System information

Preface

In December 1999, regulatory authorities in the USA approved a strategic

alliance between IBM and Cisco. Subsequently, authorities in other countries

who investigated the terms of the alliance have also approved it. As a result,

IBM Global Services will market Cisco networking products to complement

IBM’s solution offerings. IBM’s current line of routers and Ethernet and ATM

switches will be withdrawn gradually over the course of the following 12

months.

This IBM Redbook will help anyone who has an IBM campus/LAN network

today. Where is this network going to go, given that IBM is no longer

developing and selling Ethernet and ATM LAN hardware? How is the network

infrastructure to evolve? What are the implications of adding hardware from

other vendors to an existing network? This book looks at some of the

possibilities available when adding Cisco switching equipment to these

existing networks. It explains the similarities and differences between the IBM

and Cisco product lines and shows how networks can be constructed using a

mixture of equipment from both vendors.

This book will help users of IBM Ethernet and ATM switches plan for the

growth and eventual migration of their existing networks. A companion

redbook,

IBM Router Interoperability and Migration Examples

, explores how

to expand and migrate IBM router networks.

Guidelines given in this IBM Redbook are general. Several scenarios are

included, and although actual customer networks will differ, these scenarios

serve as examples for you to develop proper plans to expand or migrate your

networks to meet future business requirements.

Customers are invited to engage IBM in the planning process.