<s>
Catalyst	O
is	O
the	O
brand	O
for	O
a	O
variety	O
of	O
network	B-Protocol
switches	I-Protocol
,	O
wireless	O
controllers	O
,	O
and	O
wireless	B-Device
access	I-Device
points	I-Device
sold	O
by	O
Cisco	O
Systems	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
commonly	O
associated	O
with	O
Ethernet	B-Protocol
switches	I-Protocol
,	O
a	O
number	O
of	O
different	O
types	O
of	O
network	B-Protocol
interfaces	I-Protocol
have	O
been	O
available	O
throughout	O
the	O
history	O
of	O
the	O
brand	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Catalyst	O
9000	O
family	O
includes	O
switches	O
,	O
wireless	B-Device
access	I-Device
points	I-Device
,	O
and	O
wireless	O
controllers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
most	O
cases	O
,	O
the	O
technology	O
for	O
the	O
Catalyst	O
Switch	O
was	O
developed	O
separately	O
from	O
Cisco	O
's	O
router	B-Protocol
technology	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Catalyst	O
switches	O
originally	O
ran	O
software	O
called	O
CatOS	B-Operating_System
rather	O
than	O
the	O
more	O
widely	O
known	O
Cisco	B-Protocol
IOS	I-Protocol
software	O
used	O
by	O
routers	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
some	O
cases	O
,	O
particularly	O
in	O
the	O
modular	O
chassis	O
switches	O
,	O
a	O
configuration	O
called	O
'	O
Hybrid	O
 '	O
has	O
emerged	O
-	O
this	O
is	O
where	O
the	O
layer	B-Protocol
2	I-Protocol
functions	O
are	O
configured	O
using	O
CatOS	B-Operating_System
,	O
and	O
the	O
layer	B-Application
3	I-Application
elements	O
are	O
configured	O
using	O
IOS	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Native	O
IOS	B-Protocol
can	O
also	O
be	O
found	O
with	O
newer	O
software	O
versions	O
that	O
have	O
eliminated	O
CatOS	B-Operating_System
entirely	O
in	O
favor	O
of	O
IOS	B-Protocol
,	O
even	O
on	O
hardware	O
that	O
originally	O
required	O
CatOS	B-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
newer	O
Catalyst	O
switch	O
models	O
(	O
with	O
recent	O
versions	O
of	O
the	O
Cisco	B-Protocol
IOS	I-Protocol
)	O
also	O
allow	O
web-based	O
management	O
using	O
a	O
graphical	B-Application
interface	I-Application
(	O
GUI	B-Application
)	O
module	O
which	O
is	O
hosted	O
on	O
a	O
HTTP	B-Application
server	I-Application
located	O
on	O
the	O
switch	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
of	O
switches	O
is	O
an	O
example	O
of	O
a	O
Cisco	O
Catalyst	O
switch	O
that	O
allows	O
this	O
style	O
of	O
GUI	B-Application
via	O
HTTP	B-Protocol
.	I-Protocol
</s>
<s>
Cisco	B-Protocol
IOS	I-Protocol
,	O
formally	O
the	O
Cisco	O
Internetwork	B-Protocol
Operating	I-Protocol
System	I-Protocol
,	O
is	O
a	O
family	O
of	O
network	O
operating	O
systems	O
used	O
on	O
many	O
Cisco	O
Systems	O
network	B-Protocol
switches	I-Protocol
,	O
routers	B-Protocol
,	O
wireless	O
controllers	O
and	O
wireless	B-Device
access	I-Device
points	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Earlier	O
,	O
Cisco	O
switches	O
ran	O
CatOS	B-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
Cisco	B-Protocol
IOS	I-Protocol
is	O
a	O
package	O
of	O
routing	O
,	O
switching	O
,	O
internetworking	O
and	O
telecommunications	O
functions	O
integrated	O
into	O
a	O
multitasking	O
operating	O
system	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
the	O
IOS	B-Protocol
code	O
base	O
includes	O
a	O
cooperative	O
multitasking	O
kernel	O
,	O
most	O
IOS	B-Protocol
features	O
have	O
been	O
ported	O
to	O
other	O
kernels	O
such	O
as	O
QNX	O
and	O
Linux	O
for	O
use	O
in	O
Cisco	O
products	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Cisco	O
Catalyst	O
products	O
run	O
IOS	B-Protocol
or	O
a	O
Linux-derived	O
version	O
called	O
Cisco	B-Protocol
IOS	I-Protocol
XE	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
originally	O
called	O
XDI	O
by	O
the	O
switching	O
company	O
Crescendo	O
Communications	O
,	O
Inc	O
.	O
Cisco	O
renamed	O
it	O
to	O
CatOS	B-Operating_System
when	O
they	O
acquired	O
Crescendo	O
and	O
later	O
still	O
to	O
Cisco	B-Protocol
IOS	I-Protocol
as	O
the	O
operating	O
system	O
was	O
extended	O
to	O
other	O
Cisco	O
products	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
newer	O
Catalyst	O
9000	O
family	O
uses	O
the	O
Cisco	B-Protocol
IOS	I-Protocol
XE	O
operating	O
system	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
Catalyst	O
devices	O
are	O
primarily	O
Ethernet	B-Protocol
switches	I-Protocol
,	O
all	O
modern	O
Catalyst	O
models	O
have	O
Ethernet	O
interfaces	O
ranging	O
from	O
10Mbit/s	O
to	O
100Gbit/s	O
depending	O
on	O
the	O
model	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Other	O
models	O
can	O
support	O
T1	B-Protocol
,	O
E1	O
,	O
and	O
ISDN	B-Protocol
PRI	I-Protocol
interfaces	O
to	O
provide	O
connections	O
to	O
the	O
PSTN	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Legacy	O
models	O
supported	O
a	O
variety	O
of	O
interfaces	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
Token	B-Device
Ring	I-Device
,	O
FDDI	B-Protocol
,	O
Asynchronous	O
Transfer	O
Mode	O
and	O
100BaseVG	B-Protocol
,	O
but	O
are	O
no	O
longer	O
sold	O
by	O
Cisco	O
Systems	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
All	O
models	O
have	O
basic	O
layer	B-Protocol
2	I-Protocol
functions	O
and	O
are	O
capable	O
of	O
switching	O
Ethernet	O
frames	O
between	O
ports	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Commonly	O
found	O
additional	O
features	O
are	O
VLANs	B-General_Concept
,	O
trunking	O
and	O
QoS	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
switches	O
,	O
whether	O
IOS	B-Protocol
or	O
IOS	B-Protocol
XE	O
,	O
are	O
fully	O
manageable	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Many	O
Catalyst	O
switches	O
that	O
run	O
IOS	B-Protocol
or	O
IOS	B-Protocol
XE	O
are	O
also	O
capable	O
of	O
functioning	O
as	O
a	O
router	B-Protocol
,	O
making	O
them	O
layer	B-Application
3	I-Application
devices	O
;	O
when	O
coupled	O
with	O
TCP	O
and	O
UDP	O
filtering	O
,	O
these	O
switches	O
are	O
capable	O
of	O
layer	O
2-4	O
operation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Depending	O
on	O
the	O
exact	O
software	O
image	O
,	O
a	O
Catalyst	O
switch	O
that	O
runs	O
IOS	B-Protocol
or	O
IOS	B-Protocol
XE	O
may	O
be	O
able	O
to	O
tackle	O
large-scale	O
enterprise	O
routing	O
tasks	O
,	O
using	O
router	B-Protocol
technologies	O
like	O
OSPF	B-Protocol
or	O
BGP	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Mirroring	O
most	O
Cisco	O
router	B-Protocol
designs	O
,	O
these	O
work	O
by	O
separating	O
the	O
line	O
cards	O
,	O
chassis	O
,	O
and	O
supervisor	B-Device
engine	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
chassis	O
provides	O
power	O
and	O
a	O
high-speed	O
backplane	B-Architecture
,	O
the	O
line	O
cards	O
provide	O
interfaces	O
to	O
the	O
network	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
supervisor	B-Device
engine	I-Device
moves	O
packets	O
,	O
participates	O
in	O
routing	O
protocols	O
,	O
etc	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
supervisor	B-Device
engine	I-Device
may	O
be	O
upgraded	O
after	O
purchase	O
,	O
increasing	O
performance	O
and	O
adding	O
features	O
without	O
losing	O
any	O
investment	O
in	O
the	O
rest	O
of	O
the	O
switch	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
switches	O
can	O
be	O
configured	O
using	O
a	O
serial	B-Device
console	I-Device
,	O
telnet	B-Protocol
or	O
Secure	B-Protocol
Shell	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Simple	B-Protocol
Network	I-Protocol
Management	I-Protocol
Protocol	I-Protocol
(	O
SNMP	B-Protocol
)	O
allows	O
monitoring	O
of	O
many	O
states	O
,	O
and	O
measurement	O
of	O
traffic	O
flows	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Many	O
devices	O
can	O
also	O
run	O
an	O
HTTP	B-Application
server	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
sites	O
with	O
more	O
than	O
a	O
few	O
devices	O
,	O
it	O
is	O
useful	O
to	O
set	O
up	O
a	O
Trivial	B-Device
File	I-Device
Transfer	I-Device
Protocol	I-Device
(	O
TFTP	B-Device
)	O
server	O
for	O
storing	O
the	O
configuration	O
files	O
and	O
any	O
IOS	B-Protocol
images	O
for	O
updating	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Complex	O
configurations	O
are	O
best	O
created	O
using	O
a	O
text	O
editor	O
(	O
using	O
a	O
site	O
standard	O
template	O
)	O
,	O
putting	O
the	O
file	O
on	O
the	O
TFTP	B-Device
server	O
and	O
copying	O
it	O
to	O
the	O
Cisco	O
device	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
it	O
can	O
be	O
noted	O
that	O
a	O
TFTP	B-Device
server	O
can	O
present	O
its	O
own	O
security	O
problems	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Layer	B-Protocol
2	I-Protocol
and	O
layer	B-Application
3	I-Application
stackable	O
core	O
switches	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Layer	B-Protocol
2	I-Protocol
and	O
layer	B-Application
3	I-Application
stackable	O
access	O
and	O
distribution	O
switches	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Layer	B-Protocol
2	I-Protocol
and	O
layer	B-Application
3	I-Application
stackable	O
access	O
switches	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Layer	B-Protocol
2	I-Protocol
stackable	O
access	O
switches	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Layer	B-Protocol
2	I-Protocol
and	O
layer	B-Application
3	I-Application
stackable	O
access	O
and	O
distribution	O
switches	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Layer	B-Protocol
2	I-Protocol
and	O
layer	B-Application
3	I-Application
switches	O
with	O
optional	O
stacking	O
capability	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Layer	B-Protocol
2	I-Protocol
and	O
layer	B-Application
3	I-Application
stackable	O
access	O
switches	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Layer	B-Protocol
2	I-Protocol
and	O
layer	B-Application
3	I-Application
access	O
switches	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Compact	O
,	O
fanless	O
layer	B-Protocol
2	I-Protocol
and	O
layer	B-Application
3	I-Application
switches	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Compact	O
,	O
fanless	O
layer	B-Protocol
2	I-Protocol
and	O
layer	B-Application
3	I-Application
switches	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
series	O
can	O
support	O
interfaces	O
up	O
to	O
100	B-Protocol
Gigabit	I-Protocol
Ethernet	I-Protocol
in	O
speed	O
and	O
redundant	O
sSupervisor	O
modules	O
,	O
power	O
supplies	O
and	O
fans	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
series	O
can	O
support	O
interfaces	O
up	O
to	O
40	B-Protocol
Gigabit	I-Protocol
Ethernet	I-Protocol
in	O
speed	O
and	O
redundant	O
supervisor	O
modules	O
,	O
power	O
supplies	O
and	O
fans	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
series	O
can	O
support	O
interfaces	O
up	O
to	O
40	B-Protocol
Gigabit	I-Protocol
Ethernet	I-Protocol
in	O
speed	O
and	O
redundant	O
supervisor	O
modules	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Cisco	B-Device
Catalyst	I-Device
6500	I-Device
Series	O
is	O
a	O
chassis-based	O
switch	O
family	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
series	O
can	O
support	O
interfaces	O
up	O
to	O
40	B-Protocol
Gigabit	I-Protocol
Ethernet	I-Protocol
in	O
speed	O
and	O
redundant	O
supervisor	O
modules	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Cisco	O
Catalyst	O
4500	O
Series	O
is	O
a	O
mid-range	O
modular	O
chassis	O
network	B-Protocol
switch	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
