Cisco Catalyst 3550 Series Switches

Table Of Contents

Product Bulletin No. 1990

New Features in Cisco IOS Release 12.1(12C)EA1

Additional Resources

Software Download - Software available December, 2002

For more information on the Cisco Catalyst 3550 Series:

For more information on the Cisco Catalyst 2950 Series:

For more information on the Release Notes:

Securing the LAN with Catalyst 3550 and 2950 Series Switches:

Identity-Based Networking Services and IEEE 802.1x Information:

Support

Software Image Migration Guide

Product Bulletin No. 1990

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New Cisco IOS^® Software Release 12.1(12c)EA1
for Cisco Catalyst^® 3550 and 2950 Series Switches

Overview

Cisco is pleased to announce Cisco IOS® Software updates for the Cisco Catalyst® 3550 and 2950 Series Intelligent Ethernet switches. This new release furthers Cisco's leadership in providing secure, reliable, and easily managed LAN switching solutions.

The Cisco Catalyst 3550 Series increases security through support for Kerberos, and by adding SPAN enhancements for Cisco Secure Intrusion Detection Systems.

The Cisco Catalyst 2950 Series further secures network management by offering Secure Shell Protocol (SSH) and cryptographic Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMPv3) to its Enhanced Image (EI) software. These features are currently supported on the Cisco Catalyst 3550 Series.

Both the Cisco Catalyst 3550 and 2950 Series switches now offer Identity Based Network Services (IBNS) through a series of 802.1x extensions. In stark contrast to legacy, static access network ports, IBNS provides a new generation of network access in which intelligent network services are dynamically applied to user ports to improve security, mobility, and productivity.

And now voice-over-IP (VoIP) deployments are easier than ever with Auto quality of service (QoS) VoIP support, which optimally handles VoIP traffic according to the specifications in Cisco Architecture for Voice, Video and Integrated Data (AVVID).

Enhancements to the embedded Web-based network management software in the Cisco Catalyst 3550 and 2950 Series, the Cisco Cluster Management Suite (CMS), save users time and money by allowing them to even more simply and efficiently set up and manage their networks.

New Features in Cisco IOS Release 12.1(12C)EA1

The following features will be delivered in the initial release of Cisco IOS Software Release 12.1(12c)EA1.

Table 1  Cisco IOS Software Release 12.1(12c)EA1 New Features

Cisco IOS 12.1(12c)EA1 Feature	Cisco Catalyst 3550-EMI	Cisco Catalyst 3550-SMI	Cisco Catalyst 2950-EI	Cisco Catalyst 2950-SI	Description
Security
802.1x with ACL Assignment	Yes	Yes	No	No	Applies user-specific security policies regardless of where the user is connected.
802.1x with VLAN Assignment	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Allows user-specific VLAN assignment regardless of where the user is connected.
802.1x with VVID	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Permits IP phone access to the voice VLAN irrespective of the authorized or unauthorized state of the port.
Kerberos	Yes	Yes	No	No	Authenticates users and network services using a trusted third party to perform secure verification.
SSH	Already Supported	Already Supported	Yes	No	Encrypts administration traffic during Telnet sessions.
SNMPv3 (crypto)	Already Supported	Already Supported	Yes	No	Authenticates and encrypts packets over the network and provides security features such as message integrity, authentication, and encryption.
802.1x and Port Security	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Allows administrators to control the number or exact set of hosts able to access the network via an 802.1x port in Multiple-Host mode.
Manageability/Monitoring
SPAN for Intrusion Detection	Yes	Yes	No	No	Switch Port Analyzer (SPAN) for Cisco Secure Intrusion Detection System (IDS) support allows the IDS to take action when an intruder is detected.
802.3ad (LACP)	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Allows the creation of Ethernet channeling with devices that conform to IEEE 802.3ad.
Layer 2 Trace Route	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Eases troubleshooting by identifying the physical path that a packet follows.
Show Interface Capabilities	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Allows users to quickly know what features may be configured on any particular interface.
Quality of Service
Auto QoS for Voice	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Detects Cisco IP phones and automatically configures the switch for the appropriate classification and egress queuing.

Table 2  New Features in Cisco CMS Software

Feature	Description
ACL/Multicast Reports	Provides detailed statistics regarding ACL and Multicast behavior and performance.
Port picker	Allows for multiple ways, both textual and graphical, to quickly find the correct port for viewing or configuration.
Troubleshooting toolbox (Ping, L2/3 traceroute)	Traditional troubleshooting tools and the new L2 traceroute are supported for quick problem diagnoses.
Time-based ACLs	Quick and easy setup of time-based ACLs.
Java plug-in 1.4 support	Support for the latest Java plug-in.
Netscape 6.2 support	Continuing support for the Netscape browser.
Performance improvements	Improved response time when obtaining device status and performing configuration.

Table 3  Products Supported with this Release

Cisco Catalyst 3550 Enhanced Multilayer Image	Cisco Catalyst 3550 Standard Multilayer Image	Cisco Catalyst 2950 Enhanced Image	Cisco Catalyst 2950 Standard Image
•3550-12G •3550-12T •3550-24-EMI •3550-24PWR-EMI •3550-48-EMI •3550-24-FX-SMI with EMI upgrade •3550-24-DC-SMI with EMI upgrade	•3550-24-SMI •3550-24PWR-SMI •3550-48-SMI •3550-24-FX-SMI •3550-24-DC-SMI	•2950T-24 •2950C-24 •2950G-12-EI •2950G-24-EI •2950G-48-EI •2950G-24-EI-DC	•2950-12 •2950-24 •2950SX-24

Additional Resources

Software Download - Software available December, 2002

Cisco Catalyst 3550 Series Software Download: http://www.cisco.com/pcgi-bin/tablebuild.pl/cat3550
Cisco Catalyst 2950 Series Software Download: http://www.cisco.com/pcgi-bin/tablebuild.pl/cat2950

Due to export restrictions on strong cryptography software, a separate image is required for the cryptographic features (SSH, SNMPv3, Kerberos). These software images can be downloaded from the same location as above.

For more information on the Cisco Catalyst 3550 Series:

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/hw/switches/ps646/index.html

For more information on the Cisco Catalyst 2950 Series:

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/hw/switches/ps628/

For more information on the Release Notes:

http://www.cisco.com/univercd/cc/td/doc/product/lan/c3550/index.htm

http://www.cisco.com/univercd/cc/td/doc/product/lan/cat2950/index.htm

Securing the LAN with Catalyst 3550 and 2950 Series Switches:

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/hw/switches/ps628/prod_presentation_list.html

Identity-Based Networking Services and IEEE 802.1x Information:

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/netsol/ns340/ns394/ns171/ns75/networking_solutions_sub_solution_home.html

Support

Cisco IOS software release 12.1(12c)EA1 follows the standard Cisco support policy as indicated in the following link, http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/products_end-of-life_policy.html

Software Image Migration Guide

The figure below displays Cisco IOS 12.1(12c)EA1 release functionality relative to the 12.1 and 12.1E releases. This diagram identifies the recommended migration path. For more information about the Cisco IOS Software release process, please see Product Bulletin #537 (http://www.cisco.com/warp/public/cc/pd/iosw/iore/prodlit/537_pp.htm).

Figure 1

Cisco IOS Release 12.1EA Release Train