3508 Concentrator Design

[jeff]

I plan to use 3 3508's as Concentrators for 16 3548's supporting 700 PC's.

My question is: Should I link the 3508's together with "GigaStack" cards or use 1000Base-SX cards, and what is the advantage of one over the other?

[sknorr]

I don't think that there is any difference between the GigaStack or the Fiber cards. They both run at 1000mbps. However, there is a distance limitation for the Gigastack cables. Are you using layer three device anywhere in the network or is it all one VLAN????

[jeff]

Thanks. Yes I will have a Layer3 device, actually two: There will be 2 2948G-L3

switches into the 3508's. And hanging off the 2948G-L3's will be stacks of 3548's. Planning on using VLAN 's (2 per floor=14) and the 2948G-L3's will be running HSRP to back each other up.

[charles.pugh]

Gigastacks provide a bus type topology between your 3508's. This is an advantage over 1000Base-SX. Frames are switched from bottom switch to the top switch without impacting the backplane of the middle switch. There is a distance limitation with the giga-stacks but it if the 3508's are located in the same cabinet I would go with the giga-stacks.

[jeff]

I thought that was the case. Thanks!

[chuck.pugh]

Previous message posted by cpugh@dfwairport.com ... Not.. Charles.pugh@inetx.com. I have updated my CCO. sorry.