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The Catalyst 2900 series XL switches are workgroup Ethernet switches that supply autosensing 10BaseT or 100BaseT connections on all ports. These switches-also referred to as Catalyst 2900 switches-can be deployed as backbone switches aggregating 100BaseT traffic from other switches and hubs or in mixed configurations connecting hubs, switches, servers, and desktops.
This chapter is a functional overview of the Catalyst 2900 series. The following topics briefly describe the components and features that are shared by all switches in the series:
The Catalyst 2900 switches are members of an extended network system of stackable, modular LAN and WAN products that increase LAN performance, connect remote offices and users, and provide secure access.
Figure 1-1 shows the four available versions of the Catalyst 2900 series XL switches, and Table 1-1 lists their key features.
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
Performance and Configuration | · Autosensing transmission on 10/100 ports · Autonegotiation of half- and full-duplex operation on 10/100 ports · Full-duplex operation on 100BaseFX ports · Two high-speed expansion slots supporting 10BaseT/100BaseTX, 100BaseFX and future gigabit, asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) and Inter-Switch Link (ISL) modules (Catalyst 2916M XL only) · Fast EtherChannel support for connections of up to 800 Mbps between switches and servers · Support for 2048 MAC addresses · IEEE 802.1d Spanning-Tree Protocol support · 4 Mb shared-memory architecture · Cisco Group Management Protocol (CGMP) to limit the flooding of multicast traffic to predefined ports · Port security to prevent unauthorized access to the network · Broadcast storm control to prevent performance degradation from broadcast storms · Embedded RMON (four groups) |
Management | · Embedded World Wide Web interface for most management tasks · Cisco IOS command-line interface (CLI) via the console port or Telnet · CiscoView device-management application |
Redundancy | · Connection for optional Cisco 600W AC redundant power system (RPS) as a backup |
This section describes the switch 10/100 and 100BaseFX ports, expansion slots and their associated modules, and the LEDs. All Ethernet ports and all LEDs are on the switch front panel.
Catalyst 2900 10/100 ports are internally switched to all other switch ports and use RJ-45 connectors and Category 5 cabling. They can operate at either 10 Mbps or 100 Mbps in full or half duplex. For autonegotiation with other devices, the ports are
IEEE 802.3u-compliant.
When connected to another device, a port senses the speed and duplex settings of the attached device and advertises its own capabilities. If the connected device also supports autonegotiation, the Catalyst 2900 port negotiates the best connection it can and configures itself accordingly. Ports can also be explicitly set to operate in any combination of half duplex, full duplex, 10 Mbps, or 100 Mbps. In all cases, the attached device must be within 100 meters of the switch.
The Catalyst 2924C XL switch (see Figure 1-2) has two 100BaseFX ports on the front panel. These ports use 10/125- or 62.5/125-micron multimode fiber-optic cabling. In the default full-duplex mode, these ports can connect to other 100BaseFX devices over distances of up to 2 kilometers. In half-duplex mode, the ports support connections to devices up to 412 meters from the switch.
100BaseFX ports default to full-duplex operation and do not autonegotiate.
The Catalyst 2916M XL switch (see Figure 1-3) has two high-speed expansion slots for the
Catalyst 2916M XL hot-swappable modules. These modules provide a variety of possibilities for connecting backbones, servers, and other high-performance devices. Each module port is internally switched to all other Catalyst 2916M XL ports.
The Catalyst 2916M XL modules automatically configure themselves when you insert them in an expansion slot and tighten the thumb screws. The switch does not need to be reset, and a power-on self-test (POST) verifies that the module is working properly before it starts forwarding packets.
Catalyst 2900 LEDs are indicators of switch activity and performance. Figure 1-4 and Figure 1-5 show the location of the LEDs and the Mode button. You can use the Mode button to select one of the port mode LEDs.
The switch LEDs are also displayed on the image of the switch available through the web-based Switch Manager. All of the LEDs described in this section, with the exception of the utilization meter (UTL), are visible on the Basic System Configuration page of Switch Manager. See the "Using Switch Manager" section in the "Web-Based Management" chapter for more information.
The system LED indicates whether the system is receiving power and functioning properly. Table 1-2 lists the LED colors and their meanings.
| Color | System Status |
|---|---|
Off | System is not powered up. |
Green | System is operating normally. |
Amber | System is receiving power but is not functioning properly. |
The redundant power system (RPS) LED shows the RPS status. Table 1-3 lists the LED colors and their meanings.
| Color | RPS Status |
|---|---|
Off | RPS is off or is not installed. |
Green | RPS is operational. |
Flashing green | The RPS and the switch AC power supply are both powered up. If the switch power supply fails, the switch powers down and restarts after |
Amber | RPS is connected but not functioning properly. One of the power supplies in the RPS could be powered down or a fan on the RPS could have failed. |
The port mode LED indicates the mode you selected using the Mode button. There are four possible modes:
See Table 1-4 for a description of the LED colors and their meanings for the different modes.
To change the port mode, press the Mode button (see Figure 1-6) to highlight in sequence each of the possibilities. Release the button to enable the lit function.
| Port Mode | Color | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
STAT (port status) | Off | No link. |
| Solid green | Link present. |
| Flashing green | Activity; port is transmitting or receiving data. |
| Alternating green-amber | Link fault. Error frames can affect connectivity, and errors such as excessive collisions, CRC errors, and alignment and jabber errors are monitored for a link-fault indication. |
| Solid amber | Port is not forwarding. Port was disabled by management or an address violation or blocked by Spanning-Tree Protocol. |
UTL (utilization) | Green | If all port status LEDs are green, the switch is using 50% or more of its total bandwidth capacity. If the right-most LED is off, the switch is using less than 50% of its total bandwidth. If the LED to the left of the right-most LED is off, the switch is using less than 25% of its total capacity. If the next LED to the left is off, the switch is using 12.5% of its total bandwidth. Each subsequent LED to the left that is turned off indicates a further reduction of 50% in the amount of switch bandwidth in use. |
FDUP (full duplex) | Port is operating in half duplex. | |
| Green | Port is operating in full duplex. |
100 (speed) | Off | Port is operating at 10 Mbps. |
| Green | Port is operating at 100 Mbps. |
The expansion slot LEDs indicate the status of installed modules. The LEDs are numbered 1 (left slot) and 2 (right slot). Table 1-5 lists the LED colors and their meanings.
| Color | Expansion Slot Status |
|---|---|
Off | No module is installed. |
Green | Module is operating normally. |
Amber | Module failed power-on self-test and should be replaced. |
The rear panels of the Catalyst 2900 switches (see Figure 1-7, Figure 1-8, and Figure 1-9) contain an AC power receptacle, a redundant power system (RPS) receptacle, an RJ-45 console port, and fans.
You can provide power to the switch either by using the internal power supply or by connecting the Cisco RPS to the RPS receptacle on the switch. Only one power source can be supplying power to the switch at a time.
If you want to use the RPS, the switch AC power cord must not be plugged in. See the Cisco RPS documentation for detailed information on connecting to the RPS.
 | Warning Attach only the Cisco RPS (model PWR600-AC-RPS) to the RPS receptacle. |
You can connect a Catalyst 2900 to a PC or terminal via the console port and the supplied rollover cable. For the data characteristics of the console port, see the "Connecting a Terminal or PC to the Console Port" section in the "Installation" chapter.
You can use the following techniques to manage Catalyst 2900 series switches:
This section describes three examples of how you could deploy the Catalyst 2900 in your network.
Figure 1-10 shows a Catalyst 2916M XL connecting workstations, 100BaseTX hubs, and servers in a topology suited to client/server applications. The links to the 100BaseTX servers and workstations can be full duplex. A repeater does not support full-duplex transmission, so the links to the 100BaseTX repeaters are always half duplex.
Figure 1-11 shows a Catalyst 2916M XL connecting 100BaseTX and 10BaseT devices. In this topology, the switch is in the middle of the network and can provide connectivity to any mixture of hubs, switches, and servers.
Figure 1-12 shows a Catalyst 2924C XL or 2924 XL with a 100BaseFX uplink to a
Catalyst 5000 and 10/100 connections to individual workstations.
Posted: Tue May 11 13:00:22 PDT 1999
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