How to choose Cisco Licenses?

Have you ever looked at some of your data center's equipment and wondered, "What does this number even mean?" Almost every day, we stroll around our warehouse and stare at part numbers, wondering the same thing. To help everyone's thoughts (including our own), let's start small and work our way through this labyrinth together, one step at a time. First, you need to understand the Cisco IOS license.

Cisco IOS Licenses

The software used on the great majority of Cisco switches and routers is Cisco's IOS or Internetwork Operating System. Earlier Cisco hardware used the CatOS operating system; however, IOS is now frequently used by the most recent Cisco hardware.

While some manufacturers treat software and licensing separately, Cisco essentially combines the two. Consider this: when you install IOS on a router or switch, you're also installing a license at the same time.

The installation of an IOS license is simple. The IOS is delivered in the form of a single picture file. To install it, simply download the image, copy it to the device in question, then reboot the hardware using the image. Rather than downloading a patch or update for the IOS image, updating your system merely entails downloading a new IOS image and replacing the old one. It can be confusing sometimes.

So, this guide below should help you sort through the long string of letters and numbers that you’ll find on your Cisco router or switch.

Today's focus will be on Cisco Catalyst Switches, beginning with this part number:

WS-C3750-48PS-S

(WS-C) (3750) - (48) (PS) - (S)*

*Each parenthesis represents a column in the table below

Note: Different families of switches all have various capabilities and not all ports/functionalities are available in every family.

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