Cisco Systems is rolling out new members to its Catalyst Ethernet switch family designed for situations where space, wiring or power are concerns.
The Catalyst 3560-C and 2960-C Compact Series are intended to bring high-performance networking capabilities out of the wiring closet and closer to where users needs them, including such areas as retail environments for point-of-sale or kiosks, education settings including the classroom or dormitories, health care in doctor offices or the front counter, and the hospitality and gaming industry, such as cruise ships and slot machine floors.
"More and more of IT infrastructure is becoming client-facing," Robert Soderbery, senior vice president and general manager of Cisco’s Ethernet Switching Technology Group, said in an interview. "The classic closet-wired switch isn’t applicable to these applications."
Cisco made the announcement Jan. 10 at the National Retail Federation’s Annual Convention and Expo in New York City.
Soderbery estimated that this area will be about a $1 billion market, and currently is not being served by low-end commodity switches from Cisco rivals such as Hewlett-Packard, Adtran and NetGear. The Catalyst 3560-C and Catalyst 2960-C switches are the latest additions to Cisco’s Borderless Network initiative, an effort kicked off in October 2009 to create network infrastrucutre that enables business users and consumers to access the networks from anywhere with any device at any time.
For more, read the eWeek article: Cisco Unveils Compact Ethernet Catalyst Switches.