Cisco Catalyst 3750 Series Switches SFP Port Connections
Updated at Oct 15th 20211 min read
The Cisco Catalyst 3750 series switches have impressed many network engineers in the past days when 10G back-bone at full steam. With a range of Fast Ethernet and Gigabit Ethernet configurations, they can serve as both powerful access layer switches for medium enterprise wiring closets and as backbone switches for mid-sized networks. This post will offer detailed information about Cisco Catalyst 3750 series switches and their port connections.
Figure 1: FS Test Assured Program
Cisco Catalyst 3750 Series Switches Introduction
Cisco Catalyst 3750 is a series of switches providing flexible configuration and supports converged network pattern, which makes the management and organization of the network become easier and more flexible. One of the biggest characteristics of Cisco 3750 Network Switch is that they are armed with StackWise ports on their rear panel that can support Cisco StackWise technology (as shown below). With StackWise technology, up to nine physical Catalyst 3750 switches can be interconnected into one logical switch with a high performance of 32G or 128G (by Catalyst 3750-E switch series). The following picture shows the rear panel of a Cisco Catalyst 3750 switch.
Cisco Catalyst 3750 Series Switches Models Comparison
Like other series switches, the Cisco 3750 series 24/48 port switch is also composed of different models. The following table shows the list of Cisco Catalyst 3750 series models:
Models | Ports |
WS-C3750-48TS-E | 48 10/100 ports + 4 SFP-based Gigabit Ethernet ports |
WS-C3750-48TS-S | 48 10/100 ports + 4 SFPs |
WS-C3750-24TS-E | 24 10/100 ports + 2 SFP-based Gigabit Ethernet ports |
WS-C3750-24TS-S | 24 10/100 ports + 2 SFP-based Gigabit Ethernet ports |
WS-C3750G-24TS-E | 24 10/100/1000 ports |
WS-C3750G-24TS-S | 24 10/100/1000 ports |
WS-C3750G-24T-E | 24 10/100/1000 ports |
WS-C3750G-24T-S | 24 10/100/1000 ports |
Connecting Cisco Catalyst 3750 Series in Network
As mentioned that Cisco Catalyst 3750 series switches have different ports including RJ45 ports and SFP ports which can support data rate ranging from 10M to 1G. And cables and connectors used to connect the switches to the network are also different depending on the form and data rate of the ports.
10/100/1000 Ports Connections
The 10/100/1000 Ethernet ports on Cisco Catalyst 3750 switches uses standard RJ45 connectors, which are bases on copper cables (shown in the following picture). Here are some tips for selecting the related copper cables. When connecting Catalyst 3750 to workstations, servers, routers, connect a straight-through cable to an RJ45 connector on the front panel; When connecting to switches or repeaters, use a crossover cable; When connecting to 1000Base-T-compatible devices, be sure to use a twisted four-pair, Cat5 cable.
SFP Module Ports Connections
Some of the Cisco Catalyst 3750 series switches have several SFP module ports on the front panel. By using Gigabit Ethernet SFP modules, Gigabit copper or fiber optic uplinks can be built. Cisco Catalyst 3750 switches SFP ports can support a variety of SFP modules. These ports can be connected with fiber optic SFP modules like 1000Base-LX and 1000Base-SX and copper SFP modules like 1000Base-T. The following picture illustrates the connections with fiber optic SFP module port and Copper SFP module port from left to right separately.
Cisco Catalyst 3750 Series Switches Cabling Solution
More related cables and modules that Cisco Catalyst 3750 switches supporting are listed in the following chart for your reference.
Port Type | Data Rate | Connectors/Modules Cables | |
RJ45 Ports | 10BASE-T Ports | RJ-45 connectors, two-pair Cat 3, 4, or 5 unshielded twisted-pair (UTP) | |
10BASE-T PoE Ports | RJ-45 connectors , two-pair Cat 3, 4, or 5 UTP cabling power pins 1, 2 (negative) and 3, 6 (positive) | ||
100BASE-TX Ports | RJ-45 connectors, two-pair Cat 5 UTP | ||
100BASE-TX PoE Ports | RJ-45 connectors, two-pair Cat 5 UTP, power on pins 1, 2 (negative) and 3, 6 (positive) | ||
SFP Ports | 100M | LC duplex, MMF | |
LC duplex, MMF | |||
LC simplex, SMF | |||
1G | LC duplex, MMF | ||
LC duplex, SMF | |||
DWDM SFP | |||
LC simplex, SMF | |||
RJ-45, Cat 5 | |||
Conclusion
Being an innovative product line that improves LAN operating efficiency, the Cisco Catalyst 3750 series switches represent the next generation in desktop switches. They allow customers to build a unified, highly resilient switching system. Thus, many companies use Cisco Catalyst 3750 series switches as layer 3 switches. When connecting Cisco Catalyst 3750 series switches to your network, remember to use the proper cables and transceivers for better performance.