I need help for choosing Core Switch 1

[bbensalem]

Hi

Im new here. I need to choose a core swtich for my architecture. the core switch should be connected to 6 Switch 3750 per two 10GB-TX for every access switch and should have red. Powersupply and red. Supervisorengine. the core switch should be able to make routing between VLANs.

is anyone have idea?

Thank you

 

[baddos]

The current 4500 series switch will do all of that. It could be costly though if you want 12 10gb ports though.

 

[unclerico]

Please clarify something; you have 6 stacks of 3750's or you have a total of 6 3750's?? Any other access layer switches?? Do you require dynamic routing or will static routing suffice?? Do you require IPv6 or Multicast?? Any PoE support needed?? Do you have an idea as to how much traffic will need to pass through the core??

 

[bbensalem]

I have 6 c3750 separated. every switch for an etage. multicast and IPv6 dont need. I have many Vlans and PoE dont need it also. I have machines with 1Gb ethernet card. and trunk link with 10 Gb for every switch 3750 to the core switch

 

[unclerico]

I'm going to go off on a limb here and say you do not need 10GbE from the 3750's if all they service is end user machines. If all of your server resources will be connected to the core then, depending on your switch topology (in terms of redundancy/spanning-tree), I would just aggregate a few 1GbE ports and uplink them into the core (in a star topology). You will save a lot of money up front by not needing any 10GbE SFP+ modules as well as being able to delay the purchase of a line card that supports 10GbE interfaces as well. If money isn't an object then by all means go for the 10GbE, but chances are you will never even come close to full utilization.

In terms of recommendation I would probably go with a 4500 series like baddos mentioned above. There are many different Chassis/Supervisor/Line card combo's that you can choose from, but be aware that there are certain combo's that will work and certain ones that won't. You can start by going to

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/hw/switches/ps4324/prod_models_comparison.html

and have a look. Get a hold of your local Cisco reseller and explain what you'd like. They will put everything together for you and make sure all of the pieces are compatible.

 

[VinceWhirlwind]

In my investigation of this type of question, I have found that there just isn't a good Cisco aggregation switch for the modern 10gb world.

In the old days, you had the 3750-12 SFP switch which was very useful. Now? There's a 4900M, which can aggregate between 8 and 24 10Gb but it doesn't do SFP+, is oversubscribed and doesn't VSS or stack. I won't even bother mentioning Cisco chassis switches, which would surely suit neither your purpose nor your budget. They take up too much room, consume too much power, and offer poor port density limited by oversubscription.

I'm going to disagree with Unclerico on the 10Gb - I think in this day and age, all uplinks should go in as 10Gb - all it takes are 2 or 3 hosts doing a high-volume data transfer and your 1Gb uplink is congested. Depends on your environment - if all your users do is run Outlook, browse the internet and use Office apps to access files, then OK, but if the organisation does anything involving high-volume data transfers then 1Gb is no good for a wiring closet.

For this reason, I have without fail seen people either,
1/ Choose Cisco and forgo 10Gb. (And still pay a very high price) They will regret it.
2/ Choose HP or Juniper, who do some great not-too-expensive 10Gb aggregation switches. Their SFP+ optics are far cheaper than Cisco ones as well.

As far as I can see, Cisco is no longer a good choice for Small & Medium business.

 

[baddos]

I agree that Cisco chassis switches are over priced and large, but they do a decent job at 10gb for the new models. They would fit his requirement, but I didn't see his budget but his question hinted at redundant sups which is why I mentioned the 4500 series.

As for the oversubscription issue, I don't really see 48gb per slot being that big of a restriction. If he's pushing that much data, then he should look at other options but I seriously doubt it.

 

[VinceWhirlwind]

I'm estimating his budget based on his Access layer consisting of just 6 switches.
In days gone by, a 3750-12S to aggregate his edges was a no-brainer in this situation.
Today, aggregating Access switches at 1Gb seems to me to be shortsighted, and the options for aggregating 10Gb are quite poor with Cisco for a smaller organisation, as well as very expensive.

I would seriously look at a Juniper 4500 and a Juniper 4200 "Stacked" as a collapsed core Data Centre switch for a small organisation these days. Beats Cisco on functionality and price, and the performance is good enough to make the comparison not matter. (Cisco use some silly metrics to try to win on performance, like max MAC addresses and so forth.).

I've also put in HP5800s. Good port density, good mix of interface types, they "stack", and the 10Gb optics were only about $500 each I think the last time I bought them.

 

[bbensalem]

thank you all friends, it is not really in my hand to change. i got an architecture ready with the links and how much bandwidth should be. i just have to search the best equipement for this architecture and the slots which are compatible with. the price also is not in my hand, this is why i dont really care so much. I choosed in the beginning c6506 but i will search also more about 4500.

 

[VinceWhirlwind]

Do check out the 4900M as well.