FAQ banner
Get the Help and Supports!

This help center can answer your questions about customer services, products tech support, network issues.
Select a topic to get started.

ICT Tech Savings Week
2025 MEGA SALE | In-Stock & Budget-Friendly for Every Project

Cisco Catalyst 9500 Series FAQ


In this article, we will list some fast questions and answers that tell you the main features of Cisco Catalyst 9500 Series.

Q: What are the key SKUs in the Cisco Catalyst 9500 Series?

A: The Cisco Catalyst 9500 Series has eight primary SKUs:

  • C9500-32C: 32 ports 100G QSFP28
  • C9500-32QC: 24 ports 40G QSFP with 4 ports 100G QSFP28 uplinks OR 32 ports 40G QSFP OR 16 ports 100G QSFP28
  • C9500-24Q: 24 ports 40G QSFP
  • C9500-12Q: 12 ports 40G QSFP
  • C9500-48Y4C: 48 ports 25G/10G SFP28 option with 4 ports 100G/40G QSFP28 uplinks
  • C9500-24Y4C: 24 ports 25G/10G SFP28 option with 4 ports 100G/40G QSFP28 uplinks
  • C9500-40X: 40 ports 10G SFP+ option with 8 ports 10G SFP+ and 2 ports 40G QSFP uplinks
  • C9500-16X: 16 ports 10G SFP+ option with 8 ports 10G SFP+ and 2 ports 40G QSFP uplinks

Switch to something new: Why Migrate to Catalyst 9500? | See the Catalyst 9500 Series

 

Q: Are the uplink modules of Cisco Catalyst 9500 Series Switches the same as those for the Cisco Catalyst 3850 Series uplink modules?

A: No, uplink modules of the Cisco Catalyst 9500 Series Switches have different SKUs from those of the 3850 Series.

 

Q: How many Rack Units (RUs) do Cisco Catalyst 9500 Series Switches have?

A: Cisco Catalyst 9500 Series Switches are 1RU switches

 

Q: Do Cisco Catalyst 9500 Series Switches come with built-in RFID?

A: Yes, they come with a built-in passive RFID tag.

 

Q: What management ports are available on the Cisco Catalyst 9500 Series?

A: The Cisco Catalyst 9500 Series comes with a mini-B type USB console port and a 10, 100, or 1000 Ethernet (RJ-45) dedicated management port on the front panel of the switch. The Ethernet port is in a separate VRF instance called “Mgmt-vrf” in order to segment the management traffic from the global routing table of the switch.

 

Q: Can I use both console ports simultaneously on the Cisco Catalyst 9500 Series?

A: No. The RJ-45 port is default and the console switches to USB when USB cable is connected.

 

Q: Do Cisco Catalyst 9500 Series switches support Trivial File Transport Protocol (TFTP) to boot the software image?

A: Yes, you can use TFTP to boot the application image over the network with the following parameters set up:

  • MAC_ADDR: The switch default MAC address
  • IP_ADDR: The IP address or netmask of the switch
  • DEFAULT_ROUTER: The IP address of the default router in the local network Example:
  • Switch: set DEFAULT_ROUTER 10.4.2.1
  • Switch: set IP_ADDR 10.4.2.140/255.255.255.0
  • Switch: boot tftp:///

 

Q: Do Cisco Catalyst 9500 Series Switches support OIR?

A: Yes, the 5 fans and the 2 power supply units support OIR. Also, uplink modules on the 10 Gigabit Ethernet SKU support OIR.

 

Q: How many fans can fail on a Cisco Catalyst 9500 Series Switch without interrupting the system?

A: One. Cisco Catalyst 9500 Series Switches are designed to support a single fan failure. We recommended that you replace fans as soon as possible when they fail.

 

Q: Do Cisco Catalyst 9500 Series Switches support 802.1ae?

A: Cisco Catalyst 9500 Series Switches are hardware-capable for 802.1ae on all ports on the switch.

 

Q: What type of airflow do Cisco Catalyst 9500 Series Switches support?

A: The airflow on the Cisco Catalyst 9500 Series is “front-to-back” airflow.

 

Q: What pluggable transceiver modules do Cisco Catalyst 9500 Series Switches support?

A: Refer to the Cisco Transceiver Module Compatibility Matrixes for a complete list: https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/support/interfacesmodules/transceiver-modules/products-device-support-tableslist.html.

 

Q: Can Cisco Catalyst 9500 Series Switches support redundant power supplies?

A: Yes, Cisco Catalyst 9500 Series Switches come with two AC power supplies. For further details on power supplies, please refer to Cisco Catalyst 9500 Series data sheet: Latest data sheet version

More Related

Why Migrate to Catalyst 9500?

Cisco Catalyst 9000 Family-Technical Deep Dive

Cisco Catalyst 9000 Platform Transitions

What SFP+ transceivers supported on C9500-12Q?

StackWise Virtual Supported on C9500-40X

Optics Supported on Cisco 9500 Series-the only 40G optimized enterprise-class switches


Categories: Switches