Cisco recently announced theCisco Catalyst 6840-Xbackbone switch to address new network backbone needs, especially in space constrained deployments.

According to the Visual Networking Index, Network traffic has grown exponentially over the last several years, and this trend is expected to continue into the foreseeable future. By 2018, there will be over 20 billion networked devices, a 100% increase from 10 billion in 2011. Business IP traffic is expected to reach 13.1 exabytes per month in 2016^[1].

While devices grow in number, wireless connectivity speed is increasing. Gigabit wireless (802.11ac) enables a network that is three times faster due to its 1.3 Gbps capacity.  802.11ac Wave 2 more than doubles that.  Thus, the bottleneck is moving "up the network" from wireless AP to the access uplinks. With 1G becoming the standard for access switch ports, access switch uplinks will need to move to ubiquitous 10G and 40G.

To help improve business, networks must be capable of scaling well beyond the needs of today to deal with the traffic of tomorrow while at the same time providing investment protection.  While most Enterprise network engineers agree with this approach, the actual number of enterprises moving in this direction is still relatively small. According to a report published by the Dell'Oro Group, it's not a technology issue -there are plenty of products on the market to handle 10G -but the economics of the network upgrade remain the key challenges, such as equipment cost, expense of upgrading and future proofing.

Cisco is changing those economics by offering easy, cost effective, network upgrades to support the explosion of mobile devices and video applications. TheCisco Catalyst 6840-X Series Switch is a prime example.

The Catalyst 6840-Xis a 2RU fixed backbone switchwith a line rate of 10G downlinks and 10G /40G uplinks for high bandwidth applications and video. The Catalyst 6840-X is cost effective and is also the smallest MPLS aggregator in the Catalyst Family and offers models with 16 to 40 ports. This is the industry's most feature rich fixed switch with 15 years of Catalyst 6500/6800 innovations and feature depth built into it day one.

Join us on for a free, live 60-minute webcast entitled, "Get More for Less with the New Cisco Catalyst 6840-X Series Switch," to  learn how this small but mighty fixed backbone switch enables you to accelerate traffic all across your campus with plenty of support for high-bandwidth applications.  The webcast will cover:

• Native 40G connectivity to eliminate traffic slowdowns
• Simplified switch deployment with Cisco Instant Access
• Increased network visibility with Cisco IOS Flexible NetFlow
• Enhanced security with Cisco TrustSec
• A peak at future Catalyst switches
• Live Q&A

Join us and see why the Cisco Catalyst 6840-X Series Switch can help you improve your backbone and improve your business.

Register here and we'll see you on September 1st.

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