A Supervisor Engine is a module that is installed in the Cisco Chassis-based Catalyst Switches or Routers. The supervisor engine contains nearly all the same components of fixed Cisco Switches or Routers. These Supervisor engines come in a variety of different types with different functionalities and are installed in the Switches/Router Chassis as per the requirements of the network types.
Today we'll look at two in the 4500E family, 8-E and 7L-E. You'll see an outline of their performance and scalability along with services and support. Check out the highlights below!
Cisco Catalyst 4500E Supervisor Engine 8-E Feature Highlights
Introducing the first Cisco Catalyst supervisor engine to bring wired and wireless convergence to a single platform. This enterprise-class Cisco Catalyst 4500E Supervisor Engine 8-E offers:
Performance and Scalability
The Catalyst 4500E 8-E has up to eight non-blocking 10 Gigabit Ethernet uplinks that are small form-factor pluggable plus [SFP+]. The Power over Ethernet Plus (30 W) has capabilities on all ports in a line card to simultaneously support Cisco Universal PoE (60 W) providing data connection and power to devices.
The supervisor engine also has 104 ports of 10 Gigabit Ethernet SFP+ (eight uplinks ports plus 96 line card ports) and up to 128,000 Flexible Net flow (FNF) entries in hardware. For flexible storage options, the 4500E 8-E supports Secure Digital cards. For more performance and scalability, check out Table 1 below.
Infrastructure Services
Cisco IOS® XE Software, the modular open application platform for virtualized border-less services, offers maximum resiliency with redundant components, nonstop forwarding/stateful switchover (NSF/SSO), and Cisco In-Service Software Upgrade (ISSU) support. The network virtualization through Multi-Virtual Route Forwarding (VRF) and Easy Virtual Networking (EVN) technology for Layer 3 segmentation is simplified for loop-free topologies without spanning tree dependencies (software roadmap).
Flexible and future-proofed uplinks with Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) to support next-generation protocols bring automation through Embedded Event Manager (EEM), Cisco Smart Call Home, AutoQoS, and Auto SmartPorts for fast provisioning, diagnosis, and reporting.
Hardware Options For You
Here at PivIT, we know the importance of bringing options to the table. Whether it's the option of two Supervisor Engines or two switches from separate OEMs. We strive to bring you the best option for your network.
Cisco Services
Optimized application performance through deep visibility with FNF supports rich Layer 2, 3, and 4 information (MAC, VLAN, and TCP Flags) and synthetic traffic generation with IP service-level agreement (IP SLA-VO). The 4500E 8-E has Medianet capabilities to enhance and simply video QoS, monitoring, and security. Alongside the Medianet capabilities, the engine has an energy-efficient design with Cisco EnergyWise technology to manage the network, PoE+, Personal Computers, and Laptops
Investment Protection and Reduced Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)
Full backward compatibility with 6-, 24-, and 48-Gbps slot line cards with no performance degradation.
The Supervisor Engine 8-E is compatible with classic Cisco Catalyst 4500 line cards and power supplies, providing full investment protection. It is not compatible with the classic Cisco Catalyst 4500 chassis. When you deploy the Supervisor Engine 8-E with classic line cards, all of the new features except the 24- and 48-Gbps per-slot switching capacity are inherited
Table 1. Cisco Catalyst 4500E Supervisor Engine 8-E Performance and Scalability Features
| Features | Performance |
| Centralized Wired Switching Capacity | Up to 928 Gbps |
| Wireless Termination Capacity | Up to 20 Gbps (software Roadmap) |
| Per-slot Switching Capacity | 48 Gbps |
| Throughput |
|
| Routing Entries |
|
| Multicast Routes | 32,000 |
| CPU | Quad-core; 2.0 GHz |
| CPU Queues | 64 |
| DHCP Snooping Entries | 12,000 |
| MAC Addresses | 55,000 |
| Active VLANs | 4094 |
| Spanning Tree Protocol Instances | 10,000 |
| Switched Virtual Interfaces (SVIs) | 4094 |
| Switched Port Analyzer (SPAN) | Maximum of 8 bi-directional sessions |
Cisco Catalyst 4500E Supervisor Engine 7L-E Feature Highlights
The Cisco Catalyst 4500E Supervisor Engine 7L-E builds on the widely deployed line of Cisco Catalyst 4500 supervisor engines and enhances its predecessors to provide nonblocking 48 Gbps per slot bandwidth with Flexible NetFlow for optimized application visibility. In addition, the enterprise-class Cisco Catalyst 4500E Supervisor Engine 7L-E offers the following:
Performance and Scalability
The Supervisor Engine 7L-E has two non-blocking 10 Gigabit Ethernet uplinks (SFP+) or 4 non-blocking 1 Gigabit Ethernet uplinks (SFP). This module supports 3-, 6-, and 7-slot Cisco Catalyst 4500E chassis with a maximum of 240 ports of 10/100/1000 Base-T and 400 ports of 1000Base-X (CSFP) in a 7-slot chassis. The 7L-E enables next-generation Universal Power Over Ethernet (UPOE, WS-X4748-UPOE+E) in addition to backward compatibility with other PoE standards.
With 128,000 Flexible NetFlow entries in hardware, the external USB and SD card support flexible storage options and 10/100/1000 RJ-45 console and management port. More performance and scalability are below in Table 2.
Infrastructure Services
Cisco IOS XE Software, the modular open application platform for virtualized borderless services, maximizes resiliency with redundant components, nonstop forwarding/stateful switchover (NSF/SSO), and in-service software upgrade (ISSU) support. Network virtualization through Multi-Virtual Route Forwarding (VRF) technology for Layer 3 segmentation provides automation through Embedded Event Manager (EEM), Cisco Smart Call Home, AutoQoS, and Auto SmartPorts for fast provisioning, diagnosis, and reporting.
Borderless Network Services
Optimized application performance through deep visibility with Flexible NetFlow supports rich Layer 2/3/4 information (MAC, VLAN, TCP Flags) and synthetic traffic monitoring with IP service-level agreement (SLA). Medianet capabilities help simplify video quality of service, monitoring, and security.
In addition, multicast features such as Protocol Independent Multicast (PIM) and Source-Specific Multicast (SSM) provide enterprise customers the additional scalability to support multimedia applications. Energy-efficient design with Cisco EnergyWise™ technology helps reduce the total cost of ownership with investment protection. Full backward compatibility with 6-, 24-, and 48 Gbps slot line cards have no performance degradation.
The Cisco Catalyst 4500E Supervisor Engine 7L-E is compatible with classic Cisco Catalyst 4500 line cards and power supplies, providing full investment protection. Supervisor Engine 7L-E is not compatible with the classic Cisco Catalyst 4500 chassis.
Table 2. Cisco Catalyst 4500E Supervisor Engine 7L-E Performance and Scalability Features
| Features | Supervisor Engine 7L-E |
| Centralized Switching Capacity | 520 Gbps |
| Per-slot Switching Capacity | 48 Gbps |
| Throughput |
|
| Routing Entries |
|
| Multicast Routes | 32,000 |
| CPU | Quad-core; 2.0 GHz |
| CPU Queues | 64 |
| DHCP Snooping Entries | 12,000 |
| MAC Addresses | 55,000 |
| Active VLANs | 4094 |
| Spanning Tree Protocol Instances | 10,000 |
| Switched Virtual Interfaces (SVIs) | 4094 |
| Switched Port Analyzer (SPAN) | Maximum of 8 bi-directional sessions |
About PivIT Global
PivIT Global provides the support you need through infrastructure, maintenance, and professional services. Contact us today to chat more about the supervisor engines or how we can support you through our third-party maintenance and professional services offerings.