The Cisco^® 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.

The Cisco Catalyst 9500 Series is the industry's first purpose-built 40 and 100 Gigabit Ethernet line of switches targeted for the enterprise campus. These switches 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 Cisco Catalyst 9500 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.

The foundation of Software-Defined Access

Advanced persistent security threats. The exponential growth of Internet of Things (IoT) devices. Mobility everywhere. Cloud adoption. All of these require a network fabric that integrates advanced hardware and software innovations to automate, secure, and simplify customer networks. The goal of this network fabric is to enable customer revenue growth by accelerating the rollout of business services.

The Cisco Digital Network Architecture (Cisco DNA^™) with Software-Defined Access (SD-Access) is the network fabric that powers business. It is an open and extensible, software-driven architecture that accelerates and simplifies your enterprise network operations. The programmable architecture frees your IT staff from time-consuming, repetitive network configuration tasks so they can focus instead on innovation that positively transforms your business. SD-Access enables policy-based automation from edge to cloud with foundational capabilities. These include:

• Simplified device deployment
• Unified management of wired and wireless networks
• Network virtualization and segmentation
• Group-based policies
• Context-based analytics

The Cisco Catalyst 9500 Series switches form the foundational building block for Software-Defined Access?Cisco's leading enterprise architecture.