Switches & Bridges

Network traffic has grown exponentially over the last several years, and this trend is expected to continue into the foreseeable future. By 2016, there will be 19 billion networked devices, up from 10 billion in 2011. Business IP traffic is expected to reach 13.1 exabytes per month in 2016. Networks must be capable of scaling well beyond the needs of today to deal with the traffic of tomorrow while at the same time providing investment protection.

Network traffic has grown exponentially over the last several years, and this trend is expected to continue into the foreseeable future. By 2016, there will be 19 billion networked devices, up from 10 billion in 2011. Business IP traffic is expected to reach 13.1 exabytes per month in 2016. Networks must be capable of scaling well beyond the needs of today to deal with the traffic of tomorrow while at the same time providing investment protection.

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.

Nomenclature Note

Catalyst 8500 Edge Platforms refer to C8500-12X and C8500-12X4QC

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 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.

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.

Nomenclature Note

Catalyst 8500 Edge Platforms refer to C8500-12X and C8500-12X4QC

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 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.