Installation guide

CHAPTER
2-1
Catalyst 3550 Multilayer Switch Hardware Installation Guide
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2
Product Overview
The Catalyst 3550 family of multilayer switches—also referred to as the
switches—are stackable Ethernet switches to which you can connect
workstations, Cisco IP Phones, and other network devices such as servers, routers,
and other switches. These switches also can be deployed as backbone switches,
aggregating Gigabit Ethernet traffic from other network devices.
This chapter provides a functional overview of the Catalyst 3550 switch models.
These topics are included:
• Features, page 2-1
• Front-Panel Description, page 2-5
• Rear-Panel Description, page 2-14
• Management Options, page 2-16
Features
Figure 2-1 and Figure 2-2 show the Catalyst 3550 switch models, and Table 2-1
describes the switch features.