Cisco Catalyst 4500-X Series Switches

About Cisco Catalyst 4500-X Series Switches

The Cisco Catalyst 4500-X Series is a high-performance, fixed aggregation switch platform designed for enterprise core, distribution, and campus backbone networks. Built for organizations that require high scalability, advanced security, and powerful data throughput, the 4500-X series delivers exceptional performance in a compact 1-rack-unit (1RU) form factor.

Designed for modern enterprise environments, the Catalyst 4500-X supports Layer 2 and full Layer 3 routing, advanced policy enforcement, MACsec encryption, unified access, and sophisticated traffic management. With up to 40-Gbps uplinks and 800-Gbps system bandwidth, the switch is suitable for application-intensive networks, large data transfers, virtualization, cloud services, and unified communication systems.

The switches are available in multiple high-density configurations ranging from 16 to 40 Gigabit Ethernet ports, with optional scalability through uplink module expansion. Using Ciscos Virtual Switching System (VSS) technology, two Catalyst 4500-X units can operate as a single logical switch, providing superior network resilience and simplified management while eliminating spanning-tree bottlenecks.

Advanced management support, including SNMP, CLI, Cisco Prime, and third-party automation tools, makes deployment and monitoring simple for network administrators. With redundant power options, high availability features, and strong hardware design, the Catalyst 4500-X is engineered for uninterrupted 24/7 enterprise performance.

Key Capabilities

• Compact 1RU fixed-aggregation design

• Up to 800 Gbps switching capacity

• High-density 10-Gigabit and 40-Gigabit Ethernet ports

• Full Layer-3 routing capabilities

• Cisco VSS for switch virtualization

• Advanced enterprise security & policy control

• MACsec encryption support

• Intelligent network management and automation

• Designed for scalable enterprise core and campus distribution

Ideal Use Cases

• Enterprise core switching

• Campus distribution networks

• High-bandwidth application centers

• Virtualized & cloud networks

• Unified communication & video-rich environments

• Data-intensive business systems