Product Overview

The Cisco^® Catalyst^® 3560 Series is a line of fixed-configuration, enterprise-class switches that include IEEE 802.3af and Cisco prestandard Power over Ethernet (PoE) functionality in Fast Ethernet and Gigabit Ethernet configurations. The Cisco Catalyst 3560 is an ideal access layer switch for small enterprise LAN access or branch-office environments, combining both 10/100/1000 and PoE configurations for maximum productivity and investment protection while enabling the deployment of new applications such as IP telephony, wireless access, video surveillance, building management systems, and remote video kiosks. Customers can deploy networkwide intelligent services-such as advanced quality of service (QoS), rate limiting, access control lists (ACLs), multicast management, and high-performance IP routing-while maintaining the simplicity of traditional LAN switching. Available for the Cisco Catalyst 3560 Series at no charge, the Cisco Network Assistant is a centralized management application that simplifies the administration tasks for Cisco switches, routers, and wireless access points. Cisco Network Assistant provides configuration wizards that greatly simplify the implementation of converged networks and intelligent network services.

The Cisco Catalyst 3560 is part of a larger and more scalable family of Cisco Catalyst switches that includes the Cisco Catalyst 3560-E Series switches, the Cisco Catalyst 3750 and 3750-E Series switches with Cisco StackWise^™ technology, and the Cisco Catalyst 4500 and Catalyst 6500 modular switches. United by Cisco IOS^® Software, the entire family offers industry-leading availability, integrated security, optimized delivery, and manageability.

Power over Ethernet

The Cisco Catalyst 3560 Series can provide a lower total cost of ownership (TCO) for deployments that incorporate Cisco IP phones, Cisco Aironet^® wireless LAN (WLAN) access points, or any IEEE 802.3af-compliant end device. PoE removes the need for wall power to each PoE-enabled device and eliminates the cost for additional electrical cabling that would otherwise be necessary in IP phone and WLAN deployments. The Cisco Catalyst 3560 8-port PoE and 24-port PoE configurations can support 8 and 24 simultaneous full-powered PoE ports at 15.4W for maximum powered-device support. The Cisco Catalyst 3560 12-port PoE can support 8 ports at 15.4W or 12 ports at 10W or any combination in between. Taking advantage of Cisco Catalyst Intelligent Power Management, the 48-port PoE configurations can deliver the necessary power to support 24 ports at 15.4W, 48 ports at 7.7W, or any combination in between. Maximum power availability for a converged voice and data network is attainable when a Cisco Catalyst 3560 switch is combined with the Cisco RPS 2300 Redundant Power System for transparent protection against internal power supply failures and an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) system to safeguard against power outages.

Gigabit Ethernet

At speeds of 1000 Mbps, Gigabit Ethernet provides the bandwidth to meet new and evolving network demands, alleviate bottlenecks, and boost performance while increasing the return on existing infrastructure investments. Today's workers are placing higher demands on networks, running multiple, concurrent applications. For example, a worker joins a team conference call through an IP videoconference, sends a 10-MB spreadsheet to meeting participants, broadcasts the latest marketing video for the team to evaluate, and queries the customer-relationship-management database for the latest real-time feedback. Meanwhile, a multigigabyte system backup starts in the background and the latest virus updates are delivered to the client. The Cisco Catalyst 3560 provides a means to intelligently scale the network beyond 100 Mbps over existing Category 5 copper cabling and simultaneously support PoE for maximum productivity and investment protection.

Intelligence in the Network

Networks of today are evolving to address four new developments at the network edge:

●   Increase in desktop computing power

●   Introduction of bandwidth-intensive applications

●   Expansion of highly sensitive data on the network

●   Presence of multiple device types, such as IP phones, WLAN access points, and IP video cameras

These new demands are contending for resources with many existing mission-critical applications. As a result, IT professionals must view the edge of the network as critical to effectively manage the delivery of information and applications.

As companies increasingly rely on networks as the strategic business infrastructure, it is more important than ever to help ensure their high availability, security, scalability, and control. By adding Cisco intelligent functions for LAN access, customers can now deploy networkwide intelligent services that consistently address these requirements from the desktop to the core and through the WAN.

With Cisco Catalyst Intelligent Ethernet switches, Cisco Systems^® helps enable companies to realize the full benefits of adding intelligent services into their networks. Deployment of capabilities that make the network infrastructure highly available to accommodate time-critical needs, scalable to accommodate growth, secure enough to protect confidential information, and capable of differentiating and controlling traffic flows is critical to further optimizing network operations.