Switches

Quick OverviewThe Cisco Catalyst 3850 series has officially reached its End-of-Sale (EoS) and is nearing End-of-Support (EoL). If your organization still relies on 3850 switches, now is the right time to plan an upgrade to maintain performance, security, and vendor support. ...

Introduction – What is Cisco SMARTnet ?Cisco SMARTnet is Cisco’s flagship support and maintenance program, designed to help organizations keep their networks stable, secure, and future-ready. It’s a service contract that provides: 24/7 access to Cisco’s Technical Assistance Center (TAC) Hardware rep...

Introduction – Understanding the Jumbo Frame ProblemMany network administrators experience dropped packets, iSCSI timeouts, or storage instability after enabling jumbo frames on their Cisco Catalyst 9300 switches. While jumbo frames can significantly improve throughput and reduce CPU overhead, even a single MTU mism...

TL;DR – Quick AnswerMost Cisco enterprise switches - including the Catalyst 2960, 9200, 9300, and higher — have no default username or password. You must create login credentials during the first console-based setup.Only the Cisco Catalyst C1200 and C1300 Series (SMB switches) have factory default credentials: ...

Introduction – Cisco Catalyst 4500 in 2025For over two decades, the Cisco Catalyst 4500 Series has been one of the most trusted modular enterprise switches in Cisco’s portfolio. Deployed widely in campus distribution and enterprise core networks, the 4500 earned a reputation for rock-solid reliability and scalabilit...

Introduction – Cisco Catalyst 3650 in 2025The Cisco Catalyst 3650 Series was once one of Cisco’s most popular enterprise access and distribution switches. Designed to bridge wired and wireless connectivity, it served as the foundation for many mid-sized campus and enterprise networks throughout the 2010s.As of 2025,...

Introduction – Where the Cisco CBS350 Stands in 2025The Cisco CBS350 Series has long been one of the most popular managed switches for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs). Positioned as part of Cisco’s Business Switch family, it bridges the gap between simple unmanaged switches and the fully enterprise-grade Ca...

Introduction – Cisco Catalyst 2960 in 2025The Cisco Catalyst 2960 series has officially reached its End-of-Life (EoL) and End-of-Support (EoS) phases. This means Cisco no longer provides software updates, security patches, or technical assistance for these switches.Despite this, the 2960 remains a recognizable name ...

IntroProperly formatting a USB flash drive is essential when working with Cisco Catalyst switches and other Cisco network devices. A correctly formatted USB ensures smooth recognition during IOS upgrades, configuration backups, software recovery, and diagnostic procedures. At Network-Switch.com (NS), our engineering...

The Hidden Complexity Behind High-Density NetworksIn modern enterprise infrastructure—from large campuses to hyperscale data centers—the phrase "high-density networking" is often repeatedly used. Yet the real engineering challenge lies not in simply “more ports” but in handling massive parallelism, maintaining ultra...