Core Layer Switches

Core Layer Switches
The core layer must be efficient and do nothing to slow down packets as they traverse the backbone.
The following switches are recommended for use in the core:
6500 The Catalyst 6500 series switches are designed to address the need for gigabit port
density, high availability, and multilayer switching for the core layer backbone and serveraggregation
environments. These switches use the Cisco IOS to utilize the high speeds of the
ASICs, which allows the delivery of wire-speed traffic management services end to end.
8500 The Cisco Catalyst 8500 is a core layer switch that provides high-performance switching.
The Catalyst 8500 uses ASICs to provide multiple-layer protocol support, including IP, IP
multicast, bridging, ATM switching, and policy-enabled QoS.
All these switches provide wire-speed multicast forwarding, routing, and Protocol Independent
Multicast (PIM) for scalable multicast routing. These switches are perfect for providing the
high bandwidth and performance needed for a core router. The 6500 and 8500 switches can
aggregate multiprotocol traffic from multiple remote wiring closets and workgroup switches.