The Catalyst 6000 Family delivers high-performance, multilayer switching solutions for Enterprise and Service Provider networks. Designed to address the increased requirements for gigabit scalability, high-availability, and multilayer switching in backbone/distribution and server-aggregation environments, the Catalyst 6000 Family complements the Catalyst 5000 Family and 8500 Series switches, which continue to provide premier wiring closet and network-core solutions, respectively. Together, the Catalyst Family delivers a wide range of intelligent solutions, enabling internet/intranets for multicast, mission-critical, and voice applications.The Catalyst 6000 Family delivers exceptional scalability and price/performance, supporting a wide range of interface densities, performance, and high-availability options. Its application intelligence and quality-of-service mechanisms enable customers to effectively leverage their network for increased mission-critical applications, such as multicast and ERP, without sacrificing network performance. Coupled with the extensive network services of Cisco IOS, the Catalyst 6000 Family delivers powerful management, user mobility, security, high-availability, and multimedia support required for today's networks.The Catalyst 6000 Family consists of the Catalyst 6000 Series and the Catalyst 6500 Series. Both series support 6- and 9-slot versions, providing a wide range of configuration and price/performance options. Both Catalyst 6000 and 6500 Series switches support a wide range of interface types and densities, to include support for up to 384 10/100 Ethernet, 192 100FX Fast Ethernet, 8 OC12 ATM, and up to 130 Gigabit Ethernet ports - the highest in the industry. The architecture of the Catalyst 6500 Series supports scalable switching bandwidth up to 256 Gbps and scalable multilayer switching up to 170 Mpps. For investment protection, both series support the same suite of supervisors, interface line cards, and common equipment providing a wide range of price/performance options.