Introducing Cisco C9000 Series Smart Switches

Join Cisco as we introduce the Catalyst C9000 family of switches featuring Cisco SiliconOne. This new series represents a significant evolution from the highly successful Catalyst 9000, introduced in 2017, which has been widely adopted by hundreds of thousands of customers. 2025 presents new challenges and opportunities, including the proliferation of AI-powered devices, the widespread adoption of multi-gigabit Wi-Fi 7, and the increasing relevance of quantum computing, especially concerning network security. These changes necessitate a new generation of networking hardware capable of handling evolving traffic patterns, such as the reverse flow of data driven by AI applications, and addressing the threat of “harvest now, decrypt later” from future quantum adversaries.

To address these challenges, Cisco is introducing the C9000 series smart switches, starting with two primary devices: the Cisco C9350 stackable switch and the Cisco C9610. The C9350 is a next-generation stackable switch, while the C9610 is a 10-slot chassis designed as a successor to platforms like the Catalyst 6500 and Nexus 7700. Both leverage Cisco Silicon One ASICs (K100 and A100) for high performance and come with an enhanced IOS-XE operating system, which includes microservices architecture, improved application hosting, and a roadmap towards quantum-safe compliance. A key innovation is the unified management approach, allowing customers to manage these switches via Meraki Dashboard, Catalyst Center, or traditional CLI/API, offering unprecedented operational flexibility.

The C9350 features a Silicon One A6 capable of 1.3 terabits of bandwidth and 1.6 terabits of stacking bandwidth, with significantly higher ACL and routing table scales compared to its predecessors. Its new stacking architecture utilizes standard Ethernet-based VXLAN for greater flexibility and improved resiliency against cable failures. The C9610 chassis is designed for 51.2 terabits per second, with supervisors supporting 25.6 terabits, and incorporates a centralized cable backplane for efficient front-to-back airflow. Both C9000 series switches are built with post-quantum cryptography compliance in mind, featuring secure unique identifiers (SUID) at the hardware level, and are ready for future security enhancements like HyperShield and Cisco Live Protect for rapid vulnerability remediation. The enhanced application hosting capabilities with faster CPUs, increased memory, and internal data connections further solidify their readiness for the AI era.