving and won't find out until Friday at the earliest)

 

[wiimike]

Are there any cheap switches I can snag that use 802.1q like the 2950 does? I failed my CCNA by one questions worth of points and one of my weak suites was switching hands on.

 

[kcbell]

wilmike:

I think you should have told us that you are trying to study your CCNA! If that is the case, you should not look at 1900 period!

ISL is Cisco specify encap protocol. DOT1Q is IEEE so it should work with other brand of switches. Linking two switches with trunk, it has to do with what brand of switches. Lingking a 1900 with HP switch, most likely it won't work because the HP switch don't have ISL. Lingking a 1900 with 2900 you can do it with ISL.

KCBell.

 

[wiimike]

yeah my bad for not mentioning that. Yeah I get why the two protocols won't work together, I just didn't know which one each used and if that was unchangeable with flash upgrades.

So any recommendations on a (preferably two) switches to buy that will meet my needs of practicing with VTP and STP and all that good stuff?

2950s are like $300, 1900s are like $30-40. I'm leaning towards buying three 1900s for like $90 and using them to learn the basics. They won't work with my 2950 to share VTP information I guess, but I'd rather spend $90 (3 1900s) than an additional $600 (3 2950s) ya know?

 

[kcbell]

wilmike:

The 1900 Enterprize Edition will work with 2900 with ISL trunk mode. It will learn the VLAN database. I understand the price is high for the 2900. My suggestion is your should at least get (1) 2900 to setup your VLANs. Then use the 1900 to transfer the VLAN database from the 2900. Remember the key is Enterprize Edition for the 1900.

KCBell.

 

[wiimike]

The 2950 only supports 802.1q but not ISL right? So how does that work? Or are you saying to get a 2900 and 1900s on top of my existing 2950?

Why enterprise edition?

 

[wabob]

wiimike, the Cisco 2950 and 2940 ONLY support 802.1q trunking (believe me, we have hundreds of them here).

kcbell, we used to have all 1900s and 2924M-XLs here before we upgraded two years ago. True, the 1900s will only support ISL. But what I found was that the older 2924M-XLs only supported ISL and the newer ones supported both ISL and 802.1q (like the one in your example).

My best advice is if you are studying for the CCNA (which I passed three years ago) don't even CONSIDER the 1900 switches to prepare for it. Their commands are different and they are lacking in some technologies that the exam will test you for. Spend a little more money and get a 2950, so you will learn usable knowledge from it.

 

[wabob]

wiimike, one more thing.

If you are looking at lower cost, consider buying a 2940. It works and programs exactly the same as a 2950 but has only 8 access interfaces, so you may be able to get one for cheaper.

 

[kcbell]

wabob:

Thanks! I don't have any 2900 at work. I have a 2924 at home and it does support dot1q and ISL. Now I have some 35xx at works and it can support both as well as negotiate.

I agree with wabob that you should not buy 1900. The way to configure it is not the same as 29xx and 35xx.

The CCNA test is most likely based on 2900 and up.

KCBell

 

[burtsbees]

My 2924XL's both support ISL and 802.1Q. One has a GBIC, too---but it says 100BaseFX...I think it only has 8 working port---that's the ONLY time I got ripped off on Ebay. They each cost me $125, but one of them IS good (no GBIC).

Burt