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Catalyst 2970 Switch Hardware Installation Guide
OL-6422-01
Chapter 1 Product Overview
Front Panel Description
Note
100BASE-TX and 1000BASE-T traffic requires Category 5 cable. 10BASE-T
traffic can use Category 3 or Category 4 cables.
When connecting the switch to workstations, servers, routers, and Cisco IP
Phones, be sure that the cable is a straight-through cable. When connecting the
switch to switches or hubs, use a crossover cable. When using a straight-through
or crossover cable for 1000BASE-T connections, be sure to use a twisted
four-pair, Category 5 cable for proper operation. Pinouts for the cables are
described in
Appendix B, “Connector and Cable Specifications.”
Note
You can use the
mdix auto
interface configuration command in the CLI to enable
the automatic medium-dependent interface crossover (Auto-MDIX) feature.
When the Auto-MDIX feature is enabled, the switch detects the required cable
type for copper Ethernet connections and configures the interfaces accordingly.
Therefore, you can use either a crossover or a straight-through cable for
connections to a copper 10/100/1000 or 1000BASE-T SFP module port on the
switch, regardless of the type of device on the other end of the connection.
The Auto-MDIX feature is enabled by default on switches running Cisco IOS
Release 12.2(18)SE or later. For releases between Cisco IOS
Release 12.1(14)EA1 and 12.2(18)SE, the Auto-MDIX feature is disabled by
default. For configuration information for this feature, see the switch software
configuration guide or the switch command reference
.
SFP Module Slots
The Catalyst 2970 switch uses Gigabit Ethernet SFP modules to establish
fiber-optic connections. These transceiver modules are field-replaceable,
providing the uplink interfaces when inserted in an SFP module slot. You can use
the SFP modules for Gigabit uplink connections to other switches. You use
fiber-optic cables with LC or MT-RJ connectors to connect to a fiber-optic SFP
module. You use Category 5 cable with RJ-45 connectors to connect to a copper
SFP module.