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Cisco Catalyst 8500 Series Edge Platforms

The Cisco Catalyst 8500 Series Edge Platforms are high-performance cloud edge platforms designed for accelerated services, multi-layer security, cloud-native agility, and edge intelligence to accelerate your journey to cloud.

Platform details

Platforms and configurations

The C8500-20X6C platform (Figure 1) allows all ports to be enabled simultaneously. It offers:
● 20x 1/10GE ports
● 6x 40/100GE ports
The C8500-12X4QC platform (Figure 2) allows for a maximum of 240GE ports to be enabled simultaneously. It offers:
● 12x 1/10GE ports
● 2x 40GE ports
● 2x 40/100GE ports
The C8500-12X platform (Figure 3) offers 12x 1/10GE ports.
The C8500L-8S4X platform (Figure 4) offers 4x 1/10GE and 8x 1GE ports.

Figure 1. C8500-20X6C

Figure 2. C8500-12X4QC

Figure 3. C8500-12X with 12x 1/10GE ports

Figure 4. C8500L-8S4X with 4x 1/10GE and 8x 1GE ports

Nomenclature Note

Catalyst 8500 Edge Platforms refer to C8500-12X, C8500-12X4QC and C8500-20X6C
Catalyst 8500L Edge Platform refers to C8500L-8S4X
Catalyst 8500 Series Edge Platforms refer to Catalyst 8500 and Catalyst 8500L Edge Platforms together

Foundation for Software-Defined WAN

Cisco Catalyst 8500 Series Edge Platforms (Catalyst 8500 and Catalyst 8500L) with Cisco IOS XE SD-WAN Software deliver Cisco’s secure, cloud-scale SD-WAN solution for aggregation sites. The Catalyst 8500 Edge Platforms feature the all-new third-generation Cisco Quantum Flow Processor (QFP), the Catalyst 8500 Series Edge Platforms are built for services from the ground up. The Catalyst 8500L Edge Platform features an x86 based platform architecture that is purpose built to continue delivering the same experience as an ASR1000 platform. The Catalyst 8500 Series Edge Platforms are compact 1RU or 3U (Catalyst C8500-20X6C) devices with flexible interface options, including 1GE, 10GE, 40GE, and 100GE ports. Powered by Cisco IOS XE, fully programmable software architecture, and API support, these platforms can facilitate automation at scale to achieve zero-touch IT capability while migrating workloads to the cloud.

Product overview

Catalyst 8500 Edge Platform Product highlights


Table 1. Catalyst 8500 Edge Platform Product highlights
Product feature Benefits and description
All-new third-generation Quantum Flow Processor (QFP) ASIC ● Inline hardware-accelerated encryption for high-throughput IPsec and MACsec
● High-performance routing and SD-WAN with services
IPsec ● Up to 5X higher IPsec throughput than 2nd Gen QFP devices
Multicore control processor ● Intel x86 CPU with 16 GB memory default (up to 64 GB memory) for high-speed control plane processes
Interface flexibility ● Options for 1GE, 10GE, 40GE, and 100GE ports
DRAM ● All Catalyst 8500 Edge Platforms have 16 GB default DRAM and can be upgraded to 32 GB and 64 GB for higher scale. C8500-20X6C has 64GB of DRAM by default (Maximum possible).
SSD storage ● Default 32-GB eUSB for storage with optional 480-GB SSD upgrade. C8500-20X6C has 480-GB-SSD as default (Maximum available).
Redundancy ● High-efficiency dual power supplies by default for power supply redundancy
● N+1 redundancy High-efficiency power supplies by default for power supply redundancy on the C8500-20X6C
● All Catalyst 8500 Edge Platforms support software redundancy with 2 Cisco IOS processes running on a single device (IOS XE routing mode)
Form factor ● Compact 1RU form factor on the C8500-12X and C8500-12X4QC
● Enhanced 3RU form factor C8500-20X6C
Integrated security/ ● Hardware-anchored Secure Boot and Secure Unique Device Identification (SUDI) support for Plug and Play to verify the identity of the hardware and software

Table 2. Catalyst 8500L Edge Platform Product highlights
● Higher performance routing and SD-WAN with services
Product feature Benefits and description
x86 Based Platform Architecture ● Advanced flow based forwarding reduces overhead for stateful features
● Dynamic core allocation architecture that can leverage data plane cores for I/O and service plane as per-user configuration.
IPsec ● Double the IPsec throughput compared to ASR1001-X 11Gbps (double the ASR1001-X IPSEC performance at 4.5 Gbps)
High Performance Control Plane ● Intel x86 CPU with multiple cores allocated to control plane with 16 GB memory default (up to 64 GB memory) for high-speed control plane processes
Interface flexibility ● Includes 1G and flexible 1G/10G interfaces
DRAM ● All Catalyst 8500 Edge Platforms have 16 GB default DRAM and can be upgraded to 32 GB or 64 GB for higher scale
Flash storage ● Default 32-GB eUSB for storage for additional storage on the platform
SSD Storage ● Optional SSD M.2 NVMe 2TB upgrade for additional storage on the platform
Redundancy ● High-efficiency dual power supplies by default for power supply redundancy
● N+1 redundancy High-efficiency power supplies by default for power supply redundancy on the C8500-20X6C
● All Catalyst 8500 Edge Platforms support software redundancy with 2 Cisco IOS processes running on a single device (IOS XE routing mode)
Form factor ● Compact 1RU form factor
Integrated security/ ● Hardware-anchored Secure Boot and Secure Unique Device Identification (SUDI) support for Plug and Play to verify the identity of the hardware and software

Table 3 provides details on each platform’s configurations and port density. Table 4 shows the maximum port configurations for the Cisco Catalyst C8500-12X4QC platform.
Table 3. Cisco Catalyst 8500 Series configurations and port density
Platform Description Max 1GE ports Max 10GE ports Max 40GE ports Max 100GE ports
C8500-20X6C* 20-port 1/10GE, 6-port 40/100GE 20* 20* 6* 6*
C8500-12X4QC** 12-port 1/10GE, 2-port 40/100GE, 2-port 40GE 12** 12** 4** 2**
C8500-12X 12-port 1/10GE 12 12 0 0
C8500L-8S4X 4-port 1/10GE, 8-port 1GE 12 4 0 0

* All interfaces (total of 800 Gbps bandwidth) can be enabled simultaneously ** Up to 240GE of ports can be enabled simultaneously
Table 4. Maximum ports configurations for Cisco Catalyst C8500-20X6C
Ports type Configuration
Max 1 GE 20x1GE
Max 10 GE 20x10GE
Max 40 GE + 10 GE 6x40GE + 20x10GE
Max 100 GE + 10 GE 6x100GE + 20x10GE
Max 40/100 GE + 10 GE 6x40/100GE + 20x10GE
Max 40/100 GE + 10 GE 6x40/100GE + 20x1/10GE

Table 5. Maximum ports configurations for Cisco Catalyst C8500-12X4QC
Ports type Configuration
Max 1 GE 12x1GE
Max 10 GE 12x10GE
Max 40 GE + 10 GE 4x40GE + 8x10GE
Max 100 GE 2x100GE*
Max 100 GE + 40 GE 1x100GE + 3x40GE
Max 100 GE + 40 GE + 10 GE 1x100GE + 1x40GE + 8x10GE
Max 100 GE + 10 GE 1x100GE + 12x10GE
Max 10 GE + 40 GE 12x10GE + 3x40GE

When Bay 1 is set up in 100GE mode, no other ports available in Bay 0 or Bay 1.

Figures 3 and 4 are a series of images that highlight the Cisco Catalyst C8500-12X4QC platform’s port options in each of its bays.

Figure 5. Bay 0 + bay 1 port options

Figure 6. Bay 2 port options


Table 5a. Cisco controller mode (SD-WAN) performance specifications
C8500-20X6C C8500-12X4QC C8500-12X C8500L-8S4X
SD-WAN IPsec Throughput (1400Bytes, clear text) Up to 350Gbps UP to 96Gbps Up to 51Gbps Up to 19Gbps
SD-WAN IPsec Throughput (IMIX*, clear text**) Up to 100Gbps Up to 31.9Gbps Up to 22.6Gbps Up to 8.6Gbps
SD-WAN Overlay Tunnels scale 8000 8000 8000 6000

Table 5b. Cisco autonomous mode (non SD-WAN) performance specifications
C8500-20X6C C8500-12X4QC C8500-12X C8500L-8S4X
IPv4 Forwarding Throughput (1400Bytes) Up to 500Gbps Up to 197Gbps Up to 118Gbps Up to 39Gbps
IPsec Throughput (1400Bytes, clear text**) Up to 400Gbps Up to 135Gbps Up to 84Gbps Up to 19Gbps
Number of IPsec SVTI Tunnels 4000 4000 4000 4000

Table 5c. Cisco autonomous mode (non SD-WAN) system scalability
C8500-20X6C C8500-12X4QC C8500-12X C8500L-8S4X
Number of ACLs per system 8000 4000 4000 4000
Number of IPv4 ACEs per system 380K 380K 47K 50K
Number of IPv6 Routes 4M 4M w/ default 16GB 4M w/ default 16GB 4M w/ default 16GB
Number of Queues 256K 256K 256K 16K
Number of NAT Sessions 32M 16M 12M 2M
Number of Firewall Sessions 32M 6M 6M 2M
Number of VRFs 8000 8000 8000 8000
*IMIX is average packet size of 352 Bytes packet size
**Based on clear text traffic measurement from traffic generator

Overall platform benefits

Accelerated services with Cisco Software-Defined WAN

Cisco SD-WAN is a set of intelligent software services that allow you to connect users, devices, and branch office locations reliably and securely across a diverse set of WAN transport links. Cisco Catalyst 8000 Series Edge Platforms can dynamically route traffic across the “best” link based on up-to-the-minute application and network conditions for great application experiences. You get tight control over application performance, bandwidth usage, data privacy, and availability of your WAN links—control you need as your branches conduct greater volumes of mission-critical business with both on-premises and cloud controllers.


Application optimization

Ensure that SD-WAN networks meet Service-Level Agreements (SLAs) and maintain strong performance, even if network problems occur. With multi-cloud access, you can accelerate your SaaS applications with a simple template push from the SD-WAN controller.


Multi-layer security

You can now move your traditional and complex WAN networks to a more agile software-defined WAN with integrated security. The Cisco Catalyst 8500 Series Edge Platforms feature on-premises and cloud-based security options.


Application visibility

Applications and users are more distributed than ever, and the internet has effectively become the new enterprise WAN. As organizations continue to embrace internet, cloud, and SaaS, network and IT teams are challenged to deliver consistent and reliable connectivity and application performance over networks and services they don’t own or directly control. The Catalyst 8500 Series Edge Platforms are integrated with Cisco ThousandEyes internet and cloud intelligence. IT managers now have expanded visibility, including hop-by-hop analytics, into network underlay, proactive monitoring of SD-WAN overlay, and performance measurement of SaaS applications. This granular visibility ultimately lowers the Mean Time to Identification of Issues (MTTI) and accelerates resolution time.


Cloud-native agility with programmable software architecture

Cisco continues to offer a feature-rich traditional IOS XE routing stack on the Cisco Catalyst 8000 Series Edge Platforms. IP Routing, IPSec, Quality of Service (QoS), firewall, Network Address Translation (NAT), Network-Based Application Recognition (NBAR), Flexible NetFlow (FNF), and many other features are part of Cisco IOS XE, a fully programmable software architecture with API support and a wide variety of protocols and configurations. With an integrated software image and a single binary file, you can now choose between Cisco IOS XE SD-WAN and Cisco IOS XE. And easily move from one to the other when you choose to do so.


5G-ready

The Cisco Catalyst 8500 Series Edge Platforms are built for future 5G networks. These platforms support external cellular gateway modules with LTE/5G capability for improved throughputs and latency.


Compact form factor

The Cisco Catalyst 8500 Series Edge platforms feature compact 1RU and 3RU platforms with rich interface options, including 1G, 10G, 40G, and 100G ports. Featuring the highly efficient third-generation QFP, the Cisco Catalyst 8500 Series Edge Platforms are built without compromising on performance and ports.


Memory, storage, and accessory options

Table 6. Cisco Catalyst 8500 Series C8500-20X6C memory, storage, and accessory options

Product number Description
C8500-FILTER-ASSY Cisco NEBs level 3 filter
Note: MEM-C8500-64GB memory, SSD-M2SATA-480G SSD M.2 SATA 480 GB and C8500-ACCKIT3R-19 Cisco Mounting Brackets/accessory kit – 19 inches come standard as a default SKU

Table 7. Cisco Catalyst 8500 Series C8500-12X and C8500-12X4QC memory, storage, and accessory options

Product number Description
MEM-C8500-32GB Cisco C8500 32 GB memory
MEM-C8500-64GB Cisco C8500 64 GB memory
SSD-M2SATA-480G Cisco C8500 SSD M.2 SATA 480 GB
C8500-ACCKIT-19 Cisco Catalyst 8500 Edge accessory kit - 19 inches
C8500-ACCKIT-23 Cisco Catalyst 8500 Edge accessory kit - 23 inches
C8500-4PT-KIT Cisco Catalyst 8500 Edge accessory kit – 4-post kit

Table 8. Cisco Catalyst 8500L Edge Platform memory, storage, and accessory options

Product number Description
MEM-C8500L-32GB Cisco C8500L 32 GB memory
MEM-C8500L-64GB Cisco C8500L 64 GB memory
SSD-M2NVME-2T Cisco C8500L SSD M.2 NVMe 2TB
C8500L-RM-19-1R Cisco Catalyst 8500L Edge accessory kit - 19 inches
C8500L-RM-23-1R Cisco Catalyst 8500L Edge accessory kit - 23 inches
C8500L-4PT-KIT Cisco Catalyst 8500L Edge accessory kit – 4-post kit

Optics and transceivers modules

A full list of optics and transceivers is available at: https://tmgmatrix.cisco.com/?si=C8500


Resiliency and high availability

Platform redundancy is critical, as any downtime has direct impact to a customer’s business. The Catalyst 8500 Series Edge Platforms ship with high-efficiency dual power supplies by default for power supply redundancy. All Catalyst 8500 Edge Platforms support software redundancy with two IOS XE processes running on a single device (IOS XE routing mode) for additional control-plane resiliency.


Power supplies

Table 9. Cisco Catalyst 8500-20X6C Series power supply specifications

Power supply feature PWR-CH1-1100WAC PWR-CH1-950WDC
Power maximum rating 1100W 950W
Input-voltage range and frequency 90-264 V AC 50-60 Hz/td> C: -40 to -72V; -48V nominal
Power supply efficiency 80 Plus Platinum 90% 86%
Input current 90-264 V AC 27.6 A to 15.3 A (23 A)
Output ratings 12 V 90A 12 V 79 A
Output holdup time 16 ms 4 ms
Power supply input receptacles IEC 320 C14 Amphenol FXTH series 2 terminal block
Power cord rating 10 A wire 30 A #10 wire 30 A

Table 10. Cisco Catalyst 8500 Series power supply specifications for C8500-12X and C850012X4QC

Power supply feature PWR-CH1-750WACR PWR-CH1-950WDCR
Power maximum rating 750W 950W
Input-voltage range and frequency 85 to 264 VAC 47 to 63 Hz DC: -40 to -72V; -48V nominal
Power supply efficiency 80 Plus Platinum 86%
Input current 9.4 A to 3.0 A 27.6 A to 15.3 A (23 A)
Output ratings 12 V 63 A 12 V 79 A
Output holdup time 20 ms 4 ms
Power supply input receptacles IEC 320 C14 Amphenol FXTH series 2 terminal block
Power cord rating 10 A #10 wire 30 A

Table 11. Cisco Catalyst 8500L Edge Platform power supply specifications

Power supply feature PWR-CH1-400WAC PWR-CH1-400WDC PWR-CC1-400WHV
Power maximum rating 424W 400W 500W
Input-voltage range and frequency 85 to 264 VAC 47 to 63 Hz Vin, min = -40 Vdc
Vin, nom = -54 Vdc
Vin, max = -72 Vdc
85 to 305 Vac
47 to 63 Hz
192 to 400 Vdc
Power supply efficiency 85% @ 20% load
89% @ 50% load
85% @ 100% load
85% @ 20% load
88% @ 50% load
85% @ 100% load
90% @ 20% load
94% @ 50% load
91% @ 100% load
Input current <3A @ 200 Vac
<6A @ 100 Vac
<8A @ -60 Vdc
<15A @ -48 Vdc
<7A @ 100 Vac
<2.1A @ 277 Vac
Output ratings 400W 400W 500W
Output holdup time T,vout_holdup = 20 ms
T,pw_ok_holdup = 5 ms
T,vout_holdup = 8 ms
T,pw_ok_holdup = 2 ms
T,vout_holdup = 20 ms
T,pw_ok_holdup = 20 ms
Power supply input receptacles IEC 320 Style TBD Saf-D-Grid, 2006 series
Power cord rating TBD TBD TBD
RFID tags:RFID tags: Catalyst 8500 Series Edge Platforms have an embedded RFID tag that holds Serial Number and Product ID for easy asset and inventory management using commercial RFID readers.
The RFID tag is external and can be easily removed if needed or can be unselected at the time of ordering.

Software requirements

Table 12. Minimum software requirements for Cisco Catalyst 8500 Series Edge Platforms

Part number Description Minimum software requirement
C8500-20X6C Cisco Catalyst 8500 Series 20-port SFP+, 6-port QSFP+ Cisco IOS XE Software Release 17.10.1
C8500-12X4QC Cisco Catalyst 8500 Series 12-port SFP+, 2-port QSFP+, 2-port QSPF28 Cisco IOS XE Software Release 17.3.2
C8500-12X Cisco Catalyst 8500 Series 12-port SFP+ Cisco IOS XE Software Release 17.3.2
C8500L-8S4X Cisco Catalyst 8500 Series 12-port SFP+, 8x1GE,4x10GE Cisco IOS XE Software Release 17.4.1a

Table 13. ThousandEyes requirements

Feature Description
Cisco ThousandEyes ThousandEyes is natively integrated with eligible Catalyst 8500 Series Edge Platforms having greater than 8 GB DRAM and 8 GB bootflash/storage. Additional memory and storage may be necessary for concurrently running the ThousandEyes agent with containerized SD-WAN security services.

Table 14. Software features and protocols for autonomous mode

Feature Description
Protocols IPv4, IPv6, static routes, Routing Information Protocol Versions 1 and 2 (RIP and RIPv2), Open Shortest Path First (OSPF), Enhanced Interior Gateway Routing Protocol (EIGRP), Border Gateway Protocol (BGP), BGP Router Reflector, Intermediate System-to-Intermediate System (IS-IS), Multicast Internet Group Management Protocol Version 3 (IGMPv3), Protocol Independent Multicast Sparse Mode (PIM SM), PIM Source-Specific Multicast (SSM), Resource Reservation Protocol (RSVP), Cisco Discovery Protocol, Encapsulated Remote Switched Port Analyzer (ERSPAN), Cisco IOS IP Service-Level Agreements (IPSLA), Call Home, Cisco IOS Embedded Event Manager (EEM), Internet Key Exchange (IKE), Access Control Lists (ACL), Ethernet Virtual Connections (EVC), Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP), Frame Relay, DNS, Locator ID Separation Protocol (LISP), Hot Standby Router Protocol (HSRP), RADIUS, Authentication, Authorization, and Accounting (AAA), Application Visibility and Control (AVC), Distance Vector Multicast Routing Protocol (DVMRP), IPv4-to-IPv6 Multicast, Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS), Layer 2 and Layer 3 VPN, IPsec, MACsec Layer 2 Tunneling Protocol Version 3 (L2TPv3), Bidirectional Forwarding Detection (BFD), IEEE 802.1ag, and IEEE 802.3ah, *Broadband (BNG, LNS, LAC, and IWAG - L2/IPoE, EoGRE, L3/Routed)
High Availability Software redundancy with dual IOS, Box-to-Box application-level redundancy
Encapsulations Generic Routing Encapsulation (GRE), Ethernet, 802.1q VLAN, Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP), Multilink Point-to-Point Protocol (MLPPP), High-Level Data Link Control (HDLC), and PPP over Ethernet (PPPoE)
Traffic management Quality of Service (QoS), Class-Based Weighted Fair Queuing (CBWFQ), Weighted Random Early Detection (WRED), Hierarchical QoS, Policy-Based Routing (PBR), Performance Routing (PfR), and Network-Based Application Recognition (NBAR)
Cryptographic algorithms Encryption: DES, 3DES, AES-128, or AES-256 (in CBC and GCM modes)
Authentication: RSA (748/1024/2048 bit), ECDSA (256/384 bit)
Integrity: MD5, SHA, SHA-256, SHA-384, SHA-512

Table 15. Software features and protocols for controller mode

Feature Description
Core Features IPv4, IPv6, static routes, Open Shortest Path First (OSPF), Enhanced Interior Gateway Routing Protocol (EIGRP), Border Gateway Protocol (BGP), Overlay Management Protocol (OMP), Application Aware Routing (AAR), Traffic Engineering, Service Insertion, zero-trust, whitelisting, tamper-proof module, DTLS/TLS, IPsec, classification, prioritization, low latency queuing, remarking, shaping, scheduling, policing, mirroring, Multicast IPv4 Support, Service advertisement and insertion policy, SNMP, NTP, DNS client, Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP), DHCP client, DHCP server, DHCP relay, config archival, syslog, SSH, SCP, Cflowd v10 IPFIX export, IPv6 for transport-side, VRRP, MPLS, NAT (DIA, Service-side, static, overload/PAT, NAT64, etc), NAT pools, split DNS, Access Control Lists (ACL), Bidirectional Forwarding Detection (BFD), Netconf over SSH, CLI, NTP server support, BFD with service-side BGP, BGP community propagation to OMP, 6 SLA classes for AAR, Trustsec/SDA (Inline SGT propagation), custom app with SD-AVC, multicast AAR, dynamic on-demand tunnels, PIM-SM, OSPFv3, route policies, Multi-VRF support
Encapsulations Generic Routing Encapsulation (GRE), Ethernet, 802.1q VLAN
Application Experience Quality of Service (QoS), Forward Error Correction (FEC), COS Marking, Weighted Random Early Detection (WRED), Hierarchical QoS, Policy-Based Routing (PBR), Network-Based Application Recognition (NBAR), Software Defined Application Visibility and Control (SD-AVC), per tunnel QoS, Cloud onRamp for SaaS, Enhanced Office 365 traffic steering, Direct Internet Access, Flexible Netflow (FnF)
Cryptographic Algorithms Encryption: AES-256 (in CBC and GCM modes), Internet Key Exchange (IKE), Cisco PKI Authentication: AAA, RSA (2048 bit), ESP-256-CBC, HMAC-SHA1, ECDSA (256/384 bit)Integrity: SHA-1, SHA-2
Security Built-in end-to-end Segmentation (VPNs), ZBFW, PKI, DNS Layer Security, Security Internet Gateway (Umbrella, Zscaler), ALG for ZBFW
*Support for C8500-12X and C8500-12X4QC only starting in 17.9.3., future release support will only be based on long-lived releases with the next supported release continuing in 17.12.x. Software releases 17.7, 17.8. 17.10 and 17.11 will not support broadband features.

b>Specifications

Mechanical specifications

Table 16. Mechanical specifications for the Cisco Catalyst Series 8500 Edge Platforms

Feature Specification
Part number C8500-20X6C C8500-12X4QC C8500-12X C8500L-8S4X
Dimensions (H x W x D) 26.85” L x 17.25” W x 5.22” H 1.73 in. x 17.50 in. x 18.46 in. 1.73 in. x 17.50 in. x 18.46 in. 1.73 x 17.50 in x 16.25 in
Rack Units (RU) 3RU 1RU 1RU 1RU
Chassis weight with 2x AC power supplies and fan tray 77.5 lbs 20.75 lbs 20.25 lbs 17 lbs
Input voltage AC: 90-264 V
DC: 40-72V
AC: 85 to 264 VAC
DC: -40 to 72V; 48V nominal
AC: 100 to 240 VAC
DC: -40 to -60 VDC
HVAC: 100 to 277 VAC
HVDC: 240 to 380 VDC
Operating temperature 32 to 104°F
(0 to 40°C)
32 to 104°F
(0 to 40°C)
 
Storage temperature -40 to 150°F
(-40 to 70°C)
-40 to 150°F
(-40 to 70°C)
 
Relative humidity operating and nonoperating noncondensing Ambient (noncondensing) operating: 10 to 85% Ambient (noncondensing) nonoperating and storage: 5 to 95% Ambient (noncondensing) operating: 10 to 85% Ambient (noncondensing) nonoperating and storage: 5 to 95%  
NEBS criteria levels GR-1089 and GR-63 GR-1089 and GR-63  
Altitude -500 to 10,000 feet (152 to 3048 meters) -500 to 10,000 feet (152 to 3048 meters)  
Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF) Available upon request 146,700 hours 156,200 hours 240,200 hours

Safety and compliance

Table 17. Safety and compliance specifications for the Cisco Catalyst Series 8500 Edge Platforms

Description Specification
Safety certifications UL 60950-1
CAN/CSA-C22.2 No. 60950-1
EN 60950-1
IEC 60950-1
AS/NZS 60950-1
GB4943
EMC (Emissions) 47 CFR Part 15 Class A
ICES 003 Class A
AS/NZS CISPR 32 Class A
CISPR 22/CISPR 32 Class A
EN55022/EN55032 Class A
VCCI Class A
CNS-13438 Class A
KN32 Class A
IEC/EN 61000-3-2: Power Line Harmonics
IEC/EN 61000-3-3: Voltage Fluctuations and Flicker
EMC (Immunity) IEC/EN-61000-4-2: Electrostatic Discharge Immunity
IEC/EN-61000-4-3: Radiated Immunity
AIEC/EN-61000-4-4: Electrical Fast Transient Immunity
IEC/EN-61000-4-5: Surge AC, DC, and Signal Ports
IEC/EN-61000-4-6: Immunity to Conducted Disturbances
IEC/EN-61000-4-11: Voltage DIPS, Short Interruptions, and Voltage Variations
KN35
EMC (ETSI/EN) EN300 386: Telecommunications Network Equipment (EMC)
EN55022: Information Technology Equipment (Emissions)
EN55032: Multimedia Equipment (Emissions)
EN55024: Information Technology Equipment (Immunity)
EN55035: Multimedia Equipment (Immunity)
EN50082-1/EN-61000-6-1: Generic Immunity Standard

Licensing

All Cisco Catalyst 8500 Series Edge Platforms are offered only with a Cisco DNA Software subscription. Only Cisco DNA Advantage and Cisco DNA Premier are available for the Cisco Catalyst C8500L, C8500-12X and C8500-12X4QC Series Edge Platforms. Cisco DNA Advantage is only offered on the C8500-20X6C Series Edge Platform. For more details, refer to this C8500 ordering guide.

Cisco Smart Licensing

Cisco Smart Licensing is a flexible licensing model that provides you with an easier, faster, and more consistent way to purchase and manage software across the Cisco portfolio and across your organization. And it’s secure – you control what users can access. With Smart Licensing you get:
Easy Activation: Smart Licensing establishes a pool of software licenses that can be used across the entire organization—no more PAKs (Product Activation Keys).
Unified Management: My Cisco Entitlements (MCE) provides a complete view into all of your Cisco products and services in an easy-to-use portal, so you always know what you have and what you are using.
License Flexibility: Your software is not node-locked to your hardware, so you can easily use and transfer licenses as needed.
To use Smart Licensing, you must first set up a Smart Account on Cisco Software Central (software.cisco.com). For a more detailed overview on Cisco Licensing, go to cisco.com/go/licensingguide

Cisco ThousandEyes

A valid ThousandEyes agent license is required to activate the ThousandEyes agent. Existing ThousandEyes subscriptions can be leveraged on eligible Catalyst 8500 Series platforms. Additional ThousandEyes subscription information can be found here.


Product Sustainability

Table 18. Cisco Environmental Sustainability Information

Sustainability Topic Reference
General Information on product-material-content laws and regulations Materials
Information on electronic waste laws and regulations, including our products, batteries and packaging WEEE Compliance
Information on product takeback and resuse program Cisco Takeback and Reuse Program
Sustainability Inquiries Contact: csr_inquiries@cisco.com
Material Product packaging weight and materials Contact: environment@cisco.com

Ordering information

Table 19. Orderable SKUs for the Cisco Catalyst 8500 Series Edge Platforms

Product number Product description
L-DNA-C8500 Cisco C8500 subscription
C8500-20X6C Cisco C8500-20X6C Edge Platform
C8500-12X4QC Cisco C8500-12X4QC Edge Platform
C8500-12X Cisco C8500-12X Edge Platform
PWR-CH1-1100WAC Cisco C8500 1100W AC Power
PWR-CH1-1100WAC= Cisco C8500 1100W AC Power, Spare
PWR-CH1-750WACR Cisco C8500 750W AC Power
PWR-CH1-750WACR= Cisco C8500 750W AC Power, Spare
PWR-CH1-950WDCR Cisco C8500 950W DC Power
PWR-CH1-950WDCR= Cisco C8500 950W DC Power, Spare
SSD-M2SATA-480G Cisco C8500 SSD M.2 SATA 480GB
SSD-M2SATA-480G= Cisco C8500 SSD M.2 SATA 480GB, Spare
MEM-C8500-16GB= Cisco C8500 16GB Memory, Spare
MEM-C8500-32GB Cisco C8500 32GB Memory
MEM-C8500-32GB= Cisco C8500 32GB Memory, Spare
MEM-C8500-64GB Cisco C8500 64GB Memory
MEM-C8500-64GB= Cisco C8500 64GB Memory, Spare
C8500-FAN-3R= Cisco C8500 Fan Tray, 3RU, Spare
C8500-FAN-1R= Cisco C8500 Fan Tray, 1RU, Spare
C8500-ACCKIT3R-19 Cisco C8500 Accessory Kit – 19”
C8500-ACCKIT3R-19= Cisco C8500 Accessory Kit – 19”, Spare
C8500-ACCKIT-19 Cisco C8500 Accessory Kit – 19”
C8500-ACCKIT-19= Cisco C8500 Accessory Kit – 19”, Spare
C8500-ACCKIT-23 Cisco C8500 Accessory Kit – 23”
C8500-ACCKIT-23= Cisco C8500 Accessory Kit – 23”, Spare
C8500-4PT-KIT Cisco C8500 Accessory Kit – 4 Post Kit
C8500-4PT-KIT= Cisco C8500 Accessory Kit – 4 Post Kit, Spare
C8500-FILTER-ASSY Cisco C8500 NEBs Level 3 Filter and assembly
C8500-NEB3-FILTER= Cisco C8500 NEBs Level 3 Filter replacement, Spare
C8500-RFID-3R Cisco C8500 RFID – 3RU
C8500-RFID-1R Cisco C8500 RFID – 1RU

Table 20. Orderable SKUs for the Cisco Catalyst 8500L Edge Platform

Product number Product description
L-DNA-C8500 Cisco C8500 subscription
C8500L-8S4X Cisco C8500L-8S4X Edge Platform
PWR-CH1-400WAC Cisco C8500L 400W AC Power
PWR-CH1-400WAC= Cisco C8500L 400W AC Power, Spare
PWR-CH1-400WDCR Cisco C8500L 400W DC Power
PWR-CH1-400WDC= Cisco C8500L 400W DC Power, Spare
PWR-CC1-400WHV Cisco C8500L 400W HVDC Power
PWR-CC1-400WHV= Cisco C8500L 400W HVDC Power, Spare
MEM-C8500L-16GB= Cisco C8500L 16GB Memory, Spare
MEM-C8500L-32GB Cisco C8500L 32GB Memory
MEM-C8500L-32GB= Cisco C8500L 32GB Memory, Spare
MEM-C8500L-64GB Cisco C8500L 64GB Memory
MEM-C8500L-64GB= Cisco C8500L 64GB Memory, Spare
SSD-M2NVME-2T Cisco C8500L SSD M.2 NVMe 2TB
SSD-M2NVME-2T= Cisco C8500L SSD M.2 NVMe 2TB, Spare
C8500L-FAN-1R= Cisco C8500L Fan Tray, 1RU, Spare
C8500L-RM-19-1R Cisco C8500L Accessory Kit – 19”
C8500L-RM-19-1R= Cisco C8500L Accessory Kit – 19”, Spare
C8500L-RM-23-1R Cisco C8500L Accessory Kit – 23”
C8500L-RM-23-1R= Cisco C8500L Accessory Kit – 23”, Spare
C8500L-4PT-KIT Cisco C8500L Accessory Kit – 4 Post Kit
C8500L-4PT-KIT= Cisco C8500L Accessory Kit – 4 Post Kit, Spare
C-RFID-1R Cisco Catalyst 8000 Edge RFID - 1RU

Services

Cisco Customer Experience Support Services for Catalyst 8000 platforms and Cisco DNA Software for SD-WAN and Routing

This section discusses the Cisco Support Services available for Catalyst 8000 platforms and associated Cisco DNA Software for SD-WAN and Routing, as well as optional Support Service offers.
● Catalyst 8000 platforms: Cisco Solution Support is the default and recommended Cisco Support Service. However, Cisco Solution Support is not mandatory; it can be removed or replaced with another Cisco support service or partner service per the customer’s preference.
● Cisco DNA Software for SD-WAN and Routing: Cisco Solution Support is the default Cisco support service. However, Cisco Solution Support is not mandatory; the customer may choose to use the Cisco Subscription Embedded Software Support included with the purchase of this software. Note:
● When Solution Support is selected, it must be ordered on both the Catalyst 8000 platform and Cisco DNA Software for SD-WAN and Routing for complete customer entitlement to this premium support service.
● SD-WAN and Routing, with both Solution Support or Cisco Subscription Embedded Software Support, customers are entitled to maintenance releases and software updates for Cisco DNA SD-WAN and Routing software only. The support for the Catalyst 8000 platform’s OS and network stack, along with OS updates, is covered by the support contract on the Catalyst 8000 platform.
Cisco Solution Support is a premium support purpose-built for today’s multiproduct, multivendor network environments and provides:
● A primary point of contact centralizing support across a solution deployment
● Solution, product, and interoperability expertise
● No requirement for customers to isolate their issue to a product to open a case
● 30-minute service response objective for Severity 1 and 2 cases
● Prioritized case handling over product support cases
● Product support team coordination (Cisco and Solution Support Alliance Partners)
● Accountability for multiproduct, multivendor issue management from first call to resolution, no matter where the issue resides
Learn more about Cisco Solution Support at https://www.cisco.com/go/solutionsupport.
Cisco Subscription Embedded Software Support includes:
● Access to support and troubleshooting via online tools and web case submission. Case severity or escalation guidelines are not applicable.
● Cisco Technical Assistance Center (TAC) access 24 hours per day, 7 days per week to assist by telephone, or web case submission and online tools with application software use and troubleshooting issues.
● Access to https://www.cisco.com, providing helpful technical and general information on Cisco products, as well as access to Cisco’s online Software Center library.
Note: No additional products or fees are required to receive embedded support for Cisco DNA Software for SD-WAN and Routing. However, if using embedded support for this software, hardware support for the Catalyst 8000 platforms must be purchased separately, as Cisco Subscription Embedded Software Support does not cover hardware. In this case, Cisco Smart Net Total Care Service is recommended for Catalyst 8000 platforms.