Cisco boosts metro switches to 10Gbps Ethernet

On Wednesday, Cisco Systems announced an upgrade of its Catalyst switching portfolio to include 10-gigabit Ethernet uplink and extensive PoE capabilities.

The full Class 3 15.4 watt power delivery capability through each port on the device is “an industry first,” Cisco said. PoE is a way of powering certain network devices, such as IP phones, through the switch connection rather than plugging them into a nearby main outlet.

The PoE capability is backed by Cisco’s Redundant Power Systems as a recommended network product option. The 10Gb Ethernet capability can be accessed by replacing the Twin Gigabit Ethernet uplink module with a 10Gb TwinGig Converter module to meet changed network service provision needs.

A showcase installation of the new solutions would be at Duke University in the U.S., where it would serve a 27,000 node academic network, Cisco said.

The new, higher-capacity Cisco 3750-E switches with 10Gb upgrade capability will be deployed to gradually replace or complement some 1,000 Catalyst 3750 series switches already running the university’s student, faculty, and administrative networks.

A similar upgrade to an academic network was being considered by University College in London and several other institutions in Europe, Cisco officials said. Duke University and other users would most likely use the 10Gb capabilities to deploy video-based applications and services, they said.

Cisco has stressed its support for video and live-image applications. The company is aiming to deliver any video format to any device anywhere on any network built with its infrastructure solutions, said Marthin DeBeer, head of Cisco’s Emerging Technologies Unit, at the company’s Networkers conference in Cannes, France.

In a dramatic example of Cisco’s recent TelePresence service, De Beer told conference attendees that his assistant at his San Jose office greeted visitors from a large, high-definition flat video screen while physically present in Dallas — where the employee had moved.

Cisco also announced a showcase installation of its Catalyst 3560 and Catalyst 2960 Compact Switches (for deployment outside wiring closets) on a cruise liner being built in Germany for Aida Cruises. The cruise line, affiliated with Germany’s Lufthansa AG airline, will install a complete telecommunications and multimedia system based on Cisco infrastructure in all passenger cabins and for crew use on the Aida Diva, a vessel to be delivered later this spring.

The services on the Aida Diva would be managed centrally by Lufthansa, regardless of where the ship was cruising, using Cisco’s remote network management solutions, said Joerg Liebe, director of voice integration products at Lufthansa Systems. The Aida Diva is the first of four vessels Aida Cruises has on order that will be built with state-of-the art multimedia networks installed by Cisco.