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Catalyst

The standard of campus switching and enterprise Wi-Fi, now Wi-Fi 7 too: the office network that holds up everything else.

FOCUS · THE CAMPUS NETWORKSwitches, Wi-Fi 7 and cloud management: the access nobody argues about
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01 · What it is

Cisco Catalyst, made clear.

Catalyst is the backbone of the offices: access and core switches with PoE for phones and APs, wireless up to Wi-Fi 7, and management that today can live in the cloud (Catalyst Center / Meraki dashboard). A well-built campus network disappears from the conversation: nobody talks about what works.

Wi-Fi 7
the current generation: density and latencies for crowded offices
PoE++
up to 90W per port: phones, APs, cameras without power bricks
Cloud mgmt
Catalyst manageable from the cloud dashboard: the network seen from one place
Cisco Catalyst
OFFICIAL CISCO BRANDING · CATALYST
FOTO UFFICIALE CISCO · CATALYST 9300
OFFICIAL CISCO PHOTO · CATALYST 9300
02 · How to use it well

The things that make the difference.

The access network

People and devicesPCs, phones, office IoT
Wi-Fi 7 APs
Access switches
Core & distribution
air · edge · backbone
Catalyst Center / cloudconfiguration and assurance
ISE for access controlwho gets in, where they go
The connected office, without drama

Design before boxes

Radio coverage, VLANs and PoE budget: the design avoids APs bought on gut feeling.

Proactive assurance

The telemetry that says 'the problem is the DHCP, not the Wi-Fi': tickets get closed with causes.

Access segmentation

Users, guests and IoT separated from the port: security begins at the switch.

Planned refreshes

EoL and licenses governed: the network ages well only if someone watches the calendar.

03 · In depth

Catalyst Center, PoE and the access that manages itself

The Catalyst campus network is governed from Catalyst Center (formerly DNA Center): templates and golden images for consistency, SWIM for orchestrated updates, AI Endpoint Analytics profiles the devices, Assurance correlates client and network problems with root causes; underneath, StackWise virtualizes the chassis, UPOE+ powers up to 90W, the 9200/9300/9400 models cover access and distribution; the Essentials/Advantage license decides the features.

  • Catalyst Center — templates, SWIM and assurance: the network as a fleet, not as single switches
  • StackWise — several switches, one logical entity: access HA simplified
  • UPOE+ 90W — Wi-Fi 7 APs, cameras and displays powered by the switch
  • Endpoint Analytics — every device profiled with AI: the basis for the ISE policies
  • Assurance — the root cause instead of the bounced ticket: 'it's the network' ends here
  • SWIM — golden images and orchestrated upgrades: the fleet aligned
04 · Numbers and lifecycle

The numbers that matter.

90W
UPOE+ per port: the edge powered
~7 anni
the typical life of a campus switch: you buy with the roadmap
1
console for thousands of switches
Wi-Fi 7
the current AP generation to enable in PoE and uplinks
The campus is designed in cycles: assessments, templates and planned refreshes — the access network as a service, from our NOC.
05 · Use cases

Where it really pays off.

Offices and sites

The network that holds VoIP, video and cloud without stutters.

High density

Open spaces and classrooms: the Wi-Fi that doesn't collapse at 9:30.

Building IoT

Cameras and sensors powered and segmented by the network.

The access network gets noticed only when it's missing: ours you forget — that's the service.