Cisco Catalyst 4900M Series [Cisco Catalyst 4900 Series Switches]

Premium, High-Performance Top-of-Rack Switching with Flexibility and Investment Protection

Product Overview

The Cisco Catalyst® 4900M Series (Figure 1) is a premium extension to the widely deployed Cisco® Catalyst 4900 Series top-of-rack Ethernet switch specifically designed for data center networks. Optimized for ultimate deployment flexibility, the Cisco Catalyst 4900M can be deployed for 10/100/1000 server access with 1:1 uplink-to-downlink oversubscription and a mix of 10/100/1000 and 10 Gigabit Ethernet servers or all 10 Gigabit Ethernet server environments. The Cisco Catalyst 4900M is a 320-Gbps, 250 million packets per second (mpps), two-rack-unit (2RU) fixed-configuration switch with 8 fixed wire-speed X2 ports on the base unit and 2 optional half-card slots for deployment flexibility and investment protection. Low latency, scalable buffer memory, and high availability with 1+1 hot swappable AC or DC power supplies and a field replaceable fan tray optimize the Cisco Catalyst 4900M for any size of data center.

Figure 1. Cisco Catalyst 4900M

Features and Benefits

The Cisco Catalyst 4900M half-cards provide a wide variety of combinations of Gigabit Ethernet and 10 Gigabit Ethernet media types. The base unit can accommodate up to two of following half-cards in any combination:

Figure 2. 20-port wire-speed 10/100/1000 (RJ-45) half-card

Figure 3. 4-port wire-speed 10 Gigabit Ethernet (X2) half card

Figure 4. 8-port (2:1) 10 Gigabit Ethernet (X2) half-card (Cisco TwinGig Converter Module compatible)

In addition to deployment flexibility, the half-slots provide investment protection for further additions of Gigabit Ethernet and 10 Gigabit Ethernet media.

Table 1 summarizes the features and benefits of the Cisco Catalyst 4900M.

Table 1. Features and Benefits

Feature	Benefit
Outstanding Scalability
16 MB shared buffers	Large buffers for microburst and high traffic control
Up to 320 Gbps and 250 mpps wire-speed performance with low latency	Delay-sensitive traffic forwarded without interruption
Wire-speed uplinks	Elimination of oversubscription bottlenecks between downlinks and uplinks across the switch with any combination of half-cards
Configuration Flexibility
Choice of Gigabit Ethernet and 10 Gigabit Ethernet interfaces	Granular configuration options for all-Gigabit Ethernet to 10 Gigabit Ethernet transition
Online insertion and removal of cards	In-service line card changes
Cisco TwinGig Converter Module support	Gigabit Ethernet and 10 Gigabit Ethernet interface support on the same card
Dual AC or DC power	High availability for nonstop operation
Investment Protection
Modular half-slots	Migration to new media types through additional half-cards
Field-replaceable power supplies and hot-swappable removable fan	Extended longevity of hardware
Use of existing software	Consistent operational model for all Cisco Catalyst 4900 Series Switches

One System, Many Configurations

The Cisco Catalyst 4900M can be configured to meet the needs of many types of top-of-rack deployments. Table 2 summarizes the configuration options.

Table 2. Cisco Catalyst 4900M Configuration Options

Configuration	10 Gigabit Ethernet (X2) Ports	10/100/1000 Ports	Gigabit Ethernet (Small Form-Factor Pluggable [SFP]) Ports Using Cisco TwinGig Converter Module
10/100/1000 access with 10 Gigabit Ethernet uplinks	8	40	0
10/100/1000 and 10 Gigabit Ethernet access with 10 Gigabit Ethernet uplinks	12 or 16	20	0
Gigabit Ethernet (SFP) access with 10 Gigabit Ethernet uplinks	8	0	32
Gigabit Ethernet (SFP) and 10 Gigabit Ethernet access with 10 Gigabit Ethernet uplinks	12 or 16	0	16
10 Gigabit Ethernet access with 10 Gigabit Ethernet uplinks	16 or 24	0	0

10 Gigabit Ethernet and Gigabit Ethernet on the Same Half-Card

The Cisco TwinGig Converter Module (Figure 5) converts a single 10 Gigabit Ethernet X2 interface into two Gigabit Ethernet port slots that can be populated with SFP optics, enabling customers to use Gigabit Ethernet SFPs on the same card in combination with 10 Gigabit Ethernet X2 optics.

Figure 5. Cisco TwinGig Converter Module Converts 10 Gigabit Ethernet X2 Interface into Two Gigabit Ethernet SFPs

Operational Consistency and Control

The Cisco Catalyst 4900M includes a console port to manage all system features. Remote in-band management is available with Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP), Telnet client, BOOTP, and Trivial File Transfer Protocol (TFTP). Support for local or remote out-of-band management is delivered through a terminal or modem attached to the console interface.

The Cisco Catalyst 4900M supports file allocation table (FAT) file systems. System images can be updated directly through Windows-based machines with compact flash readers.

Using CiscoWorks solutions, Cisco Catalyst switches can be configured and managed to deliver end-to-end device, VLAN, traffic, and policy management. The CiscoWorks LAN Management Solution (LMS) bundle offers tools such as CiscoWorks Resource Manager Essentials (SNMS) and CiscoWorks CiscoView (SNMS). These Web-based management tools offer several services, including automated inventory collection, software deployment, easy tracking of network changes, views into device availability, and quick isolation of error conditions.

Cisco VFrame Data Center Support

Cisco VFrame Data Center (DC) discovers Cisco Catalyst 4900 Series switches in a Layer 2 topology. Application networks using Cisco Catalyst 4900 Series Switches can now be provisioned rapidly through the automated requirements-based deployment model that Cisco VFrame DC offers. Important features of this support include the following:

• Cisco Catalyst 4900Series Switches and Layer 2 topology discovery

• VLAN discovery and creation

• Port VLAN memberships

• Cisco EtherChannel® and network interface card (NIC) teaming configurations

• Macro-based port configurations

For more information, please visit: http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/ps8463/index.html.

Software Configuration Options

Table 3 describes the software configuration options for the Cisco Catalyst 4900M Series Switch.

Table 3. Software Configuration Options for the Cisco Catalyst 4900M Series Switch

Software Image	Description
IP Base image	Standard Layer 3 image, including Routing Information Protocol Version 1 (RIPv1), RIPv2, static routes, and Enhanced Interior Gateway Routing Protocol (EIGRP) stub
Enterprise Services image	Enhanced Layer 3 image, including Open Shortest Path First (OSPF), EIGRP, and Border Gateway Protocol (BGP); also includes all IP Base image features

Table 4. Cisco Catalyst 4900 Series Hardware Comparison

Feature and Description	Cisco Catalyst 4948	Cisco Catalyst 4948 -10GE	Cisco Catalyst 4900M
Switching Capacity	96 Gbps	136 Gbps	320 Gbps
Throughput	72 mpps	102 mpps	250 mpps for IPv4 125 mpps for IPv6
IPv6 support	In Software	In Software	In Hardware
Height	1RU	1RU	2RU
Modular half-card slots	0	0	2
Maximum 10/100/1000 ports	48	48	40
Maximum 10 Gigabit Ethernet Ports	0	2	24
Maximum Gigabit Ethernet (fiber) ports	4	0	32 (Cisco TwinGig Converter Module)
Cisco TwinGig Converter Module support	No	No	Yes (half-cards only)
Uplink optic types	4 SFP optics	Two X2 (10 Gigabit Ethernet) optics	Eight X2 (10 Gigabit Ethernet) optics
Multilayer switching	IP Base and Enterprise Services options	IP Base and Enterprise Services options	IP Base and Enterprise Services options
Shared buffer	16 MB	16 MB	16 MB
CPU	266 MHz	666 MHz	1.3 GHz
Synchronous Dynamic RAM (SDRAM)	256 MB	256 MB	512 MB
Active VLANs	2048	2048	4096
Multicast Entries	28K (Layer 3) 16K (Layer 2)	28K (Layer 3) 16K (Layer 2)	56K for IPv4 28K for IPv6
Per VLAN Spanning Tree (PVST) Protocol and VLAN IDs	4096	4096	4096
Spanning Tree Protocol instances	1500	1500	3000
Switched virtual interfaces (SVIs)	2000	2000	4096
Security and quality-of-service (QoS) hardware entries	32K	32K	128K
MAC addresses	32K	55K	55K
Switched Port Analyzer (SPAN)	2 ingress and 4 egress	2 ingress and 4 egress	8 ingress and 8 egress
USB port	No	No	Yes
Compact flash memory support	No	No	Yes
System reset button	No	No	Yes
Minimum software requirement	Cisco IOS® Software Release 12.2(20)EWA or later	Cisco IOS Software Release 12.2(25)EWA or later	Cisco IOS Software Release 12.2(40)XO or later

Features at a Glance

Layer 2 Features

• Layer 2 switch ports and VLAN trunks

• IEEE 802. 1Q VLAN encapsulation

• Dynamic Trunking Protocol (DTP)

• VLAN Trunking Protocol (VTP) and VTP domains

• VTP pruning

• Port security on trunk port

• Q-in-Q passthrough

• Support for 4096 VLANs per switch

• PVST+ and Per-VLAN Rapid Spanning-Tree Protocol (PVRST)

• Spanning Tree PortFast and PortFast guard

• Spanning Tree UplinkFast and BackboneFast

• IEEE 802.1s

• IEEE 802.1w

• IEEE 802.3ad

• Spanning Tree root guard

• Cisco Discovery Protocol

• Internet Group Management Protocol (IGMP) Versions 1, 2, and 3 snooping

• IP v6 Multicast Listener Discovery (MLD) snooping

• Cisco EtherChannel technology, Cisco Fast EtherChannel technology, and Cisco Gigabit EtherChannel technology across half-cards and base unit

• Port Aggregation Protocol (PAgP)

• Link Aggregation Control Protocol (LACP)

• Unidirectional link detection (UDLD) and aggressive UDLD

• Jumbo frames (up to 9216 bytes)

• Baby Giants (up to 1600 bytes)

• Storm control (formally known as broadcast and multicast suppression)

• Forced 10/100 autonegotiation

• Bridge protocol data unit (BPDU) guard

Layer 3 Features

• Jumbo frames on all ports (up to 9216 bytes)

• Hardware-based IP Cisco Express Forwarding routing at 250 mpps

• IP routing protocols: Eigrp, OSPF, BGP4, Routing Information Protocol (RIP), and RIP2

• OSPF fast convergence

• Enhanced Interior Gateway Routing Protocol (EIGRP) stub

• Static routing

• Inter-VLAN Routing

• Virtual Route Forwarding lite (VRF-lite)

• EIGRP to Multi VRF CE (VRF Lite)

• Equal Cost Multi Path Routing (ECMP up to 8 paths)

• IPv6: RIP next generation (RIPng) for IPv6

• IPv6: OSPFv3

• IPv6: EIGRP

• Software-based generic routing encapsulation (GRE) tunneling

• IGMP v1, v2, and v3

• IGMP filtering on access and trunk ports

• IP Multicast routing protocols: PIM (SM, DM, SDM)

• Protocol Independent Multicast Version 6 (PIMv6) (Sparse mode)

• Pragmatic General Multicast

• Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP)

• ICMP Router Discovery Protocol

• DHCP server

• Per-port multicast suppression

• Unicast RPF

High Availability Features

• 1+1 hot swappable AC or DC power supplies

• Hot-swappable field replaceable fan tray with redundant fans

• Hot Standby Router Protocol (HSRP)

• Virtual Router Redundancy Protocol (VRRP)

• Cisco IOS Embedded Event Manager (EEM)

• Cisco Generic On Line Diagnostics (GOLD)

IPv6 Support

• IPv6: RIP next generation (RIPng) for IPv6

• IPv6: OSPFv3

• IPv6: EIGRP

• IPv6: Protocol Independent Multicast (PIMv6) (Sparse mode)

• IPv6 unicast and multicast forwarding in hardware

• IPv6 addressing architecture

• IPv6: Cisco Discovery Protocol IPv6 address family

• IPv6: Cisco Express Forwarding (CEF/dCEF) in hardware

• IPv6: Extended access control list (ACL)

• IPv6: ICMP rate limiting

• IPv6: ICMPv6

• IPv6: ICMPv6 redirect

• IPv6: IP MIB

• IPv6 over IEEE 802.1Q

• IPv6: IPv6 over IPv4 GRE tunnel (tunnel support in software)

• IPv6: Intrasite Automatic Tunnel Addressing Protocol (ISATAP)

• IPv6: Loopback

• IPv6: MLD snooping

• IPv6: MLDv1 and v2

• IPv6: Maximum transmission unit (MTU) path discovery for IPv6

• IPv6: Ping

• IPv6: Secure Shell (SSH) over an IPv6 transport

• IPv6: Stateless autoconfiguration

• IPv6: Static routes within IPv6

• IPv6: authentication, authorization, and accounting (AAA)

• IPv6: Telnet

• IPv6: Trivial FTP (TFTP)

• IPv6: Traceroute

• IPv6: Duplicate address detection

• IPv6: Standard ACL

• IPv6 tunnels in software

• IPv6: Hop-by-hop option header; in software

Sophisticated QoS and Traffic Management

• Modular QoS command-line interface (MQC)

• Per-port per VLAN QoS

• Dynamic Tx queue sizing

• Strict priority queuing

• IP differentiated services code point (DSCP)

• IEEE 802.1p class of service

• Flexible classification marking

• Classification and marking based on full Layer 3 and 4 headers

• Input and output policing based on Layer 3 and 4 headers

• Support for 16,000 policers with flexible assignment for input and output

• 2-rate 3-color policing

• Output queue management shaping and sharing

• Dynamic buffer limiting: Congestion-avoidance feature

Performance and Scalability

• 320-Gbps switching fabric

• Layer 2 hardware forwarding at 250 mpps

• Layer 3 hardware-based IP Cisco Express Forwarding routing at 250 mpps

• Layer 4 TCP and User Datagram Protocol (UDP) hardware-based filtering at 250 mpps

• Software-based learning at a sustained rate of 10,000 hosts per second

• 55,000 unicast MAC addresses

• 16,000 multicast MAC addresses

• 200,000 entries in routing table (shared between unicast and multicast)

• 4000 virtual ports (VLAN port instances)

• Bandwidth aggregation up to 16 Gbps through Cisco Gigabit EtherChannel technology.

• Bandwidth aggregation up to 160 Gbps for 10 Gigabit Ethernet through 10 Gigabit EtherChannel technology

• Hardware-based multicast management

• Hardware-based ACLs

Management

• Console port to manage all system features

• Software configuration management, including local and remote storage

• Optional compact flash memory card to store software images for backup and easy software upgrades (Future)

• USB drive support (Future)

• FAT file system support

• Manageable through CiscoWorks Windows network-management software on a per-port and per-switch basis, providing a common management interface for Cisco routers, switches, and hubs

• SNMP v1, v2, and v3 instrumentation, delivering comprehensive in-band management

• Command-line interface (CLI) based management console to provide detailed out-of-band management

• Remote monitoring (RMON) software agent to support four RMON groups (history, statistics, alarms, and events) for enhanced traffic management, monitoring, and analysis

• Analysis support, including ingress port, egress port, and VLAN SPAN

• Layer 2 traceroute

• Cisco SmartPort macros

• SPAN ACL filtering

• DHCP client autoconfiguration

• Enhanced SNMP MIB support

• Network Timing Protocol (NTP)

Advanced Security

• TACACS+ and RADIUS, which enable centralized control of the switch and restrict unauthorized users from altering the configuration

• Standard and extended ACLs on all ports

• IEEE 802. 1X user authentication (with VLAN assignment, voice VLAN, and port security)

• Router ACLs (RACLs) on all ports (no performance penalty)

• VLAN ACLs (VACLs)

• Port ACLs (PACLs)

• Private VLANs (PVLANs) on access ports

• DHCP snooping and Option 82 insertion

• Port security

• Sticky port security

• SSHv1 and SSHv2

• Unicast port flood blocking

• Dynamic Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) inspection

• IP source guard

• VLAN Management Policy Server (VMPS) client

• Network Admission Control (NAC) Layer 2 IEEE 802.1X

• NAC LAN port IP

• Secure Copy Protocol (SCP)

• Unicast RPF

Technical Specifications

Management

• Cisco VFrame DC support

• CiscoWorks LMS; includes CiscoWorks Resource Manager Essentials

• CiscoWorks CiscoView

• SNMP v1, v2, and v3

• RMON I and II

• RFC 1213-MIB (MIB II)

• UDP-MIB

• TCP-MIB

• BGP4-MIB

• OSPF-MIB

• CISCO-FLASH-MIB

• CISCO-IMAGE-MIB

• RFC 2233 (IF-MIB)

• CISCO-CONFIG-MAN-MIB

• CISCO-MEMORY-POOL

• CISCO-CDP-MIB

• RMON-MIB lite (RFC 1757)

• RMON2-MIB lite (RFC 2021)

• HC-RMON-MIB

• SMON-MIB

• ENTITY-MIB (V1-RFC 2037) (V2- RFC 2737)

• CISCO-PROCESS-MIB

• CISCO-CONFIG-COPY-MIB

• CISCO-ENTITY-EXT-MIB

• CISCO-ENTITY-ASSET-MIB

• CISCO-ENTITY-FRU-CONTROL-MIB

• CISCO-ENTITY-SENSOR-MIB

• CISCO-ENVMON-MIB

• BRIDGE-MIB (RFC 1493)

• CISCO-PAGP-MIB

• CISCO-PRIVATE-VLAN-MIB

• CISCO-STP-EXTENSIONS-MIB

• CISCO-VLAN-MEMBERSHIP-MIB

• CISCO-VLAN-IFTABLE-RELATIONSHIP-MIB

• IGMP-MIB

• CISCO-ENTITY-VENDORTYPE-OID-MIB

Hierarchical Navigation

Cisco Catalyst 4900 Series Switches

Cisco Catalyst 4900M Series

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