A network switch is networking hardware that connects devices on a computer network by using packet switching to receive and forward data to the destination device.
The Internetwork Operating System (IOS) is a family of proprietary network operating systems used on several router and network switch models manufactured by Cisco Systems. The system is a package of routing, switching, internetworking, and telecommunications functions integrated into a multitasking operating system. Although the IOS code base includes a cooperative multitasking kernel, most IOS features have been ported to other kernels such as Linux and QNX for use in Cisco products.
Carrier Routing System (CRS) is a modular and distributed core router developed by Cisco Systems Inc that enables service providers to deliver data, voice, and video services over a scalable IP Next-Generation Network (NGN) infrastructure. In a network topology, these routers are generally positioned in the core or edge of a service provider network. They are also used by Over-the-top content providers and large enterprises. It supports a wide range of interface speeds and types such as channelized OC3, OC12 to OC768 on Packet over SONET and from 1GE, 10GE all the way to 100GE on the Ethernet technologies. A standalone CRS-3 system can handle 2.2Tbit/s and a multi-chassis system could be designed to handle 322Tbit/s.
A load-balanced switch is a switch architecture which guarantees 100% throughput with no central arbitration at all, at the cost of sending each packet across the crossbar twice. Load-balanced switches are a subject of research for large routers scaled past the point of practical central arbitration.
Catalyst is the brand for a variety of network switches, wireless controllers and wireless access points sold by Cisco Systems. While commonly associated with Ethernet switches, a number of different types of network interfaces have been available throughout the history of the brand. Cisco acquired several different companies and rebranded their products as different versions of the Catalyst product line. The original Catalyst 5000 and 6000 series were based on technology acquired from Crescendo Communications. The 1700, 1900, and 2800 series Catalysts came from Grand Junction Networks, and the Catalyst 3000 series came from Kalpana in 1994.
Advanced Telecommunications Computing Architecture is the largest specification effort in the history of the PCI Industrial Computer Manufacturers Group (PICMG), with more than 100 companies participating. Known as AdvancedTCA, the official specification designation PICMG 3.x was ratified by the PICMG organization in December 2002. AdvancedTCA is targeted primarily to requirements for "carrier grade" communications equipment, but has recently expanded its reach into more ruggedized applications geared toward the military/aerospace industries as well. This series of specifications incorporates the latest trends in high speed interconnect technologies, next-generation processors, and improved Reliability, Availability and Serviceability (RAS).
A VLAN access control list (VACL) provides access control for all packets that are bridged within a VLAN or that are routed into or out of a VLAN. Unlike regular Cisco IOS access control lists that are configured on router interfaces and applied on routed packets only, VACLs apply to all packets. The technology was developed by Cisco on the Catalyst 6500 Series switch platform.
The IBM BladeCenter was IBM's blade server architecture, until it was replaced by Flex System in 2012. The x86 division was later sold to Lenovo in 2014.
Port Aggregation Protocol (PAgP) is a Cisco Systems proprietary networking protocol, which is used for the automated, logical aggregation of Ethernet switch ports, known as an EtherChannel. The PAgP is proprietary to Cisco Systems. A similar protocol known as LACP — released by the IEEE and known as 802.3ad or 802.1ax recently — is an industry standard and is not tied to a specific vendor.
Multiservice Switch (MSS) is originally a Nortel line of routers, historically called Passport, designed for carrier core and edge routing. They run the Passport Carrier Release operating system. The MSS has a significant installed base, with over 40,000 switches sold.
The Cisco Catalyst 1900 is a 19" rack mountable, managed (configurable) 10baseT Ethernet switch with 100BASE-TX/100BASE-FX uplink ports. This product was popular in small office networks because of its features and price.
InterSwitch Trunk (IST) is one or more parallel point-to-point links that connect two switches together to create a single logical switch. The IST allows the two switches to share addressing information, forwarding tables, and state information, permitting rapid fault detection and forwarding path modification. The link may have different names depending on the vendor. For example, Brocade calls this an Inter-Chassis Link (ICL). Cisco calls this a VSL.
In routing, the forwarding plane, sometimes called the data plane or user plane, defines the part of the router architecture that decides what to do with packets arriving on an inbound interface. Most commonly, it refers to a table in which the router looks up the destination address of the incoming packet and retrieves the information necessary to determine the path from the receiving element, through the internal forwarding fabric of the router, and to the proper outgoing interface(s).
The Cisco 2500 series routers are a series of 19" rack mount access routers typically used to connect Ethernet or Token Ring networks via ISDN or leased serial connections. The routers are based on a Motorola 68EC030 CISC processor. This line of routers is no longer sold or supported by Cisco Systems. They were superseded by the Cisco 2600 series, which has also reached EOL now.
The Cisco Nexus series switches are modular and fixed port network switches designed for the data center. Cisco Systems introduced the Nexus Series of switches on January 28, 2008. The first chassis in the Nexus 7000 family is a 10-slot chassis with two supervisor engine slots and eight I/O module slots at the front, as well as five crossbar switch fabric modules at the rear. Beside the Nexus 7000 there are also other models in the Nexus range.
Juniper E-Series is a series of broadband services routers or edge routers manufactured by Juniper Networks. The E series was originally developed by Unisphere Networks, which Juniper acquired in 2002. These routers provide multiple services including broadband remote access server, broadband video services, dedicated access, 802.11 wireless subscriber management, VOIP, internet access, security services, network address translation (NAT) etc. on a single platform. The carrier-class architecture of E-series routers allows to combine Broadband Remote Access Server (B-RAS) and dedicated access capabilities on a single and integrated platform. The E-series routes runs on JUNOSe software compared to other series of routers of Juniper which runs on JUNOS.
The Cisco Supervisor Engine is the brain of many of Cisco's switches. The Supervisor Engine has evolved several times. While it is the management segment of many routers, the power of the switch is often much greater than that of the Supervisor Engine because one of the features of many switches is that dozens of the functions are accelerated by ASIC chips.
PAROLI is a proprietary protocol used inside a multi-shelf Carrier Routing System from Cisco and stands for "parallel optical link."
The Dell blade server products are built around their M1000e enclosure that can hold their server blades, an embedded EqualLogic iSCSI storage area network and I/O modules including Ethernet, Fibre Channel and InfiniBand switches.
A modular computer network switch is a type of network switch which can be modified using field-replaceable units after they are acquired, this units, often referred to as blades, can add more ports, bandwidth, and capabilities to a switch. These blades can usually be heterogenous, and this allows for a network based on multiple different protocols and cable types. Blades can typically be configured in a parallel or failover configuration, which can allow for higher bandwidth, or redundancy in the event of failure. Modular switches also typically support hot-swap of switch modules, this can be very important in zero-downtime implementations, where redundancy of all functions is critical. Modular switches also support additional line cards which can provide new functions to the switch that would previously have been unavailable, such as a firewall. An example of a modular computer network switch is the Cisco Catalyst 6500, which can be configured with up to 13 slots, and supports connections from RJ45 to QSFP+.
