Cisco Catalyst 9500 Series Switches

Cisco’s Catalyst 9500 series switches provide high-density advanced services in a compact form factor. The first 100/40 Gbps switch that was built for the enterprise campus exclusively has been recognized as CRN’s 2017 overall network product of the year and praised by users owing to its design which keeps in mind security, Internet of things, and the cloud. These fixed core switches are high-density foundations for an innovative next-generation intent-based network.

An intent-based network is one in which a network administrator provides a set of policies for the state of network desired and makes use of software to implement these policies. This is a step into the future, where these intent based networking systems could pave the way in terms of virtual or augmented reality, robotics,etc., making sure to get rid of geographic constraints and make progress.

The Cisco Catalyst 9500 Series switches consist of fixed core and aggregation layer switches, which support redundant power supplies and fans which are modular. The downlink ports available are:

• 16 and 32 ports of 100G QSFP28
• 12, 24 and 32 ports of 40G QSFP
• 24 and 48 ports of 25G SFP28
• 16, 24, 40 and 48 ports of 10G SFP/SFP28

Features of the Cisco Catalyst 9500 Series Switches

Some of the main features of the 9500 series switches are discussed below:

1. Security: With the help of Cisco’s trustworthy solutions and a MACsec 256 bit encryption, the Cisco Catalyst 9500 series switches ensure security by reducing the attack surface, which in turn makes sure to increase the ability to detect any threats or malware and contain them as quickly as possible. This is especially important now, as most data transfer over a network consists of highly valuable information.
2. IoT Ready- With a large number of enterprises depending on IoT for different applications within the enterprise and for all their customer demands, 9500 series switches are ready for the future. Providing the automation of network provisioning, segmentation, and policy management to make sure they support IoT, they provide a seamless experience without any interruptions where IoT devices can join the network.
3. Cloud-ready- In addition to providing IoT support, the Cisco Catalyst 9500 switches also provide support for cloud platforms, enabling users to simplify, secure, and entirely transform their cloud-based environment from the network edge to application hosting.
4. Innovative technology- With its high density and high-availability patching, graceful insertion and removal, NSF/SSO, redundant platinum rated power supplies, fans, and so on, Cisco’s Catalyst 9500 series switches ensure the best way forward for your enterprise and its network, today and for the future.

Models Available

100/40-G 32-port switches C9500-32C, C9500-32QC · 32 ports of 100 G and 40 G with rich campus features · Industry-first 100 G and 40 G enterprise-class switch · High performance, QSFP+ · Secure segmentation with SD-Access · MPLS L2/L3 VPNs, MVPN; flexible design templates · Enhanced Limited Lifetime Warranty (E-LLW)

25-G 24- and 48-port switches C9500-24Y4C, C9500-48Y4C · 24 and 48 ports of 25 G with rich campus features · Cisco innovation extending SR reach to 300 million · High performance, SFP28 · Secure segmentation with SD-Access · MPLS Level 2/3 VPNs, MVPN; flexible design templates · Enhanced Limited Lifetime Warranty (E-LLW)

40-G 12- and 24-port switches C9500-12Q, C9500-24Q · 32 ports of 40 G with rich campus features · QSFP+, 10/40 G uplinks · Secure segmentation with SD-Access · MPLS Level 2/3 VPNs, MVPN; flexible design templates · Enhanced Limited Lifetime Warranty (E-LLW)

1/10-G ​16- and 40-port switches C9500-16X, C9500-40X · 16 to 40 ports of 1/10 G with rich campus features · SFP/SFP+, 8 x 1/10 G or 2 x 40 G uplinks · Secure segmentation with SD-Access · MPLS Level 2/3 VPNs, MVPN; flexible design templates · Enhanced Limited Lifetime Warranty (E-LLW)

Advantages of the Cisco catalyst 9500 Series Switches

There are a number of benefits to making use of the 9500 series Cisco Switches, which makes sure that users continue using them and recommend them to other enterprises too. Some of these benefits are discussed below.

1. Up to 2 Bpps forwarding rate, which is a good number for an enterprise standard.

2. Verified with up to 3.2 Tbps switching throughput in total.

3. Low latency, as low as 3.02 and 3.04 microseconds for unicast and mesh throughput testing as reported by Miercom’s performance validation. This ensures great connectivity throughout, making sure that enterprise resources are not wasted and that time and effort are spent in the right direction.

4. Cloud and IoT friendly design, which includes a number of features including quick and simple device deployment, unified management of wired and wireless networks, virtualization and segmentation of the network, group-based policymaking, and analysis in the context of data and applications. All these forms the building blocks of Software Defined Access, which is the leading enterprise architecture from Cisco.

5. Trustworthy solutions and plug-and-play options allowing for a tamper-proof capability for device identification make it a sure winner in the security aspect. This is very important for many enterprises with data risks and associated issues.

6. Encrypted traffic analysis, which makes use of advanced Machine Learning algorithms to identify and act against any threats in the network.

Disadvantages of the  Cisco Catalyst 9500 Series Switches

The only major point of concern among users is the cost of the 9500 Series switches. All other factors have proved to be entirely satisfactory to consumers, making it a matter of compromise between cost and quality. For many enterprises, it has proven beneficial to invest in the 9500 Series switches. They are made for the future keeping in mind the volume of technological enhancements being made in the field of networking.

Conclusion

Keeping in mind all the pros and cons, it is safe to say that the Cisco Catalyst 9500 Series switches are a great, flexible solution for any business need and would definitely be worth the price. With many enterprises claiming that these products perform well even after years, it is no wonder that people continue to invest in these switching solutions.