Are you tired of slow internet speeds and unreliable network connections?
Look no further than Cisco Catalyst 8300 Series switches. These high-performance networking solutions offer unparalleled speed, security, and reliability for your business or home office. In this blog post, we’ll explore the world of networking switches, why Cisco is a top player in the market and the benefits that come with using their Catalyst 8300 Series switches. Get ready to take your network to the next level!
What are networking switches?
Networking switches are essential components that connect devices within a network. They allow for the efficient transfer of data between multiple devices, improving communication and productivity.
At their core, networking switches work by receiving incoming data packets from one device and then forwarding them to the intended recipient device based on its physical address. This process is known as packet switching and allows for fast and efficient transmission of data across a network.
Switches come in various sizes, with different numbers of ports to suit different needs. Small office or home networks may only require a switch with four or eight ports, while larger enterprise-level networks may need dozens or even hundreds of ports.
Networking switches are crucial components in building a reliable and high-speed network infrastructure. By allowing devices to communicate seamlessly with each other, they improve workflow efficiency and ultimately contribute to overall business success.
Why are Cisco switches so popular?
Cisco switches are some of the most popular networking devices in the market. They have been a favourite among businesses of all sizes for several reasons. One of the main reasons why Cisco switches are so popular is their reliability and quality.
With over 35 years in the industry, Cisco has established itself as a trusted brand with reliable products that can handle even the most complex networks. The company invests heavily in research and development, ensuring that its switches meet industry standards and provide cutting-edge technology to users.
Another reason why Cisco switches are so popular is their flexibility. These switches cater to different needs from small businesses to large enterprises by providing various features for each category.
Furthermore, these devices offer advanced security features such as access control lists (ACL), secure shell (SSH) protocols, VLAN segmentation, etc., which enhance network protection against unauthorized access or cyber-attacks.
Cisco’s excellent support services play an important role in its popularity among customers. Their technical support team provides prompt assistance when needed through phone calls or online chats with qualified engineers who have adequate knowledge about networking issues.
All these factors make Cisco’s switching solutions stand out from competitors’ offerings and explain why they remain widely adopted today.
Cisco Catalyst 8300 Series: an overview
The Cisco Catalyst 8300 Series Edge Platforms are best-of-breed, 5G-ready, cloud-edge platforms designed for accelerated services, multi-layer security, cloud-native agility, and edge intelligence to accelerate your journey to the cloud.
Cisco Catalyst 8300 Series Edge Platforms (Catalyst 8300) with Cisco IOS XE SD-WAN Software deliver Cisco’s secure, cloud-scale SD-WAN solution for the branch. The Catalyst 8300 Series is purpose-built for high-performance and integrated SD-WAN Services along with the flexibility to deliver security and networking services together from the cloud or on-premises. It provides higher WAN port density and a redundant power supply capability. The Catalyst 8300 Series Edge Platforms have a wide variety of interface options to choose from—ranging from lower and higher module density with backward compatibility to a variety of existing WAN, LAN, voice, and compute modules. Powered by Cisco IOS XE, fully programmable software architecture, and API support, these platforms can facilitate automation at scale to achieve zero-touch IT capability while migrating workloads to the cloud. Catalyst 8300 Series Edge Platforms also come with Trustworthy Solutions 2.0 infrastructure that secures the platforms against threats and vulnerabilities with integrity verification and remediation of threats.
The Catalyst 8300 Series Edge Platforms are well suited for medium-sized and large enterprise branch offices for high WAN IPSec performance with integrated SD-WAN services.
Cisco Catalyst 8300 Series: features and benefits
Accelerated services with Cisco Software-Defined WAN
Cisco SD-WAN is a set of intelligent software services that allow you to connect users, devices, and branch office locations reliably and securely across a diverse set of WAN transport links. Cisco Catalyst 8000 Series Edge Platforms can dynamically route traffic across the “best” link based on up-to-the-minute application and network conditions for great application experiences. You get tight control over application performance, bandwidth usage, data privacy, and availability of your WAN links—control you need as your branches conduct greater volumes of mission-critical business with both on-premises and cloud controllers.
Application performance optimization
Ensure that SD-WAN networks meet Service-Level Agreements (SLAs) and maintain strong performance, even if network problems occur. With branch multi-cloud access, you can accelerate your SaaS applications with a simple template push from the SD-WAN controller. Features like Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) optimization, forward error correction, and packet duplication help application performance for a better user experience.
Application visibility
Applications and users are more distributed than ever, and the internet has effectively become the new enterprise WAN. As organizations continue to embrace the internet, cloud, and SaaS, network and IT teams are challenged to deliver consistent and reliable connectivity and application performance over networks and services they don’t own or directly control.
The Catalyst 8300 Series Edge Platforms are integrated with Cisco ThousandEyes internet and cloud intelligence. IT managers now have expanded visibility, including hop-by-hop analytics, into network underlay, proactive monitoring of SD-WAN overlay, and performance measurement of SaaS applications. This granular visibility ultimately lowers the Mean Time to Identification of Issues (MTTI) and accelerates resolution time.
Multi-layer security
You can now move your traditional and complex WAN networks to a more agile software-defined WAN with integrated security. The Cisco Catalyst 8300 Series Edge platforms connect branch offices to the Internet and cloud, with industry-leading protection against major web attacks. Secure Direct Internet Access (DIA) to the branches helps optimize branch workloads for improved performance, specifically for cloud-hosted applications. At the same time, DIA ensures your branch is protected from external threats.
Unified communications
The Cisco Catalyst 8300 Edge platforms offer rich voice services in both SD-WAN and traditional IOS-XE software feature stacks. Cisco is the only SDWAN vendor to natively integrate analogue/digital IP directly into a single CPE reducing Capex and Opex costs. In SD-WAN mode, the Catalyst 8300 Series also prevent internal and external outages using SRST enabling the Branch router to assume the role of call control PBX for Telephony survivability. They also continue to support the long list of traditional IOS-XE voice use cases like Cisco Unified Border Element (CUBE) Session Border Controller (SBC), Cisco Unified Communications Manager Express (CUCME), Survivable Remote Site Telephony (SRST), ISDN and Voice over IP.
Cloud-native agility with a programmable software architecture
Cisco continues to offer a feature-rich traditional IOS-XE routing stack on the Cisco Catalyst 8300 Series Edge Platforms. IP Routing, IPSec, Quality of Service (QoS), firewall, Network Address Translation (NAT), Network-Based Application Recognition (NBAR), Flexible NetFlow (FNF), and many other features are part of Cisco IOS-XE, a fully programmable software architecture with API support and a wide variety of protocols and configurations. With an integrated software image and a single binary file, you can now choose between Cisco IOS XE SD-WAN and IOS XE. And easily move from one to the other when you choose to do so.
LTE and 5G Wireless WAN
The Cisco Catalyst 8300 Series Edge Platforms are built 5G networks. With the higher throughputs provided by CAT18 LTE and 5G, wireless WAN connections become feasible as primary transports for different use cases. These platforms support both integrated pluggable modules as well as external cellular gateways with LTE or 5G capability for improved throughputs that address all of those use cases. Based on a specific branch’s direct line of sight and cellular coverage, this solution provides the flexibility of either using an integrated PIM module or an external gateway. The integrated module can work in tandem with a cellular gateway for Active-Active redundancy.
Interface flexibility
High-density Switching
We are introducing a Unified Access Data Plane (UADP)-based 22-port and 50-port Layer 2 switch module for the Catalyst 8300 Series. The edge platform can be a branch-in-a-box solution with this integrated switch module with 1G, Cisco Multigigabit Technology (mGig), and 10G ports for downstream switches and devices. The 22-port Layer-2 module is a single-wide module that can be used on both the 1RU and 2RU platforms. The 50-port Layer-2 module is a double-wide module that can be used on the 2RU platforms.
Cisco UCS-E compute
The Cisco Catalyst 8300 Series Edge Platforms will support the Cisco UCS-E M3 modules for branch compute needs. We support both Cisco and third-party Virtual Network Functions (VNFs) on the Cisco Enterprise NFV Infrastructure Software (NFVIS) hypervisor running on the UCS-E compute blade server. Cisco UCS-E M3 modules have 6-, 8-, and 12-core options to choose from based on the number of VNFs that need to be run at the branch.
Conclusion
The Cisco Catalyst 8300 Series is a powerful and versatile networking switch that offers businesses of all sizes the ability to streamline their network infrastructure. With its advanced security features, high-speed connectivity options, and strong performance capabilities, this switch series is an ideal choice for any organization looking to improve its network operations.
The popularity of Cisco switches can be attributed to their reliability, scalability, and flexibility. Their products are designed with cutting-edge technology that meets the evolving needs of today’s digital world. Additionally, Cisco’s commitment to providing excellent customer support ensures that users have access to expert assistance whenever they need it.
If you’re in the market for a reliable and high-performing networking switch for your business or organization, consider investing in the Cisco Catalyst 8300 Series. With its impressive features and capabilities, it’s sure to enhance your network operations while delivering optimal results.