At-A-Glance
Cisco Catalyst 4500-X Series Fixed 10 Gigabit
Ethernet Aggregation Switch
The Cisco® Catalyst® 4500-X Series Switch is a fixed 10 Gigabit Ethernet aggregation
platform that delivers best-in-class scalability, simplified network virtualization, and
integrated network services for space-constrained environments in campus networks.
The Cisco Catalyst 4500-X simplifies network virtualization with support for Virtual
Switching System (VSS) and Easy Virtual Network (EVN). With VSS, this platform
provides a single point of management while offering up to 1.6 Tbps of switching
capacity. VSS also enables cross-chassis high-availability capabilities such as InService Software Upgrade (ISSU), Nonstop Forwarding (NSF), and Stateful Switchover
(SSO). EVN simplifies deployment of scalable Layer 3 network segmentation. The
Cisco Catalyst 4500-X enables emerging applications and lowers total cost of
ownership by, providing zero-touch deployment for new switches (Smart Install
Director), integrating network services for video (Medianet), security (Cisco TrustSec®
technology), and application visibility (Flexible NetFlow and Wireshark).
Figure 2. Cisco Catalyst 4500-X Deployed in Campus Aggregation and Branch Collapsed Core
Environments
Campus Aggregation
Si
Branch Collapsed Core
Si
WAN
Deployment Options
• 16-port and 32-port line rate 10 Gigabit Ethernet Small Form-Factor Pluggable Plus
(SFP+) models
• 8-port line rate 10 Gigabit Ethernet SFP+ pluggable module
Dotted-line oval rings indicate optional Virtual Switching System (VSS) configuration
• Single or optional dual-redundant AC or DC power supplies and five fieldreplaceable fans
Performance and Scalability Specifications
• All ports are SFP/SFP+, which can accommodate either 1Gb or 10Gb transceivers
with no manual reconfiguration needed
• Up to 250 Mpps IPv4 or 125 Mpps IPv6 forwarding rate
• 800 Gbps bi-directional switching capacity
Figure 1 shows the Cisco Catalyst 4500-X Series Switch family with and without the
optional 8-port 10G module, and back panel with dual-redundant power supplies.
• Up to 256K IPv4 or 128K IPv6 routes or a combination of the two
Figure 1. Cisco Catalyst 4500-X Series Switch Family with and without Optional 8-Port Pluggable
Module and Rear Panel
• Up to 55K unicast and 32K multicast MAC entries
• Multicast replication in hardware with multicast replication rate of up to 250 Mpps
• MAC learning rate of 20,000 mac entries per second
• 32-MB shared egress buffer
• Up to 64K quality-of-service (QoS) classifications and 64K access control list (ACL)
entries per direction
• Maximum of 8 bidirectional SPAN sessions or 16 unidirectional SPAN sessions
• 4096 active VLANs and Switched Virtual Interfaces (SVIs)
Figure 2 shows the Cisco Catalyst 4500-X deployed in campus aggregation and
branch collapsed core environments.
• 3K Spanning Tree Protocol instances
© 2013 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Cisco and the Cisco logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Cisco and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and other countries. To view a list of Cisco trademarks, go to this URL: www.cisco.com/go/trademarks.
Third-party trademarks mentioned are the property of their respective owners. The use of the word partner does not imply a partnership relationship between Cisco and any other company. (1110R)
At-A-Glance
Software Innovation and Services
The Cisco Catalyst 4500-X is capable of up to 1.6 Tbps when configured in a dualswitch VSS topology.
VSS increases operational efficiency with:
• Single point of management with a single IP address and configuration file
• Elimination of need for First Hop Redundancy Protocol (FHRP) like HSRP or VRRP
• Multichassis EtherChannel (MEC), which creates all edge links forwarding in
simplified loop-free topologies
• Nonstop communications with interchassis stateful failover and subsecond virtual
switch recovery
The Cisco Catalyst 4500-X Series includes Flexible NetFlow (FnF) for optimized
application performance. FnF helps Cisco customers determine how to optimize
resource usage, plan network capacity, and identify the optimal application layer
for QoS. FNF can play a critical role in network security by monitoring traffic and
detecting denial-of-service (DoS) attacks and network-propagated malware. With FnF,
customers get these added benefits over traditional NetFlow:
• Extensibility with an extensive selection of primary and non-primary fields
• Flexibility in creating many user-defined flow records that can be applied to many
different flow monitors
• FNF processes are performed in hardware at line rate in a custom, integrated
NetFlow ASIC
• Application and traffic monitoring scalability with up to 128K cached flows in a large
Ternary Content Addressable Memory (TCAM) array
The Cisco Catalyst 4500-X Series supports a modular operating system, Cisco IOS®
XE Software, which takes advantage of the 4500X’s dual-core CPU.. Cisco IOS XE
Software enables the Cisco Catalyst 4500-X Series to be an open service platform and
support third-party applications such as Wireshark.
Operational Manageability
The Cisco Catalyst 4500-X Series enables operational manageability and automation
for fast provisioning, diagnosis, and reporting through:
• Flexible NetFlow, Mediatrace, and IP service-level agreements (SLAs) for enhanced
visibility
• Embedded Event Manager (EEM) integration with NetFlow and third-party
applications
• Smart Call Home, Cisco Generic Online Diagnostics (GOLD), and digital optical
monitoring (DOM) for simplified operations
• Cisco EnergyWise™ technology for simplified and effective power management
(Standalone mode only)
• ISSU, SSO, and NSF for simplified change management and high availability with
VSS
• Configuration rollback for improved configuration management
Reduced Total Cost of Ownership
The Cisco Catalyst 4500-X provides superior investment protection through:
• Support for 1-Gigabit Ethernet or 10-Gigabit Ethernet transceivers using SFP and/
or SFP+ optics or 1Gbps copper transceivers, or in any combination therein, on any
data port in the chassis
• Removable 8-port 10-Gigabit Ethernet module
• Support for IP Base or Enterprise Services software license options
• Optional dual-redundant power supplies and five individual, hot-swappable fans that
use n+1 redundancy to help ensure high availability
Orderable in either front-to-back, or back-to-front airflow configuration, using separate
SKUs which designate airflow direction on the 5-fan array and matching power
supplies internal fans. The Cisco Catalyst 4500-X Series Switches reduce operating
expenses and lower total cost of ownership with simplified operations, small footprint,
extensive features and low power consumption. Finally, the Cisco Catalyst 4500-X is
covered under the Cisco limited lifetime warranty.
The Cisco Catalyst 4500-X: smallest size, highest scalability, and richest services,
revolutionizing 10 Gigabit Ethernet fixed campus aggregation.
• Auto Smart Ports and AutoQoS for simplified and streamlined deployment
For More Information
• Smart Install Director for IOS image-management and auto-configuration of
directly-connected client switches
Take a closer look at www.cisco.com/go/4500x.
© 2013 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Cisco and the Cisco logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Cisco and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and other countries. To view a list of Cisco trademarks, go to this URL: www.cisco.com/go/trademarks.
Third-party trademarks mentioned are the property of their respective owners. The use of the word partner does not imply a partnership relationship between Cisco and any other company. (1110R)
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