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Catalyst 2960 and 2960-S Switch Software Configuration Guide
OL-8603-09
Chapter 1 Overview
Network Configuration Examples
Figure 1-2 Server Aggregation
Small to Medium-Sized Network Using Catalyst 2960 and 2960-S Switches
Figure 1-3 shows a configuration for a network of up to 500 employees. This network uses The switches
are using EtherChannel for load sharing.
The switches are connected to workstations and local servers. The server farm includes a call-processing
server running Cisco CallManager software. Cisco CallManager controls call processing, routing, and
Cisco IP Phone features and configuration. The switches are interconnected through Gigabit interfaces.
This network uses VLANs to logically segment the network into well-defined broadcast groups and for
security management. Data and multimedia traffic are configured on the same VLAN. Voice traffic from
the Cisco IP Phones are configured on separate VVIDs. If data, multimedia, and voice traffic are
assigned to the same VLAN, only one VLAN can be configured per wiring closet.
When an end station in one VLAN needs to communicate with an end station in another VLAN, a router
or Layer 3 switch routes the traffic to the destination VLAN. In this network, the routers are providing
inter-VLAN routing. VLAN access control lists (VLAN maps) on the switch provide intra-VLAN
security and prevent unauthorized users from accessing critical areas of the network.
In addition to inter-VLAN routing, the routers provide QoS mechanisms such as DSCP priorities to
prioritize the different types of network traffic and to deliver high-priority traffic. If congestion occurs,
QoS drops low-priority traffic to allow delivery of high-priority traffic.
Cisco CallManager controls call processing, routing, and Cisco IP Phone features and configuration.
Users with workstations running Cisco SoftPhone software can place, receive, and control calls from
their PCs. Using Cisco IP Phones, Cisco CallManager software, and Cisco SoftPhone software integrates
telephony and IP networks, and the IP network supports both voice and data.
The routers also provide firewall services, Network Address Translation (NAT) services, voice-over-IP
(VoIP) gateway services, and WAN and Internet access.
89376
Campus
core
Catalyst
6500 switches
Catalyst 3750
StackWise
switch stacks
Access-layer
Catalyst
switches
Server racks