Classic CCNA/CCNP Hardware Cisco Catalyst 4908g L3-Switch
the Cisco Catalyst 4908g Layer 3 switch
The 4908g is an "Old School" aggregation switch. Often it would be in a wiring closet linking together trunks from other switches that administered subdivisions of a campus LAN.
A 4908g might be a good piece of equipment for you to have on a shelf as you practice CCNA or CCNP level labwork. And now that it is older and "aging out" of active inventory, it is very inexpensive to buy from eBay. Typical prices are around $50 for a unit (with no modules in it). To almost $300 with modules in all 8 slots, plus shipping.
I got mine (sans modules) for 20 bucks.
The 4908g has 8 gigabit ports. But, if you do buy one, just be sure of what modules might be pre-installed in the unit. If you do wish to work with fiber-optics. You may buy one with some fiber-optic modules in it. Or, if you want to keep your infrastructure in copper... then you will want to get the 1000BaseT (Ethernet) style converter modules for it.
Typical prices for the 1000BaseT modules run from $9 to $14 dollars a-piece.
the Cisco Catalyst 4908g used, on eBay from $50 to $250
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I got a 4908g for $20 on eBay
And that's the primary reason I grabbed it.
I also grabbed 3 of the 1000BASE-T modules for $14 plus shipping... NOT BAD. Now I can do ether-channels through this 4908g-unit that are fairly significant (for a small network).
Besides, I suspect I should be "playing" with fiber more... (LoL I just realized I could also say I "need more fiber"... LoL...) Geek humor. Gotta Love it.
This is a closeup of what a fiber module looks like (installed)
Buy a 1000BASE-T module "USED" ($14) on eBay or "New"
Buy the same style of 1000BASE-T module for $57 from Amazon
Here is a link to Cisco Systems information page on GBIC connectors
- Cisco Gigabit Interface Converter - Cisco
Cisco Systems - the Cisco Gigabit Interface Converter
The usual Modules installed in a 4908g - For up to 62 mile runs
You COULD have a 100km run with a 4908g.
The 4908g was used in (Legacy) Fiber-Optic runs for medium to larger LAN's. The most popular modules were: 1000BASE-T- Ethernet, for twisted-pair copper wire. But for the fiber optic runs you'd use 1000BASE-SX (WS-g5484) then 1000BASE-LX (WS g5486) or the 1000BASE-ZX (WS g5487) for Fiber-optic runs up to several miles long. (see below)
The Cisco 1000BASE-ZX-Gbic, with ordinary single-mode fiber optic link, could span 43 miles (or 70 kilometers) of distance. With a premium single-mode fiber (or dispersion shifted single-mode fiber) distances of 62 miles (100 kilometers) are possible with the 4908g.
Just because this is an older unit, does not mean you couldn't press this into service for an actual network.
You might go with a fiber-optic based infrastructure - converter module. You may have a "small" manufacturing campus you want to interconnect, and this would work nicely. The Cisco 1000BASE-LX/LH GBIC (WS-G5486) allows connections up to 6 miles (or 10 kilometers) over what's termed "SINGLE MODE FIBER" (SMF). And as far as 550 meters over a "MULTI MODE FIBER" (MMF). The Cisco 1000BASE-SX GBIC (WS-G5484) was used for Legacy "MULTI MODE FIBER" (MMF), optic-link spans of up to 1,815 feet (or 550 meters), and on "LASER OPTIMIZED MULTI MODE FIBER" spans of up to 3,281 feet (or 1 kilometer).
But most likely you will use Ethernet for most "GBIC" connections
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