Lehigh Valley Health NetworkLVHN Scholarly Works

Research Scholars Poster Presentation

Cisco Edge UpgradePaul TajiriMessiah College

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Published In/Presented AtTajiri, P., (2015, July 31) Cisco Edge Upgrade. Poster presented at LVHN Research Scholar Program Poster Session, Lehigh ValleyHealth Network, Allentown, PA.

© 2015 Lehigh Valley Health Network

Department of I/S Infrastructure, Lehigh Valley Health Network, Allentown, Pennsylvania

The overall structure that the enterprise network consists of is called the DWDM (Dense Wave Division Multiplexing ) Ring.

Layer 1: The physical fiber optic connections between the various ten locations, with each site possessing Ciena DWDMs (physical fiber layout seen in Optical Fiber Map).

• Originally limited to physical fiber optic cables that traveled from site to site (seen in DWDM Ring Diagram as Black Connection)

• Upgraded Layer 1: logically connected all sites to Data Center (Red Connection), all sites to 1770 Data Recovery (Orange Connection), and between Data Center to 1770 Data Recovery (Purple Connection)

Layer 3: The Network Layer consisting of the core closets containing the Cisco Nexus/Catalyst core switches. At this layer, OSPF (Open Short Path First) protocol determines the shortest path between the core closets when sending packets of data.

Layer 2: the DataLink Layer consisting of the access closets containing the edge switches and data patch ports. The main purpose of Layer 2 is to gather the MAC address of each device connected to the network.

A switch is a hardware device used to connect computers, printers, and servers within a building or campus.7 The purpose of an edge switch is to connect the many user-devices to the network, while the purpose of a core switch is to manage the high volume of data traffic in an efficient manner and connect one to servers and the internet service provider.8

The added benefits of Cisco Catalyst 2960xs for the LVHN enterprise network:

Cisco Edge Upgrade

• Behind LVHN and the healthcare it provides for the community is an enterprise network that allows the many devices of LVHN to intercommunicate and connect to applications and the internet seamlessly.

• Over 30,000 devices connected to LVHN’s network at ten major sites

• Purpose of enterprise network: to manage devices, help maintain the speed of data communication, limit technical difficulties of users, preserve information security.

• Recently, the I/S Infrastructure team has begun upgrading the edge switches. These edge switches are at the end of the network and are what data patch ports and devices connect to.

An inventory of all the current network closets was needed in order to supplement the Infrastructure team’s plan of upgrading the Avaya Baystack 5510s to the Cisco Catalyst 2960xs. This inventory included the following:

Current Components:

• Power Supply

• Number of Data Patch Ports

• Available Fiber/Type of Fiber

Along with this inventory, the rack management within each closet was removed in order to help stage the transition to the new Cisco switches.

The Results of Inventory:

• Over 400 new Cisco 2960xs needed to replace Avaya 5510s

• Cost of order for 2960xs is about $2 million (not including remote sites, modules, SFPs, etc.)

• Once new edge switches are installed, Cisco Edge Upgrade will be complete

The objective of this research project is twofold:

1. Piece together the multilayered topology of the enterprise network and obtain a holistic understanding of its function within LVHN

2. Identify the benefits of the new Cisco Catalyst 2960x edge switches over the current Avaya Baystack 5510 edge switches and competitors, and begin implementation of the Cisco Edge Upgrade

Currently, the LVHN enterprise network is not fully utilizing its potential capacity. Limitations are found with the Avaya edge switches:

• Operate at only two 1 Gb edge links, not possible two 10 Gb edge links

• Resources wasted in placing cross-connects every time a data patch port goes live

• Network closet organization hectic with Avaya switch setup

Through the Cisco Edge Upgrade many improvements to the network include:

• Improvement of power efficiency and reduction in operation costs1

• Operate with potential two 10 Gb links, greatly increasing data transmission capacity

• Remote switch port monitoring will conserve resources and increase security

• Troubleshooting and management improved through provided queue level statistics2

• Greater MTBF (mean time between failure) than competitors by at least 5 years3-6

With all of these added benefits and the results of the inventory known, the I/S Infrastructure team will complete the edge switch upgrade and completely transition to the Cisco Catalyst 2960x switches by the end of the 2016 fiscal year.

Paul Tajiri; Christian Caputo, BS

Background

Objective

Methodology Results

Conclusion

REFERENCES 1. Miercom. “Power Efficient Switches.” Lab Testing Summary Report. Rep. no. 131112. Nov. 2013: 1-7. PDF File.

2. Miercom. “1GE Edge Switch Study.” Switch White Paper. Rep. no. DR130917L. Jul. 2014: 1-38. PDF File.

3. Cisco Catalyst 2960-X Series Switches Data Sheet. (n.d.). Retrieved July 13, 2015.

4. Avaya Ethernet Routing Switch 5500 Series Data Sheet. (n.d.). Retrieved July 13, 2015.

5. HP A7500 Switch Series Data Sheet. (n.d.). Retrieved July 13, 2015.

6. EX4500 ETHERNET SWITCH with Virtual Chassis Technology Data Sheet. (n.d.). Retrieved July 13, 2015.

7. What is a Network Switch vs. a Router? (2014, July 18). Retrieved July 13, 2015.

8. Snyder, J. (2013, October 1). Understanding the Different Layers of Routing and Switching. Retrieved July 13, 2015.

IMAGE ATTRIBUTION 1. The Cisco Catalyst 2960-X Series Switch photo was taken from Router Switch Blog and is released into the public domain.

2. The Avaya ERS 5500 Series photo was taken from Wikipedia and is released into the public domain.

Cisco Catalyst 2960x Avaya Baystack 5510

Upgrade Components:

• Number of New Cisco 2960xs

• PDU (Power Distribution Unit) Needed

• Amount of Fiber Needed

Research of Enterprise Network

• Ability to provide two 10 Gb links between

access closets and core closets, compared

to two 1 Gb links provided by current Avaya

switches

• MTBF much greater for Cisco than

competitors (Graph 3)3-6

• Ability to remotely enable and disable ports

and improved monitoring security

• Power Efficiency and Operation Costs

(Graphs 1 & 2)1

• Stacking characteristics are superior to

competitors2

• Success of data transmission consistent and

provides essential troubleshooting

information when traffic is dropped2

Investigation of Cisco Catalyst 2960x

Research of Edge Switch

0 5 10 15 20 25 30

Juniper EX 4200

HP A7500 Switch Series

Avaya 5500 Series Switch

Cisco Cataylst 2960x

13.58

19

21.2

26.64

MTBF (Years)

Type of Switch VS. Mean Time Between Failure

Graph 1

Graph 2

Graph 3 Cisco Catalyst 2960-X & 2960-XR Switches

Power Efficiency – Watts/Gbps at 100% Load

Cisco Catalyst 2960-X & 2960-XR Switches

Annual Cost compared to Industry Average

© 2015 Lehigh Valley Health Network

Department of I/S Infrastructure, Lehigh Valley Health Network, Allentown, Pennsylvania

© 2015 Lehigh Valley Health Network

Department of I/S Infrastructure, Lehigh Valley Health Network, Allentown, Pennsylvania