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Product Description
- Easy Deployment and Use
- Simple-to-use graphical interfaces reduce the time required to deploy, troubleshoot, and manage the network and allow you to support sophisticated capabilities without increasing IT head count. The switch also supports Textview, a full Command-Line Interface (CLI) option. Using Auto Smartports intelligence, the switch can detect a network device connected to any port and automatically configure the optimal security, Quality of Service (QoS), and availability on that port. Cisco Discovery Protocol (CDP) discovers Cisco devices and allows devices to share critical configuration information, simplifying network setup and integration.
Support for Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) allows you to set up and manage your switch and other Cisco devices remotely from a network management station, improving IT workflow and mass configurations. The Cisco FindIT utility, which works through a simple toolbar on the user's Web browser, discovers Cisco devices in the network and displays basic information, such as serial numbers and IP addresses, to aid in configuration and deployment.
- High Reliability and Resiliency
- The stackable switch helps eliminate downtime and improve network resiliency. For example, if a switch within a Cisco 500X series stack fails, another switch immediately takes over, keeping your network up and running. You can also replace individual devices in the stack without taking your network offline or affecting employee productivity. The Cisco 500X also supports dual images, allowing you to perform software upgrades without having to take the network offline or worry about the network going down during the upgrade.
- Virtual Router Redundancy Protocol (VRRP)
- The Cisco 500X provides an additional layer of resiliency with support for the Virtual Router Redundancy Protocol (VRRP). VRRP lets you extend the same resiliency that stacking provides for individual switches to complete network domains. By running VRRP between two stacks, you can instantly cut over from one stack to another in the event of a problem, and continue operating even after a failure.
- Simplified IT Operation
- The Cisco 500X helps optimize your IT operations with built-in features that simplify and streamline day-to-day network operation. True stacking allows you to troubleshoot, configure, and manage multiple physical switches as a single entity. Unlike other stacking switches that require uniform configurations, the Cisco 500X allows you to mix Fast Ethernet, Gigabit Ethernet, and 10 Gigabit Ethernet models in a single stack, providing total flexibility without sacrificing manageability. A Cisco switch uses common chipsets/software across all switching portfolios, so all Cisco switches within a category support the same feature set, making it easy to manage and support all switches across the network.
- True Stacking
- A Cisco 500X provides true stacking capability, allowing you to configure, manage, and troubleshoot all switches in a stack as a single unit, with a single IP address. A true stack delivers a unified data and control plane, in addition to management plane, providing flexibility, scalability, and ease of use since the stack of units operate as a single entity constituting all the ports of the stack members. This capability can radically reduce complexity in a growing network environment while improving the resiliency and availability of network applications. True stacking also provides other cost savings and administrative benefits through features such as cross-stack QoS, VLANs, and port mirroring, which clustered switches cannot support.
- Security
- Embedded Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) encryption protects management data traveling to and from the switch.
Extensive access control lists (ACLs) restrict sensitive portions of the network to keep out unauthorized users and guard against network attacks.
Guest VLANs let you provide Internet connectivity to nonemployee users while isolating critical business services from guest traffic.
Support for advanced network security applications such as IEEE 802.1x port security tightly limits access to specific segments of your network. Web based authentication provides a consistent interface to authenticate all types of host devices and operating systems, without the complexity of deploying IEEE 802.1x clients on each endpoint.
Advanced defense mechanisms, including dynamic Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) inspection, IP Source Guard, and Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) snooping, detect and block deliberate network attacks. Combinations of these protocols are also referred to as IPMB (IP-MAC- port binding).
IPv6 First Hop Security extends the advanced threat protection to IPv6. This comprehensive security suite includes ND inspection, RA guard, DHCPv6 guard, and neighbor binding integrity check, providing unparalleled protection against a vast range of address spoofing and man-in-the-middle attacks on IPv6 networks.
Time-based ACLs and port operation restrict access to the network during pre-designated times, such as business hours.
Uniform MAC address-based security can be applied automatically to mobile users as they roam between wireless access points.
Secure Core Technology (SCT) helps ensure that the switch is able to process management traffic in the face of a denial of service attack.
Private VLAN Edge (PVE) provides Layer-2 isolation between devices on the same VLAN.
Storm control can be applied to broadcast, multicast, and unknown unicast traffic.
Protection of management sessions using Radius, TACACS+ and local database authentication as well as secure management sessions over SSL, SSH, and SNMPv3.
DoS (Denial-of-Service) attack prevention maximizes network uptime in the presence of an attack.
- High-Power Power over Ethernet Plus (PoE+)
- Cisco 500X supports the Power over Ethernet Plus (PoE+) standard (IEEE 802.at), providing up to 30 W per port. Power is managed in a way that only the amount of power the endpoint needs is delivered to it and is not wasted. As a result, the switch can support devices that require more power, such as dual-band 802.11n wireless access points, video-based IP phones, surveillance cameras, and more. PoE capabilities simplify the deployment of advanced technologies by allowing you to connect and power network endpoints over a single Ethernet cable, without having to install separate power supplies. Cisco 500X is also fully backwards compatible with IEEE 802.11af PoE and previous- generation Cisco legacy PoE protocols.
- Networkwide Automatic Voice Deployment
- Using a combination of CDP, LLDP-MED, auto smartports, and VSDP (Voice Services Discovery Protocol), customers can deploy an end-to-end voice network. The switch in the network automatically converge around a single voice VLAN and QoS parameters and then propagate it out to the phones on the ports where it is discovered. For example, automated voice VLAN capabilities let you plug an IP phone (including third-party phones) into your IP telephony network and receive an immediate dial tone. The switch automatically configures the device with the right VLAN and QoS parameters to prioritize voice traffic.
- IPv6 Support
- As the IP address scheme evolves to accommodate a growing number of network devices, the Cisco 500X can support the transition to the next generation of networking and operating systems such as Windows 7, Vista, and Linux. This switch continues to support previous-generation IPv4, allowing you to evolve to the new IPv6 standard at your pace, and helping ensure that your current network will continue to support your business applications in the future. Cisco 500X has completed IPv6 testing and received the USGv6 and IPv6 Gold certification.
- Advanced Layer-3 Traffic Management
- The Cisco 500X enables an advanced set of traffic management capabilities to help growing businesses organize their networks effectively and efficiently. For example, the switch provides static LAN Layer-3 routing, allowing you to segment your network into workgroups and communicate across VLANs without degrading application performance. With these capabilities, you can enhance the efficiency of your network by offloading internal traffic-handling tasks from your router and allowing it to manage primarily external traffic and security. Cisco 500X provides dynamic Layer-3 routing features. With these capabilities, you can minimize the need to manually configure routing devices and simplify the ongoing operation of the network.
- Power Efficiency
- The Cisco 500X integrates a variety of power-saving features, providing the industry's extensive energy-efficient switching portfolio. The switch is designed to conserve energy by optimizing power use, which helps protects the environment and reduce your energy costs. It provides an eco-friendly network solution without compromising performance.
The support for the Energy Efficient Ethernet (IEEE 802.3az), reduces energy consumption by monitoring the amount of traffic on an active link and putting the link into a sleep state during quiet periods. It also features application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), which use low-power 65-nanometer technology and low power high performance ARM CPUs. The switch features automatic power shutoff on ports when a link is down, LEDs can be turned off to save power, and embedded intelligence to adjust signal strength based on the length of the connecting cable.
- Expandability
- The Cisco 500X offers 10 Gigabit Ethernet expansion slots. As your business adds applications, devices, and more bandwidth, you retain the flexibility to expand and interconnect your network infrastructure efficiently, and reduce bottlenecks.