xvi
Introduction
This book is intended for all network engineers who deal with Catalyst switches and specifically for those
looking for a deeper understanding of the QoS capabilities of those switches. In addition, any network engi-
neer responsible for end-to-end QoS policies in a Cisco network will find, either now or in the near future,
the need to thoroughly understand Catalyst QoS.
Besides the configuration syntax information provided in this book, the authors have made every attempt to
discuss common practices and provide case studies. This treatment of the subject matter provides readers
with more than just commands for configuring QoS on Catalyst switches; specifically, the authors wanted to
make sure that readers understand the reasons for certain policy decisions, as those decisions would relate to
a production environment.
Motivation for This Book
After countless hours spent trying to locate various pieces of information for our customers, the authors
realized that there was not a good Catalyst QoS book anywhere to be found. Rather than continue to answer
the same questions, we decided to publish our collection of the most commonly requested information plus
some not-so-common information that would give readers a strong foundation in Catalyst QoS.
Goal of This Book
The purpose of this book is to provide readers who have a curiosity about Catalyst QoS, and end-to-end QoS
involving Catalyst switches, with a well-rounded baseline of information about the RFCs involved in QoS,
the configuration steps for enabling QoS, and the command syntax for fine-tuning the operation of QoS on
Catalyst switches. In addition, the authors want to make sure that our readers walk away with more than
command syntax; after completing this book, readers should actually be prepared to deploy Catalyst QoS in
a production environment.
Prerequisites
Although anyone can read this book, the authors assume reader understanding of some fundamental net-
working concepts discussed in this book. If you do not have basic knowledge in the following areas, you
might have trouble understanding certain examples and concepts presented in this text:
•
Cisco IOS—Basic syntax
• Cisco Catalyst OS (CatOS)—Basic syntax
•
Access-control list (ACL) configuration
•
Virtual LANs (VLANs)
• IP addressing
•
Routing protocols—Basic syntax and concepts
• TCP/UDP port assignments
xvii
How This Book Is Organized
Although this book could be read cover to cover, it is designed to be flexible and enable you to move easily
between chapters and sections of chapters to cover just the material that you need more work with. Each
chapter stands by itself; however, most chapters reference earlier chapter material. Overall, therefore, the
order in the book is an excellent sequence to follow.
The material covered in this book is as follows:
• Chapter 1, Quality of Service: An Overview—This chapter defines quality of service
(QoS), as it pertains to Cisco networks, provides a general overview of the necessity for
QoS in multiservice networks, and discusses various QoS models. Several of the key
RFCs pertaining to IP QoS are also explored in this chapter.
• Chapter 2, End-to-End QoS: Quality of Service at Layer 3 and Layer 2—This chapter
explores QoS components such as congestion management, congestion avoidance, traffic
conditioning, and link efficiency. This chapter also explores per-hop behaviors in the
differentiated services architecture and includes an entry-level discussion of QoS on
Catalyst platforms. The Catalyst platform discussion also cotains discussions of the
Catalyst voice VLAN and trust concept.
• Chapter 3, Overview of QoS Support on Catalyst Platforms and Exploring QoS on
the Catalyst 2900XL, 3500XL, and Catalyst 4000 CatOS Family of Switches—This
chapter provides a basic overview of QoS support on each platform. In addition, a detailed
explanation of QoS feature supported is provided for the Catalyst 2900XL, 3500XL, and
Catalyst 4000 CatOS switches.
• Chapter 4, QoS Support on the Catalyst 5000 Family of Switches—This chapter
discusses the limited hardware and software feature support for QoS on the Catalyst 5000
family of switches. In addition, concepts such as multilayer switches are explained in this
chapter.
• Chapter 5, Introduction to the Modular QoS Command-Line Interface—This
chapter discusses the need for the MQC and the steps required to configure QoS
mechanisms using the MQC. In addition to providing an explanation of the commands
necessary for configuration, this chapter also provides sample show command output for
the various commands needed to verify the functionality of the configuration.
• Chapter 6, QoS Features Available on the Catalyst 2950 and 3550 Family of
Switches—This chapter covers QoS feature support on both the Catalyst 2950 and 3550
family of switches. The QoS examples in this chapter present these switches as access
layer switches. This chapter also includes an Auto-QoS discussion for those switches
applicable to Voice over IP.
• Chapter 7, QoS Features Available on the Catalyst 4000 IOS Family of Switches and
the Catalyst G-L3 Family of Switches—This chapter covers QoS feature support on the
Catalyst 4000 IOS family of switches and the Catalyst G-L3 switches. The Catalyst G-L3
switches include the Catalyst 2948G-L3, 4908G-L3, and the WS-X4232-L3 Layer 3
services module for the Catalyst 4000 CatOS family of switches.
xviii
• Chapter 8, QoS Support on the Catalyst 6500—This chapter focuses on the QoS
architecture for the Catalyst 6500 series platform. Specifically, it demonstrates how QoS
on the Catalyst 6500 can support voice and other mission-critical applications in a
converged environment. The chapter further demonstrates configuring QoS features using
both CatOS and Cisco IOS.
• Chapter 9, QoS Support on the Catalyst 6500 MSFC and FlexWAN—This chapter
discusses the QoS capabilities of the FlexWAN and MSFC in the Catalyst 6500. The
chapter shows how the FlexWAN and MSFC extend the Catalyst 6500’s QoS capabilities
to the MAN and WAN. Examples demonstrate configuring QoS using the MQC available
in Cisco IOS.
• Chapter 10, End-to-End QoS Case Studies—This chapter presents end-to-end QoS
case studies using a typical campus network design. The network topology illustrates QoS
end-to-end using the Catalyst 2950, 3550, 4500 IOS, 6500 switches.
This page intentionally left blank This page intentionally left blank
..................Content has been hidden....................
You can't read the all page of ebook, please click here login for view all page.