Cisco Catalyst 9500 Series
Fixed-configuration campus core and aggregation. The Catalyst 9500 and 9500X move traffic between distribution blocks and buildings at line rate with high-density 10/25/40/100G and StackWise Virtual redundancy.
The Catalyst 9500 is a fixed-configuration core and aggregation platform, not an access switch with more ports. Its job is to be the place every access stack points to, moving traffic between distribution blocks and buildings at line rate with the redundancy a campus core demands. StackWise Virtual lets two physical switches act as one logical core with redundant control and data planes, so when the core blinks the campus does not. The 9500X extends speeds and scale for larger or 100G-ready designs. Confirm exact interface counts and throughput for your model in a configured quote.
Why Cisco Catalyst 9500 Series
- High-speed 10/25/40/100G interfaces for the campus backbone.
- StackWise Virtual pairs two switches into one resilient logical core.
- Large routing and forwarding tables for advanced Layer 3.
- Network Advantage licensing is common for the core routing role.
What the platform brings
Two ASIC families: UADP and Silicon One Q200
Catalyst 9500 models run the Cisco Unified Access Data Plane (UADP) ASIC for fixed core and aggregation. Catalyst 9500X models add the Cisco Silicon One Q200 ASIC with a P4 programmable pipeline, on-chip High-Bandwidth Memory, and full routing and switching without external memories.
High switching capacity and deep buffering
Catalyst 9500 models scale to 6.4 Tbps switching capacity with up to 2 Bpps forwarding and 36 MB of unified buffer per ASIC. Catalyst 9500X models reach up to 12.8 Tbps full duplex with 8 Bpps, 80 MB of low-latency buffer, and up to 8 GB of HBM for deep packet buffers.
Line-rate MACsec and WAN MACsec encryption
Hardware supports line-rate 256-bit 802.1AE MACsec data encryption. Catalyst 9500X models also support WAN MACsec with 256-bit AES-GCM for encrypting traffic across service provider links (an HSEC key order is required).
StackWise Virtual with NSF/SSO high availability
Cisco StackWise Virtual combines two switches into one logical system for higher bandwidth and resiliency, with multichassis EtherChannel across members. Foundational availability includes Nonstop Forwarding with Stateful Switchover, In-Service Software Upgrade, Software Maintenance Upgrade patching, and Graceful Insertion and Removal.
IOS XE with model-driven programmability
Cisco IOS XE provides NETCONF, RESTCONF, and gNMI over YANG data models, on-box Python scripting, streaming telemetry, and container-based application hosting. Seamless patching delivers fixes for critical bugs and security vulnerabilities between maintenance releases.
Operational choice of Catalyst Center or Meraki
Switches can be managed through Cisco Catalyst Center for SD-Access fabric and assurance, or monitored from the Cisco Meraki dashboard with cloud management. Meraki cloud management is available on Catalyst 9500 models; it is not supported on Catalyst 9500X models.
Cisco Catalyst 9500 Series by the numbers
- ASIC options
- UADP (Catalyst 9500) and Silicon One Q200 (Catalyst 9500X)
- Switching capacity
- Up to 6.4 Tbps (9500); up to 12.8 Tbps full duplex (9500X)
- Forwarding rate
- Up to 2 Bpps (9500); 8 Bpps (9500X)
- Packet buffer
- Up to 36 MB unified per ASIC (9500); 80 MB plus up to 8 GB HBM (9500X)
- Port speeds
- 1/10/25/40/100G (9500); adds 50/200/400G via SFP56 and QSFP-DD (9500X)
- MAC addresses
- Up to 82,000 (UADP 3.0); up to 256,000 (Q200)
- IPv4 routes
- Up to 256,000 indirect plus direct (9500); up to 2 million (9500X)
- MACsec encryption
- Line-rate 256-bit AES-GCM 802.1AE; WAN MACsec on 9500X
- Power supplies
- Platinum-rated redundant AC/DC; 650W, 930W, 950W, 1500W, 1600W options
- Minimum software
- Cisco IOS XE 16.8.1a (9500 high-perf); 17.7.1 / 17.10.1 (9500X)
Figures are from the published family data sheet and vary by model and configuration. Confirm exact specs for your SKUs in a validated quote.
Find the Cisco Catalyst 9500 Series model that fits
Compare the models in this family. Open any datasheet to read the full specs right here.
Fixed core
Catalyst 9500
Fixed core and aggregation.
- 10/25/40/100G
- StackWise Virtual
- Advanced Layer 3
Catalyst 9500X
Higher-scale, 100G-ready core.
- Higher 100G density
- Larger tables
- Deep buffers
Datasheets & guides
Built for deployments like these
- Enterprise campus core and aggregation layer requiring high-density 40/100G uplinks
- Next-generation core and edge services needing 400G QSFP-DD and up to 12.8 Tbps capacity (Catalyst 9500X)
- Software-Defined Access fabric as control plane, border, or edge node managed by Catalyst Center
- Collapsed-core WAN deployments using the NAT SDM template for Layer 3 and address translation
- StackWise Virtual high-availability pairs providing redundant, nonstop core switching with line-rate MACsec
Cisco Catalyst 9500 Series questions, answered
What is the difference between the Catalyst 9500 and Catalyst 9500X models?
Catalyst 9500 models are built on the Cisco UADP ASIC with up to 6.4 Tbps switching capacity and 1/10/25/40/100G ports, positioned as the fixed enterprise core and aggregation platform. Catalyst 9500X models use the Cisco Silicon One Q200 ASIC with a P4 programmable pipeline, up to 12.8 Tbps full duplex, larger forwarding scale (up to 2 million IPv4 routes), and add 50/200/400G ports via SFP56 and QSFP-DD for next-generation core and edge services.
How do these switches achieve high availability?
They support Cisco StackWise Virtual, which combines two switches into one logical system with multichassis EtherChannel, plus Nonstop Forwarding with Stateful Switchover (NSF/SSO), In-Service Software Upgrade (ISSU), Software Maintenance Upgrade (SMU) patching, and Graceful Insertion and Removal. Hardware redundancy comes from Platinum-rated redundant power supplies and N+1 redundant field-replaceable fan trays.
Can the Catalyst 9500 be managed from the cloud?
Yes. The datasheet describes an operational choice of Cisco Catalyst Center or Cisco Meraki cloud monitoring. Catalyst 9500 models support Meraki cloud management through the dashboard for viewing statistics, managing configurations, and troubleshooting. Meraki cloud management is not supported on Catalyst 9500X models.
What warranty comes with the Catalyst 9500 Series?
The switches ship with the Cisco Enhanced Limited Lifetime Warranty (E-LLW), which lasts as long as the original customer owns the product. It includes Next-Business-Day replacement hardware delivery where available and 90 days of 8x5 Cisco TAC support for device-level configuration, diagnosis, and troubleshooting.
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