Cisco is one of the leading American networking companies that deal with various computer networking items such as hardware, software, related types of equipment, and other products. It mainly benefits the IT sectors as it manufacturers their related equipment. Here, we will talk about Cisco Nexus Switches and Catalyst Switches in detail.
Cisco Nexus vs Cisco Catalyst
The main difference between Cisco Nexus and Cisco Catalyst switches is their usages. It has been noticed that the Cisco Nexus switches are best suited for the Data Center and on the other hand, the best switches for dist/core are the Cisco Catalyst.
Cisco Nexus switches refer to those Ethernet switches that come with a fixed port network that enables itself to use specifically for the Data Center. It enables its users to visualize a quick and excellent infrastructure for future Data Center Generations.
On the other hand, the switches that regulate multiple types of wireless controllers, network assessment, and network switches are known to be Cisco Catalyst switches. These switches provide their users to manage and customize servers.
Comparison Table Between Cisco Nexus and Catalyst
| Parameters of Comparison | Cisco Nexus | Cisco Catalyst |
| Launch | Cisco Nexus was initially launched on 28 January 2008. | In the year 1999, the Cisco Catalyst switch was established by its owners. |
| Number of Ports | There are about 16 ports on a Cisco Nexus. | There are comparatively fewer ports on Cisco Catalyst which counts about 8 ports. |
| Operating Systems | Cisco Nexus switches use NX-OS as its main operating system for its network. | iOS is the system that helps to operate Cisco Catalyst. |
| Admin Account | Cisco Nexus is designed with an Admin’s Account. | Admin Account is never supported by Cisco Catalyst. |
| Sign In | To sign in through Cisco Nexus the users require both passwords as well as usernames. | There are two ways to sign in to Cisco Catalyst, where we can only use passwords and on the other, we need to use both passwords and username to sign in. |
What is Cisco Nexus?
Cisco Nexus is a networking switch that enables the connection of various devices with a particular place. And, Cisco Nexus is a variant of switch that has been established by the Cisco System, and therefore it was put forward on date of 28th January 2008. Cisco Nexus is a highly efficient switch. It requires NX-OS as its main operating system for enabling its users to use its services. And, in the Cisco Nexus switches, there are about 16 ports, by which the users can connect the other devices like printers, computers, servers, etc.
Cisco Nexus supports various other related technologies such as Ethernet, Fiber, Channel, and FCoE. And each switch of the Cisco Nexus interface is termed Ethernet. Also, only LACP can create an Ether channel as it is supported by the Cisco Nexus.
Generally, Cisco Nexus is used for bigger organizations as its switches are highly efficient and advanced. Hence, smaller organizations use other switches as per their requirements. To sign in to Cisco Nexus Switch one requires to use their username and as well as their password, as it carries confidential data of the organization. Therefore, we can say that Cisco Nexus Switches have good security services.
What is Cisco Catalyst?
Under Cisco System, Catalyst is a brand that sells various networking products and the Cisco Catalyst switch is one of the major products manufactured by them. The Cisco Catalyst Switches allow its users to manage and customize their servers accordingly. It requires the iOS system to operate itself. And it has been counted that generally, there are about 8 ports max in a Cisco Catalyst Switch. For the first time, it was launched in the market in the year 1999 and since then it has been in use by several organizations.
The supporting systems of the Cisco Catalyst switches to produce its Ether channels are LACP and PAGP. And, only networking technology that is supported by Cisco Catalyst is Ethernet and no other technology can replace it. To sign in via Cisco Catalyst the user has two options were in the first option the users require to use their username and password and the other option requires only the username to sign in. And the second option is not that safe as anyone can misuse another persons’ username, which can be dangerous for the organization.
Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, or Gigabit Ethernet are a few names used for Cisco Catalyst’s Interfaces. Usually, smaller organizations are mostly recommended to use the Cisco Catalyst switches.
Main Differences Between Cisco Nexus and Cisco Catalyst
- Cisco Nexus was introduced on 28th January 2008 in the market while on the other hand, Cisco Catalyst switches established its existence in the year 1999.
- It has been counted that there are around 16 ports on a Cisco Nexus while on the other hand, only 8 ports come with the Cisco Catalyst.
- NX-OS is the main system to operate the Cisco Nexus while on the other hand, with the help of iOS, the users can operate the Cisco Catalyst.
- There is an availability of the Admin’s account in the Cisco Nexus, while on the other hand, Cisco Catalyst is absent with the Admin’s Account.
- In Cisco Nexus the user can sign in via password and username while on the other hand, to sign in to Cisco Catalyst, the user has to use their both password and username and the other way is by simply using their password.
Conclusion
Computer Networking has become recently become popular, and therefore to run such systems the users require some specific servers, and Cisco Nexus Switch and Cisco Catalyst Switch are amongst them. Both, Cisco Nexus and Cisco Catalyst have been developed by the Cisco System in different years. The usage, ports, operating system, and other related things vary from each other. It depends upon the user and their requirements whether to choose Cisco Nexus or Cisco Catalyst.
References
- https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=6ZagQNuqWh4C&oi=fnd&pg=PR9&dq=cisco+nexus+vs+cisco+catalyst&ots=bqAytiinKZ&sig=u1S5P9UYDFq7vkgrnNQodRuo1TI
- https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/6296914/