Analyzing The Cisco

Enterprise Campus
Architecture
CCNP SWITCH: Implementing IP Switching

Course v6 Chapter #
2007 2010, Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.

Cisco Public

Introduction to
Enterprise
Campus
Network Design

Chapter #
2007 2010, Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.

Cisco Public

Enterprise Network

Core (Backbone)
Campus
Data Center
Branch
WAN
Internet Edge

Chapter #
2007 2010, Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.

Cisco Public

Campus Designs
Modular - easily supports growth and change. Scaling the
network is eased by adding new modules in lieu of
complete redesigns.
Resilient - proper high-availability (HA) characteristics
result in near-100% uptime.
Flexible - change in business is a guarantee for any
enterprise. These changes drive campus network
requirements to adapt quickly.

Chapter #
2007 2010, Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.

Cisco Public

Multilayer Switches in Campus Networks

Hardware-based routing using
Application-Specific Integrated
Circuits (ASICs)
RIP, OSPF, and EIGRP are
supported
Layer 3 switching speeds
approximate that of Layer 2
switches
Layer 4 and Layer 7 switching
supported on some switches
Future: Pure Layer 3
environment leveraging
inexpensive L3 access layer
switches

Chapter #
2007 2010, Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.

Cisco Public

Cisco Switches
Catalyst 6500 Family used in campus, data center, and
core as well as WAN and branch
Up to 13 slots and 16 10-Gigabit Ethernet interfaces
Redundant power supplies, fans, and supervisor engines
Runs Cisco IOS

Catalyst 4500 Family used in distribution layer and in

collapsed core environments
Up to 10 slots and several 10-Gigabit Ethernet interfaces
Runs Cisco IOS

Catalyst 3560 and 3750 Families used in fixed-port

scenarios at the access and distribution layers
Nexus 2000, 5000, and 7000 Families NX-OS based
modular data center switches
Chapter #
2007 2010, Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.

Cisco Public

Multilayer Switching Miscellany

ASIC-based (hardware)
switching is supported even
with QoS and ACLs,
depending on the platform;
6500 switches support
hardware-based switching
with much larger ACLs than
3560 switches.
ASICs on Catalyst switches
work in tandem with ternary
content addressable memory
(TCAM) and packet-matching
algorithms for high-speed
switching.

Catalyst 6500 switches with a

Supervisor Engine 720 and a
Multilayer Switch Feature
Card (MSFC3) must
software-switch all packets
requiring Network Address
Translation.
Unlike CPUs, ASICs scale in
switching architectures.
ASICs integrate onto
individual line modules of
Catalyst switches to
hardware-switch packets in a
distributed manner.

Chapter #
2007 2010, Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.

Cisco Public

Traffic Types
Network Management BPDU, CDP, SNMP, RMON, SSH traffic
(for example); low bandwidth
IP Telephony Signaling traffic and encapsulated voice traffic;
low bandwidth
IP Multicast IP/TV and market data applications; intensive
configuration requirements; very high bandwidth
Normal Data File and print services, email, Internet browsing,
database access, shared network applications; low to medium
bandwidth
Scavenger Class All traffic with protocols or patterns that
exceed normal data flows; less than best-effort traffic, such as
peer-to-peer traffic (instant messaging, file sharing, IP phone
calls, video conferencing); medium to high bandwidth

Chapter #
2007 2010, Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.

Cisco Public

Client-Server Applications

Mail servers
File servers
Database servers
Access to applications is
fast, reliable, and secure

Chapter #
2007 2010, Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.

Cisco Public

Client-Enterprise Edge Applications

Servers on the enterprise
edge, exchanging data
between an organization
and its public servers
Examples: external mail
servers, e-commerce
servers, and public web
servers
Security and high
availability are paramount

Chapter #
2007 2010, Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.

Cisco Public

10

Enterprise
Campus Design

Chapter #
2007 2010, Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.

Cisco Public

11

Building Access, Building Distribution, and Building

Core Layers
Building Core Layer: highspeed campus backbone
designed to switch packets as
fast as possible; provides high
availability and adapts quickly to
changes.
Building Distribution Layer:
aggregate wiring closets and
use switches to segment
workgroups and isolate network
problems.
Building Access Layer: grant
user access to network devices.

Chapter #
2007 2010, Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.

Cisco Public

12

Core Layer
Aggregates distribution layer switches.
Implements scalable protocols and technologies and load
balancing.
High-speed layer 3 switching using 10-Gigabit Ethernet.
Uses redundant L3 links.

Chapter #
2007 2010, Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.

Cisco Public

13

Distribution Layer
High availability, fast path recovery, load balancing, QoS, and security
Route summarization and packet manipulation
Redistribution point between routing domains
Packet filtering and policy routing to implement policy-based connectivity
Terminate VLANs
First Hop Redundancy Protocol

Chapter #
2007 2010, Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.

Cisco Public

14

Access Layer
High availability supported by many hardware and software features, such as
redundant power supplies and First Hop Redundancy Protocols (FHRP).
Convergence provides inline Power over Ethernet (PoE) to support IP
telephony and wireless access points.
Security includes port security, DHCP snooping, Dynamic ARP inspection, IP
source guard.

Chapter #
2007 2010, Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.

Cisco Public

15

Small Campus Network

<200 end devices

Collapsed core
Catalyst 3560 and 2960G switches for access layer
Cisco 1900 and 2900 routers to interconnect branch/WAN

Chapter #
2007 2010, Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.

Cisco Public

16

Medium Campus Network

200-1000 end devices
Redundant multilayer switches at distribution layer
Catalyst 4500 or 6500 switches

Chapter #
2007 2010, Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.

Cisco Public

17

Large Campus Network

>2000 end users

Stricter adherence to core, distribution, access delineation
Catalyst 6500 switches in core and distribution layers
Nexus 7000 switches in data centers
Division of labor amongst network engineers

Chapter #
2007 2010, Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.

Cisco Public

18

Data Center Infrastructure

Core layer high-speed packet switching backplane
Aggregation layer service module integration, default gateway
redundancy, security, load balancing, content switching, firewall, SSL
offload, intrusion detection, network analysis
Access layer connects servers to network

Chapter #
2007 2010, Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.

Cisco Public

19

Chapter #
2007 2010, Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.

Cisco Public

20