Cisco 9500 Series Switches

Cisco 9500 Series are the first 24, 40 and 100 Gigabit Ethernet switches designed specifically for enterprise campuses. These switches are designed around security, the Internet of Things (IoT), and the cloud. The 9500 Series represents the next generation of the world’s most widely deployed switching platform. The Series of fixed-core switches create the framework for Software-Defined Access, Cisco’s leading enterprise architecture.

Overview

The Catalyst 9500 Series switches are the next generation of enterprise-class core and aggregation layer switches, supporting full programmability and serviceability. Based on an x86 CPU, the Cisco Catalyst 9500 Series is Cisco’s lead purpose-built fixed core and aggregation enterprise switching platform, built for security, IoT, and cloud. The switches come with a 4-core x86, 2.4-GHz CPU, 16-GB DDR4 memory, and 16-GB internal storage.

These switches are the the industry’s first purpose-built 25, 40 and 100 Gigabit Ethernet line of switches targeted for the enterprise campus. Theys deliver unmatched table scale (MAC/route/ACL) and buffering for enterprise applications.

The Cisco Catalyst 9500 Series includes nonblocking 40 and 100 Gigabit Ethernet Quad Small Form-Factor Pluggable (QSFP+, QSFP28) and 1, 10 and 25 Gigabit Ethernet Small Form-Factor Pluggable Plus (SFP/SFP+/SFP28) switches with granular port densities that fit diverse campus needs.

The switches support advanced routing and infrastructure services (such as Multiprotocol Label Switching [MPLS] Layer 2 and Layer 3 VPNs, Multicast VPN [MVPN], and Network Address Translation [NAT]); Cisco Software-Defined Access capabilities (such as a host tracking database, cross-domain connectivity, and VPN Routing and Forwarding [VRF]-aware Locator/ID Separation Protocol [LISP]); and network system virtualization with Cisco StackWise virtual technology that are critical for their placement in the campus core.

The series also supports foundational high-availability capabilities such as patching, Graceful Insertion and Removal (GIR), Cisco Nonstop Forwarding with Stateful Switchover (NSF/SSO), redundant platinum-rated power supplies, and fans.