PACKETPERF

Primary Device

Cisco Catalyst 9500 Series
Cisco Catalyst 9500 Series
★ 3.2 Value Score

Technical Specifications

  • Switching Capacity: Up to 12.8 Tbps
  • Forwarding Rate: Up to 8 Bpps
  • Ports: Fixed 1G, 10G, 25G, 40G, 100G, and 400G options
  • PoE Budget: N/A (Core/Aggregation Switch)
  • Layer: Layer 3 (Core/Aggregation)
  • Stacking support: StackWise Virtual (SVL)

Curation Review

  • ✔ Pros: Industry-leading performance with up to 400G density; robust security features including MACsec-256 and Encrypted Traffic Analytics; fully SD-Access ready; supports application hosting (e.g., ThousandEyes); high availability with sub-second failover via StackWise Virtual.
  • ✘ Cons: Very high total cost of ownership; mandatory and complex Cisco DNA subscription licensing; fixed configuration limits future port expansion compared to modular chassis; requires Catalyst Center for full feature utilization.
  • Est. Price: $5,000 - $35,000

Compare Against

Fortinet FortiSwitch 124G (FS-124G)
Fortinet FortiSwitch 124G (FS-124G)
★ 3.7 Value Score

Technical Specifications

  • Switching Capacity: 240 Gbps
  • Forwarding Rate: 355 Mpps
  • Ports: 24 x 100/1000/2500 Mbps RJ45, 6 x 10 Gbps SFP+
  • PoE Budget: 0W (Non-PoE)
  • Layer: Layer 2 with Static Routing
  • Stacking support: FortiLink (Management Stacking)
  • Form Factor: 1 RU, Fanless

Curation Review

  • ✔ Pros: High-speed 2.5G multi-gigabit ports ideal for Wi-Fi 6/7 access points; generous 6x 10G SFP+ uplinks for high backhaul capacity; fanless design ensures completely silent operation; seamless integration with FortiGate firewalls via FortiLink for centralized security management.
  • ✘ Cons: Lacks Power over Ethernet (PoE) support, requiring injectors or a separate power source for connected devices; fanless design leads to high operating temperatures (often exceeding 50°C); limited Layer 3 features compared to enterprise core switches.
  • Est. Price: $1,130 - $1,504

Popular Comparisons

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