ge: when a Catalyst 6500 runs CatOS and also has an CatOS Versus IOS MSFC for Layer-3 functionality, the MSFC is treated like a separate device. The switch runs CatOS for Layer-2 functionality, and the MSFC runs IOS for Layer-3 and above functionality. This separation can be easier to understand for people 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 has taken. 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. I still see CatOS out in the field, but they are disappearing. 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-Cat0S#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 a-full a-100 10/100BaseTX Web-2-E1 connected a-full a-100 10/100BaseTX Web-3-E1 connected 10/100BaseTX Web-4-E1 connected 10/100BaseTX Web-5-E1 connected a-full a-100 10/100BaseTX Web-6-E1 connected a-full a-100 10/100BaseTX Web-7-E1 connected a-full a-100 10/100BaseTX App-1-E1 connected a-full a-100 10/100BaseTX App-2-E1 connected a-full a-100 10/100BaseTX App-3-E1 connected a-full a-100 10/100BaseTX App-4-E1 connected a-full a-100 10/100BaseTX notconnect 10/100BaseTX notconnect 10/100BaseTX DB-1-E1 connected 10/100BaseTX DB-2-E1 connected a-full a-100 10/100BaseTX 3/16 DB-3-E1 connected a-full a-100 10/100BaseTX Here, on one screen, we can see the port, the port's name (if any), its status, which VLAN it is associated with, the speed and duplex mode, the au