Cisco Catalyst 2970 Review

Oftentimes even in a large networking environment like the ones I have overseen, there is an occasional need for small rack-mountable network switches that are relatively inexpensive, easy to configure, yet are robust enough to service a workgroup, and communicate with the rest of the network at the standard 1000BaseX via Gigabit Ethernet. 

I currently work for a company that houses it servers in an industry standard Network Operations Center (NOC), or Data Center, a space they share with severs from other divisions of the company.  Most of the networking infrastructure is shared, and there is a need to connect the various floors of our high rise building directly to our servers, which are all centrally located in the NOC; that is where the Cisco Catalyst 2970G 24T 24-Port Gigabit Ethernet Switches come into play.     

The Catalyst 2970G 24T-E is a small foot-print, rack-mountable (1U) fixed-configuration (OSI-Model) Layer 2 Ethernet switch that provides high-performance, high bandwidth switching between workstations, servers, switches (network backbone), and routers.  The Catalyst 2970G 24T-E is equipped with 24 auto-sensing managed 10BASE-T/100BASE-TX/1000BASE- T ports.  The Catalyst 2970G 24T-E uses the same Catalyst system software as the Cisco's Catalyst 2900/4000/4500/5000/5500 Series switches, thereby ensuring complete interoperability with our existing Catalyst switches.

My Viewpoint

The business uses the Catalyst 2970G 24T-E exclusively at its branch locations in managed pairs that allow the business to port voice and data through the combined stack.  But, before I can rack-mount them I have to configure each switch to run 1000BaseT via a "console" connection (an RJ-45 port, wherein you can plug in a laptop equipped with a NIC) on the back of the unit. 

Preparing the switch to communicate with our network took less then ten minute to accomplish; in addition to configuring the (24) ports for 1000BaseT, I also assigned both switches a static IP Address, as well supervisor ID and password for attaching locally or remotely over the network.  After mounting the switch in the rack and securing each, I attached a category 5 cable to each to begin receiving traffic from the network.    

Our complement of Catalyst 2970G 24T-E's have been in place almost a year and have proved very reliable.  Like the larger Catalyst switches in our network, the Catalyst 2970G 24T-E's run 24/7/365.  These little switches work and work well. 

Compared to the Catalyst 4000 and 6000 Series switches, the Catalyst 2970G 24T-E is relatively inexpensive; prices range from $420.00 - $1200.00 for used and refurbished switches.  Not too bad a price considering the level of functionality you can expect from the switch.

If you need a small, but reliable, network switch for a small, medium, or large sized corporate environments the Catalyst 2970G 24T-E might be the solution you have been looking for.