Cisco 9400 vs. 4500 Chassis Switch: Should You Upgrade?

The Cisco 9400 chassis switch series offers advanced security features and powerful performance. They can be deployed for both access and aggregation, meeting the demands of modern enterprises. But what if you still have the older Cisco 4500 chassis switch installed? Is it worth upgrading to the 9400?

We find out in this article and put the 4500 and 9400 switches head-to-head as well as highlight some key market trends, which will further solidify your need for an upgrade.

Don't want to read? Check out this quick three-minute video where we share the options we provide when it comes to the 4500 and 9400 series chassis switches. You won't believe how we helped a client.

Cisco Network Trends

Organizations are constantly under threat by network attacks and data leaks. It is, therefore, important that a network is supported by advanced features, providing resilience to nearly any circumstance. Cisco released five trends that can securely promote workplace safety:

• Extending security to a remote workforce.
• Supporting safe return to workspaces.
• Facilitating multicloud for greater resilience.
• Recovering fast with automated operations.
• Smarter insights with network analytics.

The Cisco Catalyst 9400 Chassis Switch will enable you to follow these trends to secure your workplace from data vulnerabilities. Cisco’s security portfolio anchored by Talos, Trustworthy Systems, and MACsec encryption and segmentation, provides advanced security features that protect the integrity of the hardware, software, and data that flows through the switch.

Moreover, the Encrypted Traffic Analytics (ETA) in the 9400 series monitors traffic using NetFlow data from the switches and learns to spot anomalies that could signal an incoming threat. It can identify potential threats without decrypting the traffic, following the trend of smart network analytics. However, with all this being said, let’s compare the 9400 series with the 4500 series to get a better understanding of what you are in for when upgrading.

Cisco Catalyst 4500 and 9400 Chassis Switch Overview

Although the Cisco Catalyst 4500 Chassis Switch is an older model, if you have it installed, it is still a world-class, quality product. The switch is Cisco SD-Access-ready, and is the industry’s most widely deployed modular platform for campus access and distribution deployments.

The chassis bandwidth is capable of transferring data at a reasonably fast speed using wired or wireless converged access. If you’re sporting the Cisco Catalyst 4500-X series, it offers a small size, but with the high scalability and security you need.

On the other hand, the Catalyst 9400 Chassis Switch provides superior performance when compared to the 4500 series. The 9400 series is built for security, providing several enhanced features to protect your data on multiple levels – all wrapped up into 256-bit-encrypted channels.

Furthermore, it is cloud-ready to help simplify, secure, and take your cloud environment to the next level. The series provides the latest in Internet of Things (IoT) support by providing automated network provisioning, segmentation, and policy management, to name a few. As a cherry on top, the 9400 series supports enhanced SD-Access programmability, a leading enterprise architecture from Cisco.

The weighed advantages of the 9400 series of switches clearly top the advantages of the 4500 series, but it is all talk until we compare the actual specifications. So, let’s deal with that below.

4500 Switch vs. 9400 Switch Features

The table below compares the main features of the 4500 and 9400 series of switches in terms of the bandwidth, package throughput, UPOE+ feature, programmability, availability, and security.

Chassis and Line Card Options: Cisco 9400 vs. 4500 Series

Cisco Catalyst 4500 series offered four chassis option with four supervisor engines, providing a common architecture with up to 388 ports. 

It’s supported by a redundant chassis (R+E), with 1+1 redundancy for the supervisor engines. As a result, these switches are highly reliable with continuous packet forwarding. 

On the other hand, the newer Cisco Catalyst 9400 series offers three chassis options. However, the number of ports can be scaled up to 400. This is, in part, thanks to a wide range of line cards. In addition, this port capacity can be doubled using Cisco StackWise technology, that stacks two physical switches into one logical switch. 

Furthermore, the 9400 series components, including the chassis, supervisor engine, line cards, fans, and power supplies, are all RFID-tagged, which makes inventory management seamless. 

The 9400 series offers more ports overall, benefiting large organizations when compared head-on. This, of course, is combined with a larger bandwidth, giving 9400 switches a performance edge over their 4500 series counterparts. 

Cisco Catalyst 4500 Series Chassis Options Compared

The four chassis options in the 4500 series include:

1. Cisco Catalyst WS C4503-E
2. Cisco Catalyst WS C4506-E
3. Cisco Catalyst C4507R+E
4. Cisco Catalyst C4510R+E

With the 4500 series, you can choose from 24 different line cards, categorized as following:

• Cisco Catalyst 4500E Series Line Cards
• Cisco Catalyst 4500 Classic 10/100 Line Cards
• Cisco Catalyst 4500 Classic 10/100/1000 Line Cards
• Cisco Catalyst 4500 Classic 100 BASE-X FE Line Cards
• Cisco Catalyst 4500 Classic 100 BASE-X GE Line Cards

Cisco Catalyst 9400 Series Chassis Options Compared

The Cisco 9400 series has fewer chassis options compared to 4500 with three, which include: 

1. Cisco Catalyst C9404R
2. Cisco Catalyst C9407R
3. Cisco Catalyst C9410R

The 9400 series comes with the option to mix and match various line cards as per the deployment requirements. The Cisco Catalyst 9400 Series Line Cards include C9400-LC-48U, C9400-LC-48T, C9400-LC-48UX, C9400-LC-24XS, and more. With these line cards, you can choose 12, 20, 24, and 48 port options. 

Why Opt for an Upgrade?

It is clear from the table above that the bandwidth of the 9400 switches far outweighs the 4500 switches (greater than a 9-fold difference to be exact). A surprising difference is that the 4500 series do not have the UPOE+ (up to 90 watts PoE) feature the 9400 series possess.

In today’s digital world where quantum computing is a near reality, security should be a high priority on your radar. If you’re running your data through legacy systems, opt for the 9400 series of switches with encrypted traffic analytics, 256-bit encryption, and TrustSec End-Point Security, all adding up to the highest level of protection.

Running a much larger data center and require additional slots? No problem! The Catalyst 9400 comes in a 4, 7, and 10-slot option, providing 96, 240, and 384 slots, respectively. All models support 1G, 2.5G, 5G, and 10G multigigabit and dual-rate 1G/10G SFP+ downlink options and 1G/10G, 25G, and 40G uplink options.

Look to PivIT When Upgrading

It may be time for an upgrade to a more secure, increased performance chassis switch. The improved features of the Cisco Catalyst 9400 Chassis Switch will ensure your data center is resilient against network attacks – the high-performance capabilities and various slot options ensure your data center is scalable when you need it. 

Here at PivIT, we offer a fresh approach to sourcing, maintaining, and servicing your data center infrastructure, specifically the 4500 and 9400 series Catalyst Switches from Cisco. We’ve reimagined the status-quo and offer our customers strategies not found in the traditional IT channels. Our focus is to examine your CAPEX/OPEX limitations and present you with options to free up your budget, achieve your goals and Do IT Better.

Contact us today and speak to an expert to determine whether upgrading to Cisco 9400 is the right move for your enterprise. 

FAQs

What is Cisco Catalyst 9400 Series?

The Cisco Catalyst 9400 Series are modular access and aggregation switches built with security, cloud, and IoT, in mind. These switches can deliver data rates of up to 9.2 Tbps (8 Tbps in reality). These switches also offer high port density with the option for stacking for an even higher number of ports. 

What is the capacity of a Cisco 9400 switch?

A Cisco 9400 chassis switch has an 80 Gbps per slot switching capacity. Thanks to the high number of ports and various line card configurations, the switch can deliver up to 8 Tbps overall. 

When is the Cisco 4500 End-of-Support date?

Cisco has announced the end-of-sale and end-of-support dates for the 4500 Chassis Switch series. Released in 2002, these switches will no longer be sold by Cisco beginning October 30, 2020. The last day of support by the OEM is October 31, 2025. 

Cisco 4500 series switches can be replaced with the Cisco 9400 models.