switches

Basically... manageable switches are more expensive and come with software to control and monitor such options as duplex, priority, bandwidth to each node. Nonmanageble switches are less expensive and do not come with any software (in most cases).

Catalyst Switch (do you mean Cisco's?) -- it's a manageable switch designed for midsize to large enterprise networks needing a multilayer switch with the capacity to handle large amounts of bandwidth and features to manage applications flowing over the network.

Just to qualify the answer above - not all of Cisco's Catalyst switches are multi-layer enterprise switches. The Catalyst line starts with the 12-port 2950 (layer2 only) - multi-layer functionality starts with the 3550-EMI and upwards.

regards,
paul