on can be easier to understand for peo- ple who do not have experience with IOS layer-3 switches, but for those who are used to IOS-based switches like Catalyst 3550s and 3750s, the need to switch between operating systems can be burdensome and confusing. Because all of the new Cisco layer-3 switches (such as the 3550 and the 3750) run only IOS, learning the native IOS way of thinking is a smart move, as that's clearly the direction Cisco is taking. At one point, Cisco actually announced plans to discontinue CatOS, but there was such an uproar from die-hard CatOS users that the plans were scrubbed. As a result, CatOS is still alive and well. Another advantage of CatOS over IOS is the concise way in which it organizes infor- mation. An excellent example is the show port command in CatOS: Switch-CatOS# sho port Status Duplex Speed Type Trunk connected trunk 1000BaseSX Trunk connected trunk 1000BaseSX Trunk connected trunk 1000BaseSX Trunk connected trunk 1000BaseSX Web-1-E1 connected 20 a-full a-100 10/100BaseTX Web-2-E1 connected 20 a-full a-100 10/100BaseTX Web-3-E1 connected 20 10/100BaseTX Web-4-E1 connected 20 10/100BaseTX Web-5-E1 connected a-full a-100 10/100BaseTX Web-6-E1 connected 20 a-full a-100 10/100BaseTX Web-7-E1 connected 20 a-full a-100 10/100BaseTX App-1-E1 connected 40 a-full a-100 10/100BaseTX App-2-E1 connected 40 a-full a-100 10/100BaseTX 3/10 App-3-E1 connected 40 a-full a-100 10/100BaseTX 3/11 App-4-E1 connected 40 a-full a-100 10/100BaseTX notconnect 10/100BaseTX notconnect 10/100BaseTX 3/14 DB-1-E1 connected 10/100BaseTX 3/15 DB-2-E1 connected 50 a-full a-100 10/100BaseTX 3/16 DB-3-E1 connected 50 a-full a-100 10/100BaseTX Here, on one screen, we can see the port, the port's name (if any), its status, what VLAN it is associated with, the speed and duplex mode, the auto-negotiation status, and the port type. IOS has nothing that directly compares to this command. Instead, the user must piece together the information from multiple sources. One of the best commands to start with is show ip in