Cisco 2811 router being used as a Terminal Switch... ever heard of this?
I got called for a contract assignment, doing some work in a nice 25,000+ square foot data center for a couple months. One thing I noticed was a lot of 2811 routers in use. I have those in my home CCNA lab. These 2811s had a large module card installed that had room for 4 wide rectangular cables coming out of it. Each cable branched into 8 Ethernet cables, I believe. Didn't count them exactly. One of the guys I was working with called it a "Terminal Switch" to provide access to switches and other network gear remotely. I've heard of Terminal Servers, but not Terminal Switches. Is this some function that essentially combines a router and switch in one box?
Comments
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networker050184
Mod Posts: 11,962 Mod
Yeah I'd assume he meant terminal server.
You can combine a router and switch in one box, but that's not likely what he was talking about.An expert is a man who has made all the mistakes which can be made. -
clarson
Member Posts: 903 ■■■■□□□□□□
probably has a nm-32a network module that has 4 octal cable connections.
he probably meant to say terminal server. their nameing procedure probably specifies TS somewhere in the name of the hardware. And, being he probably is working a whole lot more on switches than servers. he just said terminal switch.
as long as everyone knows what your talking about, the name doesn't really matter.
while routers do have modules and wics that support switching capabilities, they are easily recognized by the "x" number of rj-45 ports. -
hurricane1091
Member Posts: 919 ■■■■□□□□□□
Yeah, it's a terminal server and it's smart. Saved me booty in the past and I had a giant lab built with the TS being on the network at my last job so I could reach the lab from anywhere. I have used switch modules in routers for small offices though.
