Cisco C9500X-28C8D-E Full English Product Description

Product Overview

The Cisco Catalyst C9500X-28C8D-E is a next-generation 1RU high-density fixed core/aggregation switch equipped with Network Essentials perpetual license, belonging to the Catalyst 9500X high-performance switching portfolio. Built on cutting-edge Q200 UADP 4.0 ASIC with on-chip HBM memory, multi-core x86 CPU and Cisco IOS XE operating system, this platform delivers ultra-large non-blocking bandwidth, mixed-density 100G downlinks and 400G ultra-high-speed uplinks. Optimized for cost-effective medium-to-large data center leaf-spine fabrics, enterprise campus core backbone, inter-data-center interconnections and cloud gateway deployments with foundational Layer 2/3 routing, baseline hardware security and basic automation capabilities.

C9500X-28C8D Front Panel

Port Configuration

28 × QSFP28 multi-rate ports: auto-support 40G / 100G transceivers; compatible with breakout cables to deliver multiple 10G/25G links per port
8 × QSFP-DD ultra-high-speed uplink ports: support 40G / 100G / 200G / 400G optical modules for spine-layer and cross-site high-bandwidth interconnection
Out-of-band management interfaces: USB-C console port, dedicated 1G Ethernet OOB management port, front-panel USB Type-A storage port, reset button
All ports support hardware line-rate MACsec 256-bit encryption, LACP link aggregation and jumbo frames up to 9216 bytesCisco

Core Hardware Specifications

Total Switching Capacity: 12 Tbps full-duplex non-blocking
Packet Forwarding Rate: 8 Bpps wire-speed forwarding for minimum-size frames
Form Factor: 1U rack-mount (1.7 in height), front-to-back airflow design
Memory & Storage: 32 GB DDR4 DRAM, 16 GB SSD flash storage, large unified deep packet buffer for absorbing burst data traffic
Stacking & Virtualization: StackWise-480 stacking technology (480 Gbps stacking bandwidth), up to 8 switches per logical stack; StackWise Virtual dual-box redundancy supported
Power & Cooling: Dual hot-swappable high-efficiency AC power supply slots (1500W default); N+1 redundant field-replaceable fan trays for non-disruptive maintenance
Physical Dimension: 17.5 in (W) × 21.8 in (D) × 1.7 in (H); weight 22.13 lbs
Environmental Range: Operating temperature 0°C–40°C; storage -20°C–65°C; humidity 5%–90% non-condensing
Reliability: Extended MTBF for 24/7 continuous production core network operation

Scalability Table Capacities

MAC Address Table: 256,000 hardware entries
IPv4 Unicast Routes: Up to 256,000 combined direct & indirect routes
IPv6 Unicast Routes: Up to 256,000 combined direct & indirect routes
Combined IPv4/IPv6 Multicast Routes: 64,000
Hardware-Accelerated Security ACL Entries: 36,000
Hardware-Accelerated QoS ACL Entries: 36,000
Flexible NetFlow / IPFIX Flow Records: Up to 1,024,000
Supported VLAN IDs: 4,094; full SVI Layer 3 inter-VLAN routing
MPLS Label Scale, VRF-lite multi-tenant segmentation support

Network Essentials (E License) Feature Suite

Layer 2 & Foundational Layer 3 Routing

Complete Layer 2 toolkit: STP/RSTP/MSTP, LACP, private VLAN, Q-in-Q, SPAN/RSPAN, ERSPAN
Core dynamic routing protocols: Static routing, RIP, single-area OSPF, EIGRP stub mode, basic BGP, HSRP, VRRP, PIM-SM/SSM multicast
Dual-stack IPv4/IPv6 wire-speed forwarding, basic static NAT/PAT, limited PBR policy-based routing

Hardware-Accelerated Baseline Security

Secure boot, Trust Anchor hardware module, digital image signature verification
Line-rate 256-bit MACsec port encryption, 802.1X port authentication, CoPP control plane protection
Standard hardware ACL filtering, DAI dynamic ARP inspection, DHCP rogue server prevention, SGT caching for TrustSec basic segmentation

Monitoring & Limited Automation

Local management: CLI, on-box web UI, SNMP v2/v3, partial NETCONF/YANG, RESTCONF support
Flexible NetFlow, IPFIX, basic model-driven telemetry, Embedded Event Manager (EEM)
Zero-Touch Provisioning (ZTP), limited Cisco DNA Center compatibility for inventory and basic fabric visibility; full SD-Access, advanced TrustSec and cross-domain BGP require Network Advantage license

High Availability

SSO/NSF graceful restart, cross-stack LACP link aggregation, ISSU hitless stacking firmware upgrades
Hot-swappable redundant power supplies and fans for live maintenance without service interruption

Advanced QoS & Multicast Optimization

Hierarchical HQoS, traffic policing/shaping, WRED congestion avoidance, Precision Time Protocol (PTP)
Hardware multicast replication optimized for media streaming, video conferencing and large-scale IPTV workloads

Key Functional Limitations vs C9500X-28C8D-A (Network Advantage)

Restricted routing: No multi-area OSPF, full EIGRP, IS-IS, complete BGP EVPN VXLAN suite, MPLS L3VPN/MVPN
Segmentation constraints: Lacks full Cisco TrustSec micro-segmentation, SD-Access fabric native support, LISP cross-domain routing
Limited automation: Partial DNA Center intent-based networking capabilities, restricted container hosting and advanced telemetry features
Missing enterprise border gateway functions for multi-site interconnection and zero-trust full fabric deployment

Typical Deployment Scenarios

Mid-sized data center leaf-spine fabric with mass 100G leaf downlinks and 400G spine uplinks
Enterprise campus core aggregation without complex cross-regional BGP interconnection
Inter-building and inter-data-center fiber backbone with ultra-high 400G bandwidth demands
Cost-sensitive cloud gateway for hybrid multi-cloud network high-speed traffic aggregation
Medium-scale enterprise core networks with simplified routing and baseline security requirements

Short Catalog Version (For BOM & Quotation)

Cisco C9500X-28C8D-E Catalyst 9500X Switch, 28×40/100G QSFP28 + 8×40/100/200/400G QSFP-DD, Network Essentials License

1RU next-gen non-blocking core aggregation switch powered by UADP 4.0 Q200 ASIC with 12Tbps switching capacity and 8Bpps forwarding rate, equipped with 28 multi-rate 100G QSFP28 ports and 8 high-speed 400G QSFP-DD uplink ports, dual redundant hot-swappable AC power supplies, pre-installed Network Essentials IOS XE license, foundational Layer 2/3 routing, hardware MACsec encryption, limited DNA Center automation and StackWise-480 stacking, designed for cost-effective high-density data center leaf-spine and enterprise high-speed backbone deployments.


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