Catalyst 4948
Data Sheet
© 2010 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. This document is Cisco Public Information. Page 1 of 17
Cisco Catalyst 4948 Switch
High-Performance, Rack-Optimized Server Switching
Product Overview
The Cisco Catalyst
®
4948 Switch is a wire-speed, low-latency, Layer 2 to 4, 1-rack-unit (1RU), fixed-configuration
switch for rack-optimized server switching. Based on the proven Cisco
®
Catalyst 4500 Series hardware and software
architecture, the Cisco Catalyst 4948 offers exceptional performance and reliability for low-density, multilayer
aggregation of high-performance servers and workstations. High performance and scalability of intelligent network
services is made possible with dedicated specialized resources known as ternary content addressable memory
(TCAM). Ample TCAM resources (64,000 entries) enable high feature capacity, providing wire-speed routing and
switching performance with concurrent provisioning of services such as quality of service (QoS) and security, and
helping ensure scalability for today's network requirements with ample room for future growth.
The Cisco Catalyst 4948 offers 48 ports of wire-speed 10/100/1000BASE-T with four alternative wired ports that can
accommodate optional 1000BASE-X Small Form-Factor Pluggable (SFP) optics.
1
Exceptional reliability and
serviceability are delivered with optional internal AC or DC 1+1 hot-swappable power supplies and a hot-swappable
fan tray with redundant fans (Figures 1 and 2).
Figure 1. Cisco Catalyst 4948 Switch
Figure 2. Rear View of Cisco Catalyst 4948 with Dual Redundant Power Supplies and Removable Fan Tray
1
The Cisco Catalyst 4948 has 52 physical switching ports (48 10/100/1000 and 4 SFP) on the front panel. Up to 48 of these ports
can be active at one time in any combination.
Data Sheet
© 2010 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. This document is Cisco Public Information. Page 2 of 17
Features and Benefits
Wire-Speed Performance for 10/100/1000 Connectivity
The Cisco Catalyst 4948 delivers wire-speed throughput with low latency for data-intensive applications, using a 96-
Gbps switching fabric with a forwarding rate of 72 million packets per second (mpps) in hardware for Layer 2 to 4
traffic. Switching performance remains high regardless of the number of route entries or Layer 3 and 4 services
enabled. Hardware-based Cisco Express Forwarding routing architecture enables increased scalability and
performance.
Power Supply Redundancy for Nonstop Operation
The Cisco Catalyst 4948 provides reliability for critical applications, with 1+1 redundant hot-swappable internal AC or
DC power supplies. The 1+1 power supply design provides A-to-B failover when power supplies are connected to
different circuits. AC and DC power supplies can be mixed in the same unit for outstanding deployment flexibility. The
Cisco Catalyst 4948 also has a hot-swappable fan tray with four redundant fans for additional serviceability and
availability.
Wire-Speed Performance for 10/100/1000 Connectivity
The Cisco Catalyst 4948 delivers wire-speed throughput with low latency for data-intensive applications, using a 96-
Gbps switching fabric with a forwarding rate of 72 million packets per second (mpps) in hardware for Layer 2 to 4
traffic. Switching performance remains high regardless of the number of route entries or Layer 3 and 4 services
enabled. Hardware-based Cisco Express Forwarding routing architecture enables increased scalability and
performance.
Power Supply Redundancy for Nonstop Operation
The Cisco Catalyst 4948 provides reliability for critical applications, with 1+1 redundant hot-swappable internal AC or
DC power supplies. The 1+1 power supply design provides A-to-B failover when power supplies are connected to
different circuits. AC and DC power supplies can be mixed in the same unit for outstanding deployment flexibility. The
Cisco Catalyst 4948 also has a hot-swappable fan tray with four redundant fans for additional serviceability and
availability.
Comprehensive Management
The Cisco Catalyst 4948 includes a single, dedicated 10/100 console port and a single, dedicated 10/100
management port for offline disaster recovery. Remote in-band management is available with the Simple Network
Management Protocol (SNMP), Telnet client, Bootstrap Protocol (BOOTP), and Trivial File Transfer Protocol (TFTP).
Support for local or remote out-of-band management is delivered through a terminal or modem attached to the
console interface. The management port helps enable the Cisco Catalyst 4948 to reload a new image from a TFTP
server within seconds.
The Cisco Catalyst 4948 delivers a comprehensive set of management tools to provide the visibility and control
required for server switching. Managed with CiscoWorks solutions and embedded CiscoWorks CiscoView, the Cisco
Catalyst 4948 can be configured and managed to deliver device, VLAN, traffic, and policy management. These web-
based management tools offer numerous services, including software deployment and quick isolation of error
conditions.
Software Configuration Options
Table 1 summarizes the software configuration options for the Cisco Catalyst 4948.
Data Sheet
© 2010 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. This document is Cisco Public Information. Page 3 of 17
Table 1. Software Configuration Options for Cisco Catalyst 4948
Software Image
Description
LAN Base image
Basic Layer 2 image
IP Base image
Standard Layer 3 image, including Routing Information Protocol Version 1 (RIPv1), RIPv2, static routes, and
Enhanced Interior Gateway Routing Protocol (EIGRP) stub
Enterprise Services image
Enhanced Layer 3 image, including Open Shortest Path First (OSPF), Intermediate System–to–Intermediate
System (IS-IS), EIGRP, Border Gateway Protocol (BGP), AppleTalk, and Internetwork Packet Exchange (IPX)
software routing; also includes all IP Base image features
Feature Comparison
Table 2 compares the features of the Cisco Catalyst 4948 Switch, Catalyst 4948 10 Gigabit Ethernet Switch, and
Catalyst 4900M Switch.
Table 2. Cisco Catalyst 4900 Series Switches Model Comparison
Feature and Description
Cisco Catalyst 4948
Cisco Catalyst 4948 10
Gigabit Ethernet
Cisco Catalyst 4900M
Switching capacity
96 Gbps
136 Gbps
320 Gbps
Throughput
72 mpps
102 mpps
●
250 mpps for IPv4
●
125 mpps for IPv6
IPv6 support
In software
In software
In hardware
Height
1RU
1RU
2RU
Modular half-card slots
0
0
2
Maximum 10/100/1000 ports
48
48
40
Maximum 10 Gigabit Ethernet ports
0
2
24
Maximum Gigabit Ethernet (fiber) ports
4
0
32 (Cisco TwinGig Converter
Module)
Cisco TwinGig Converter Module
support
No
No
Yes (half-cards only)
Uplink optic type
4 SFP optics
2 X2 (10 Gigabit Ethernet) optics
8 X2 (10 Gigabit Ethernet) optics
Multilayer switching
IP Base and Enterprise Services
options
IP Base and Enterprise Services
options
IP Base and Enterprise Services
options
Shared buffer
16 MB
16 MB
16 MB
CPU
266 MHz
666 MHz
1.3 GHz
Synchronous Dynamic RAM (SDRAM)
256 MB
256 MB
512 MB
Active VLANs
4096
4096
4096
Multicast entries
●
28,000 (Layer 3)
●
16,000 (Layer 2)
●
28,000 (Layer 3)
●
16,000 (Layer 2)
●
56,000 for IPv4
●
28,000 for IPv6
Per-VLAN Spanning Tree (PVST) and
VLAN IDs
4096
4096
4096
Spanning Tree Protocol instances
1500
1500
3000
Switched Virtual Interfaces (SVIs)
2000
2000
4000
Security and QoS hardware entries
32,000
32,000
128,000
MAC addresses
32,000
55,000
55,000
Switched Port Analyzer (SPAN)
2 ingress and 4 egress
2 ingress and 4 egress
8 ingress and 8 egress
USB port
No
No
Yes
Compact flash memory support
No
No
Yes
System reset button
No
No
Yes
Minimum software requirement
Cisco IOS
®
Software Release
12.2(20)EWA or later
Cisco IOS Software Release
12.2(25)EWA or later
Cisco IOS Software Release
12.2(40)XO or later
Data Sheet
© 2010 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. This document is Cisco Public Information. Page 4 of 17
Features and Specifications at a Glance
Performance and Switching
●
96 Gbps nonblocking switch fabric
●
72 mpps Layer 2 forwarding (hardware)
●
72 mpps Layer 3 and 4 forwarding: IP routing and Cisco Express Forwarding (hardware)
●
Layer 2 to 4 hardware-based switch engine (application-specific integrated circuit [ASIC]-based)
●
Unicast and multicast routing entries: 32,000
●
Support for 4096 active VLANs and 4096 VLAN IDs per switch
●
Layer 2 multicast addresses: 16,384
●
MAC addresses: 32,768
●
Policers: 512 ingress and 512 egress
●
Access control list (ACL) and QoS entries: 32,000
●
Uplinks: 4 alternatively wired SFP ports with Cisco Gigabit EtherChannel support
●
Latency: 6 microseconds for 64-byte packets
●
SVIs: 2048
●
Spanning Tree Protocol instances: 1500
●
Internet Group Management Protocol (IGMP) snooping entries: 16,000
Layer 2 Features
●
Layer 2 hardware forwarding at 72 mpps
●
Layer 2 switch ports and VLAN trunks
●
IEEE 802.1Q VLAN encapsulation
●
Inter-Switch Link (ISL) VLAN encapsulation
●
Dynamic Trunking Protocol (DTP)
●
VLAN Trunking Protocol (VTP) and VTP domains
●
PVST+ and Per-VLAN Rapid Spanning Tree Protocol (PVRST)
●
Flexlink
●
Spanning Tree PortFast and PortFast Guard
●
Spanning Tree UplinkFast and BackboneFast
●
IEEE 802.1s
●
IEEE 802.1w
●
IEEE 802.3ad
●
Spanning Tree Root Guard
●
Cisco Discovery Protocol Version 1 and 2
●
IGMPv1, v2, and v3
●
Cisco EtherChannel technology, Cisco Fast EtherChannel technology, and Cisco Gigabit EtherChannel
technology support
●
Port Aggregation Protocol (PAgP)
●
Link Aggregation Control Protocol (LACP)
●
Unidirectional Link Detection Protocol (UDLD) and aggressive UDLD on the SFP ports
Data Sheet
© 2010 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. This document is Cisco Public Information. Page 5 of 17
●
IEEE 802.1 Q-in-Q in hardware
●
Layer 2 protocol tunneling
●
Jumbo frames on all ports (up to 9216 bytes)
●
Baby giants (up to 1600 bytes)
●
Unidirectional Ethernet
●
Hardware-based storm control (formerly known as broadcast and multicast suppression)
●
Community private VLANs (PVLANs)
●
Forced 10/100 autonegotiation
●
Web Cache Communication Protocol (WCCP) Version 2 Layer 2 redirect
●
Private VLAN promiscuous trunk
●
Layer 2 promiscuous trunk over trunk port (L2PT)
●
Class-of-service (CoS) mutation
●
E-OAM 802.3ah and CFM: 802.1ag
Layer 3 Features
●
Jumbo frames on all ports (up to 9216 bytes)
●
Hardware-based IP Cisco Express Forwarding routing at 72 mpps
●
Static IP routing
●
IP routing protocols: EIGRP, OSPF, RIP, and RIPv2
●
BGPv4 and Multicast Border Gateway Protocol (MBGP)
●
Nonstop Forwarding (NSF) awareness
●
Hot Standby Router Protocol (HSRP) v1 and v2
●
Software routing of IPX and AppleTalk
●
IS-IS routing protocol
●
IGMPv1, v2, and v3
●
IGMP filtering on access and trunk ports
●
IP multicast routing protocols: Protocol Independent Multicast (PIM), Source-Specific Multicast (SSM), and
Distance Vector Multicast Routing Protocol (DVMRP)
●
Auto rendezvous point (Auto-RP)
●
Distance Vector Multicast Routing Protocol (DVMRP)
●
Pragmatic General Multicast (PGM)
●
Cisco Group Management Protocol (GMP) server
●
Full Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) support
●
ICMP Router Discovery Protocol
●
Policy-based routing (PBR)
●
Virtual Route Forwarding lite (VRF-lite)
●
VRF-aware IP services
●
IPv6 software switching support
●
OSPF fast convergence
●
OSPF and EIGRP fast-convergence protection
Data Sheet
© 2010 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. This document is Cisco Public Information. Page 6 of 17
●
EIGRP stub
●
Virtual Router Redundancy Protocol (VRRP)
●
IP unnumbered for SVI
●
Nonstop Forwarding (NSF) awareness
●
WCCPv2
●
Gateway Load Balancing Protocol (GLBP)
High-Availability Features
●
1+1 hot-swappable AC or DC power supplies
●
Hot-swappable field-replaceable fan tray with redundant fans
●
HSRP v1 and v2
●
VRRP
●
Cisco IOS Embedded Event Manager (EEM)
●
Cisco Generic Online Diagnostics (GOLD)
●
Smart Call Home
Sophisticated QoS and Traffic Management
●
Per-port QoS configuration
●
Per-port and per-VLAN QoS
●
Support for four queues per port in hardware
●
Strict priority queuing
●
IP differentiated services code point (DSCP) and IP precedence
●
Classification and marking based on IP type of service (ToS) or DSCP
●
Classification and marking based on full Layer 3 and 4 headers (IP only)
●
Input and output policing based on Layer 3 and 4 headers (IP only)
●
Support for 512 policers on ingress and 512 policers on egress configured as aggregate or individual
●
Shaping and sharing output queue management
●
Dynamic Buffer Limiting (DBL) advanced congestion-avoidance feature
●
No performance penalty for granular QoS functions
●
Matched CoS for non-IPv4 traffic
Predictable Performance
●
96-Gbps switching fabric
●
Layer 2 hardware forwarding at 72 mpps
●
Layer 3 hardware-based IP Cisco Express Forwarding routing at 72 mpps
●
Layer 4 TCP and User Datagram Protocol (UDP) hardware-based filtering at 72 mpps
●
No performance penalty with advanced Layer 3 and 4 services enabled
●
Software-based learning at a sustained rate of 500 hosts per second
●
Support for 32,768 MAC addresses
●
Support for 32,000 entries in routing table (shared between unicast and multicast)
●
Support for 512 ingress policers and 512 egress policers
Loading...