Axia-Approved Ethernet Switches Legacy

We are often asked which switches work best with Axia IP-Audio Networks. The answer is “that depends”—primarily on the size of the system you're planning.

If you want to build a conventional Ethernet network for your Axia studios, we recommend Cisco and Huawei switches to suit the needs of different-sized installations. Why? Axia introduced Broadcasting to Audio over IP in 2003. We have thousands of installations and have tested a number of Ethernet switches since our original development work on Livewire began. Our experience with Cisco has been very good. We have recently certified a few versions of Huawei switches and believe that they will be a good alternative for customers who do not have access to Cisco. After all, this is your program audio we’re talking about, the Ethernet switch is central to the proper functionality of your AoIP network. Uptime in this critical application is vital. 

With the plethora of network adapters available, there are far too many for us to test them all. For reliable operation we recommend picking network cards that are supported by your PC vendor; have specific drivers for the operating system you’re running; support 1GB connections; and if possible do not use “shared” resources with video or other PC subsystems. We find that “add-in” network cards provide the best opportunity for successful operation, but in many cases the “built-in” variety work just fine. We find this especially true in server-based hardware.

Switches Commonly Used in Axia Systems

Here's a full, long-as-your-arm list of switches we've approved for use in Axia systems (so far). There's a lot of choices, and they can be bewildering! An Axia Applications Engineer will be happy to assist you in determining the correct switch for your application – please contact us for assistance.

For single-studio applications:

Cisco Catalyst WS-C2960CG-8TC-L Compact Switches are perfect for small applications, like single-studio facilities, transmitter-building networks or home production setups. It's a fan-free, small-footprint switch with eight 10/100/1000 Ethernet ports and two dual-purpose Gigabit ports; can be rack-mounted with an accessory kit. Because all eight ports are 1000Base-T capable, it can also be used as a small edge switch in larger facilities. It does not contain PoE capability, but can "pass-through" PoE supplied by an external power supply or another PoE-capable switch.

Cisco Catalyst WS-C3560CG-8PC-S Compact Switch is another small form-factor Gigabit switch, with the added benefit of PoE+ capability. Like its brother the C2960G-8TC (above), it is ideal as an edge switch, or for single-studio installations. It is fan-free and has 8 100/1000 Gigabit ports and 2 1G copper or SFP ports for trunking.

For small and medium-sized studio networks:

Cisco Catalyst 2960 Series Switches provide 10/100 Ethernet and Gigabit connectivity for one or two studios.

• Catalyst WS-C2960S-48TS-L has 48 10/100/1000 + 4 SFP ports, LAN Base Image

• Catalyst WS-C2960S-24TS-L has 24 10/100/1000 + 4 SFP ports, LAN Base Image

Switches with PoE (Power over Ethernet) capability:

• Catalyst WS-C2960S-48LPS-L has 48 Ethernet 10/100/1000 PoE+ ports, 4 One Gigabit Ethernet SFP ports, 730 Watts of PoE power, LAN Base Image

• Catalyst WS-C2960-24PC-L has 24 Ethernet 10/100 PoE ports, 2 Dual Purpose Gigabit Ethernet Uplinks, 370 Watts of PoE power, LAN Base Image.

• Catalyst WS-C2960S-24PS-L has 24 Ethernet 10/100/1000 PoE+ ports, 4 One Gigabit Ethernet SFP ports, 370 Watts of PoE power, LAN Base Image

For medium-to-large studio networks:

Edge (studio) Ethernet Switches:

Cisco Catalyst 2960 Series Switches provide 10/100 Ethernet and Gigabit connectivity for one or two studios.

• Catalyst WS-C2960-24TC-L has 24 10/100 + 2 Dual Purpose Gigabit Ethernet Uplinks, LAN Base Layer 2

• Catalyst WS-C2960-48TC-L has 48 10/100 + 2 Dual Purpose Gigabit Ethernet Uplinks, LAN Base Image

Switches with PoE (Power over Ethernet) capability:

• Catalyst WS-C2960-48PST-L has 48 Ethernet 10/100 PoE ports, 2 One Gigabit Ethernet SFP ports and 2 fixed Ethernet 10/100/1000 ports, 370 Watts of PoE power, LAN Base Image

• Catalyst WS-C2960-24PC-L has 24 Ethernet 10/100 PoE ports, 2 dual-purpose ports (10/100/1000 or SFP), 370 Watts of PoE power, LAN Base Image

• Catalyst WS-C2960S-48FPS-L has 48 Ethernet 10/100/1000 PoE+ ports, 740W PoE capacity,2 1 Gigabit Ethernet SFP uplink ports, Optional Cisco FlexStack stacking support, LAN Base image

• Catalyst WS-C2960S-48LPS-L has 48 Ethernet 10/100/1000 PoE+ ports, 370W PoE capacity, 2 1 Gigabit Ethernet SFP uplink ports, Optional Cisco FlexStack stacking support, LAN Base image

• Catalyst WS-C2960S-24PS-L has 24 Ethernet 10/100/1000 PoE+ ports, 370W PoE capacity, 2 1 Gigabit Ethernet SFP uplink ports, Optional Cisco FlexStack stacking support, LAN Base image

• Catalyst WS-C2960S-48TS-L has 24 Ethernet 10/100/1000 PoE+ ports, 370W PoE capacity, 2 1 Gigabit Ethernet SFP uplink ports, Optional Cisco FlexStack stacking support, LAN Base image

Dual-purpose Core and Edge Ethernet Switches:

Cisco Catalyst 3560X Switches provide 10/100 Ethernet and Gigabit connectivity and are available with the Enhanced Multilayer Software image (EMI) that makes them perfect for hardware-based IP unicast and IP Multicast routing. Also has advanced QoS functions and centralized administration tools. Good as an edge switch for larger studio systems, or as a core for small to medium studio complexes.

• Catalyst 3560X WS-C3560X-24P-L has 24 10/100/1000 Ethernet ports and Modular 4x1 Gigabit or 2x10 Gigabit uplink ports with 350W AC power supply 1 RU, LAN Base image

• Catalyst 3560X WS-C3560X-48T-L has 48 10/100/1000 Ethernet ports and Modular 4x1 Gigabit or 2x10 Gigabit uplink portswith 350W AC power supply 1 RU, LAN Base image

Switches with PoE (Power over Ethernet) capability:

• Catalyst 3560X WS-C3560X-24T-L has 24 10/100/1000 Ethernet ports with PoE+ and Modular 4x1 Gigabit or 2x10 Gigabit uplink ports with 715W dual-modular AC power supply and 370W PoE capacity. 1 RU, LAN Base image

• Catalyst 3560X WS-C3560X-48T-L has 48 10/100/1000 Ethernet ports with PoE+ and Modular 4x1 Gigabit or 2x10 Gigabit uplink ports with 715W dual-modular AC power supply and 370W PoE capacity. 1 RU, LAN Base image

The Cisco Catalyst WS-C4948E-E may also be used in this role. The 4948E features up to 8,000 IGMP groups, making it an excellent core switch choice. Exceptional performance and reliability with 48 ports of wire-speed 10/100/1000BASE-T and 4 alternative wired ports that can accommodate optional 1000BASE-X, Small Form-Factor Pluggable (SFP+) optics, and optional internal AC or DC 1 + 1 hot-swappable power supplies and a hot-swappable fan tray with redundant fans for exceptional reliability and serviceability.

For "OMG-size" studio networks:

Building the next radio Taj Majal? Switches such as those from the Cisco Catalyst 4500 family have the modularity and scalability that can help prepare your build for today's needs and tomorrow's. We've helped select switches for very large studio complexes built by MPR, Univision, Radio Free Asia and others,

Core Ethernet Switches:

Cisco Catalyst 4500 Series Switches are high-density modular switches that can provide any combination of 10/100/1000/Gigabit ports on copper or fiber interfaces using 24- and 48-port interchangeable line cards . A centralized architecture allows for the easy upgrade of all system ports to higher level functions; includes Web-based management. Very high-performance scalable system with up to 102Mpps nonblocking performance.

• Catalyst 4510R is a 10-slot frame with redundancy capabilities

• Catalyst 4507R is a 7-slot frame with redundancy capabilities

• Catalyst 4506 is a 6-slot frame

• Catalyst 4503 is a 3-slot frame

Cisco Catalyst 4900M Switch provides an ideal solution for space constrained deployments that require high performance wire speed services, high availability, and the modular flexibility of deploying Gigabit Ethernet and 10 Gigabit Ethernet, all in a small 2RU form factor. The 4900M provides low latency, 10/100/1000 Ethernet, 10 Gigabit Ethernet and a top-of-rack access layer switching solution for rack-optimized servers. With a unique semi-fixed architecture, the 4900M provides the flexibility to deploy Gigabit Ethernet now, and cost-effectively migrate to10 Gigabit Ethernet as requirements change.

The Catalyst 4900M offers eight fixed wire-speed 10 Gigabit Ethernet ports, and two half-slots which you can fill with any combination of the following: * 20-port wire-speed 10/100/1000 (RJ-45) half-card * 8-port (2:1) 10 Gigabit Ethernet (X2) half-card (Cisco TwinGig Converter Module compatible) * 4-port wire-speed 10 Gigabit Ethernet (X2) half-card.

Cisco Catalyst 6500 series Switches are Cisco's flagship LAN switching platform. online diagnostics proactively detect hardware and software faults; redundant system components provide hardware-level resiliency. The Catalyst 6500 Series currently supports up to 1152 10/100-Mbps, 576 10/100/1000-Mbps, or 64 10-Gbps Ethernet ports in a single chassis, and system scalability up to 720 Gbps, providing 40 Gbps/slot (half-duplex). Additional choices include 3, 4, 6, 9, and 13-slot chassis options and several WAN interface module options.

"Are those my only choices?"

The switches listed above will be perfect for 99% of all Axia users, but not everyone's needs are the same. Contact an Axia Applications Engineer if you have questions about which switch is right for you.

Have further questions? Reach out to our support team.