Cisco 5509 (CORE) Anyone have experience with this

[gman10]

Hey guys-

One of our customers was proposed this monster Core (5509) and looks as though it may be the solution they need. Does anyone here know about specific key specs that make this beast worth purchasing for them ie, amount of blades permitted, trans speeds, different kind of blades allowed? I'll check the Cisco site but wanted to check within the "real world" group because if anyone has kicked the tires on this produc, it's surely going to be someone on this forum!

Cheers

GREG

 

[rburke]

Well, I know just general specs. The 5500 series has pretty much been replaced by the 6500 and 4500 series switches. Eventhough they are replaced it still is a nice switch.

Here are the species I know.

Backplane Bandwidth: 1.2 Gbps (with Supervisor I or II)
and 3.6 Gbps (with Supervisor III).

The switch is Layer 2 natively, but does support Mulitlayer switching. You can make it a Layer 3 device (needed for routing between VLANs) but adding the Route Switch Module(RSM) blade.

The blades that the 5500 series can support range from a telco conntion 48 port 10 Base-T to (and most commonly) 24 port 10/100 Base-T connection. And if you are using the Supervisor III then there is a blade that has 3 GBIC ports on it for Gigabit connections.

The 5500 series in modern networks are generally found in access wiring closets or low-moderate bandwidth distribution switches. The reason I say that is because since the 5500 series there have been MAJOR developments in processing and forwarding that have lead to the 4500 and 6500 series switches having MUCH larger backplane bandwidth (between 32-256 Gbps) and allowing for higher port densities (48 port 10/100 blades, to 2,8,16 GBIC blades).

But like I said at the beginning, the 5500 is still a solid switch and is still used in MANY applications. This forum and it's members are pretty good and recommending solutions, so if you want us to evaluate your situation then post your requirments and we'll see if we agree with the 5500 series.

Hope this helps. Let me know.

Burke

 

[gman10]

Hey Burke-

I really appreciate your DETAILED info.. This is actually quite helpful. I may actually use your timely info an call CDW on Monday.. You see, the customer is really concerned about price -price -price.. I'm just looking forward to deploying and configuring this great device. What does a 5509 generally cost.. I wish I could tell you how extensive the customer will become with the guts of the unit but I won't know until Monday's meeting. Have any clue concerning a base price I can work with??

Thanks again, you've been extremely helpful

GREG

 

[gman10]

Hello again Burke and to anyone else interested,

The 5509 will have afew 3524xl switches plugged into it, afew 3640 routers, VPN concentrator and a PIX 515E, this device will manage and forward traffic accordingly. Oh yes, we'll also snap in a connection to an Avaya Prlogix PBX, so it will undoubtedly be our work horse. Now I will need to research pricing and configuration scenarios. As always, thanks to Burke and everyone on this forum list.. BIG HELP!!!

GREG

 

[BuckWeet]

Why a 5509? that box is so old and outdated, the new 3550's would blow that thing of the water in performance.. and price


BuckWeet

 

[gman10]

Really,

How much more cost effective would you say it is?


Thanks
G

 

[gman10]

Hi,

Can you give me detailed specs on the 4500 and/or 6500 like Burke supplied.. Nothing heavy just enough to give me a "differences" idea..

Thanks all so much!!


GREG

 

[rburke]

Soory, I've been away from a computer all weekend. If you information then I would suggest the Cisco website. Here are a couple links that should give you the overall information like I gave you about the 5500. (Fopr the 6500 link, there is alot of information, but just skim over it).

4500 Data Sheet:

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/hw/switches/ps4324/products_data_sheet09186a008014ae4c.html

6500 Data Sheet:

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/hw/switches/ps708/products_data_sheet09186a00800ff916.html

These pages are laid out fairly well, so I didn't see a need to summurize it here. Let me know if you need anything else.

Burke

 

[jwi71]

Buckwheat is right.

The Cat 55xx are EOL. I expect the 65xx's to follow shortly.

The 65xx's can have up to 720Mbps backplane (a total of 256Gbps dependant on cards) and support for a myriad of services as required by customer (SONET, ATM, 10g Eth, etc...).

The 3550 is the premier L2L3 switch. Sports a 1Gbps switching in a number of configs (the most ports I think is 48). Has integrated router/switch functions. IMO, the way to go.

Or. I saw a sweet demo of Riverstone XGS switches at Supercomm and the pushed 10Gbe. Talk about fast. Their demo demonstrated the speed and interop with both Cisco (a 6513 no less) and Juniper. Pretty sweet for 10k a port.

Jeffrey

 

[gman10]

Hey guys!

Yeah the 3550 sounds great! But I'm worried about blade capacity, how many max?? and GBIC port max?

Thanks again

GREG

 

[byteya]

I use a couple of the 3550-12G switches. Excellent L3 switch. This replaced a 5500 we had been using as a core switch/router. 10 GBIC slots and (2) 10/100/1000 Copper ports. Excellent switch. Please note, it can't route IPX if you got any of that around.

J

*J*

 

[gman10]

Thanks to all-

We've decided with the 3550, as you stated.. It's an excellent switch and the price is jsut right for the customer..

Thanks again..

Now it's time to purchase, configure and deploy..

CHEERS

GREG

 

[gman10]

Hi Byteya!

We changed our minds and went with the 4506 switch, the customer was able to dump more $$$$.. Any specific configurations issues you may want to share please feel free to lay them on me.. I'm just familiarizing myself with the specs for now, then the book for configuration etc etc etc..

cheers

Greg