Name: Cisco Catalyst 9500 Series
Brand: Cisco

Cisco Catalyst 9500 Series

★ 3.3 Value Score

Switch Type: Modular Enterprise-Class Layer 3 Switch
Switching Capacity: 51.2u201376.8 Tbps (model-dependent)
Forwarding Rate: 30u201345 Mpps (model-dependent)
Ports: 24-port, 36-port, or 48-port options; 10GbE, 25GbE, 40GbE, 100GbE uplink slots
PoE Budget: Up to 240W per port (High Power PoE+); total up to 720W per card
Layer Support: L2/L3 (Full routing capability)
Stacking Support: Yes; up to 9 units via Virtual Stacking Ring (VSR)
Redundancy: Dual supervisors (N+1), dual power supplies
ASIC: Cisco Nexus ASIC for high-speed switching
Max VLAN: 4094 VLANs
Max MAC Table: 1.3M MAC addresses

✔ Pros: Modular design with flexible port configurations; exceptional throughput and forwarding rate suitable for large data centers; full L3 routing with BGP/OSPF support; industry-leading PoE power delivery for IP cameras/phones; Virtual Stacking Ring for seamless clustering; redundant supervisors and power for high availability; supports advanced features like QoS, segment routing, and telemetry
✘ Cons: High capital cost ($8.5K–$65K depending on configuration); complex setup and management requiring skilled network engineers; requires proper licensing for advanced features; modules and linecards sold separately increase TCO; single chassis has form-factor constraints for smaller deployments; power consumption scales with port density
Est. Price: $8,500 - $65,000

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