Cisco 2950 - Manual (Page 3)

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Catalyst 2950 switches can be configured either as command
or member switches in a Cisco switch cluster. The command
switch serves as the single-IP address management point and
disburses all management instructions dictated by the network
administrator. Command switches can cluster up to 15
additional interconnected member switches regardless of
interconnection media. CMS also allows the network
administrator to designate a standby or redundant command
switch, which takes the commander duties should the primary
command switch fail.
Enhanced Security, Management, and Integrated Cisco
IOS Features
Cisco Catalyst 2950 Series switches have several exceptional
features to increase network performance, manageability, and
security. Network managers can implement higher levels of
data security and boost LAN performance by deploying up to
64 virtual LANs (VLANs) per switch. This ensures that data
packets are forwarded only to stations within a specific
VLAN, creating a virtual firewall between groups of ports on
the network and reducing broadcast transmission.
VLAN trunks can be created from any port using the
standards-based 802.1Q VLAN trunking architecture. Per
VLAN Spanning Tree (PVST+) allows users to implement
redundant uplinks while also distributing traffic loads across
multiple links. This is not possible with standard Spanning
Tree Protocol (STP) implementations. Cisco Uplink Fast
technology ensures immediate transfer to the secondary
uplink, much better than the traditional 30 to 60 second
convergence time. This is yet another enhancement of the STP
implementation.
With Catalyst 2950 switches, network managers can
implement high levels of port and console security. Media
Access control (MAC) address-based port level security
prevents unauthorized stations from accessing the switch.
Static and dynamic address limits can be created, giving
administrators powerful control over network access.
Multilevel access security on the switch console prevents
unauthorized users from accessing or altering switch
configuration. Terminal access controller access control
system (TACACS+) authentication enables centralized
coordination of access control across a large group of
networking devices.
Features And Key Benefits
Exceptional Performance
• Wire-speed, nonblocking performance on all ports,
including Gigabit ports
• 8.8-Gbps switching fabric and 6.6 million
packets-per-second maximum forwarding rate ensures
maximum throughput—even for the most
performance-sensitive applications
• 12- or 24- 10BaseT/100BaseTX autosensing ports, each
delivering up to 200 Mbps of bandwidth to individual
users, servers or workgroups to support
bandwidth-intensive applications
• Catalyst 2950T-24 has two built-in, Gigabit Ethernet
(1000BaseT) ports that deliver up to 4 Gbps aggregated
bandwidth to the Gigabit Ethernet backbone, Gigabit
Ethernet servers or between switches—leveraging existing
Category 5 cabling infrastructure—up to a distance of 100
meters
• Catalyst 2950C-24 switch has two multimode
(100BaseFX) fiber uplinks deliver up to 200 Mbps
of bandwidth over an extended distance of up to 2
kilometers
• 8 MB shared memory architecture ensures the highest
possible throughput with a design that eliminates
head-of-line blocking, minimizes packet loss, and delivers
better overall performance in environments with extensive
multicast and broadcast traffic
• 16 MB of DRAM and 8 MB of Flash on-board enable the
addition of future feature upgrades, maximizing customer
investments
• Bandwidth aggregation through Fast EtherChannel and
Gigabit EtherChannel technology enhances fault tolerance
and offers up to 4 Gbps of aggregated bandwidth between
switches, to routers and to individual servers
• 802.1Q standards-based VLAN trunking on each port; 64
VLANs per switch with 64 instances of Spanning Tree
(PVST+)
• Superior multicast management via support for IGMP
snooping in hardware