The Catalyst 9200CX series of switches are built upon the Catalyst 2960CX and 3560CX’s success, and are now bringing new capabilities to the compact, fan-less switching market. Initially released in 2022 with 3 different SKUs—now, the portfolio is expanding with the Catalyst 9200CX mGig and hVDC models. These new models help build a comprehensive portfolio of compact switches that bring value and deployment flexibility for customers. These compact switches offer feature parity with the Cisco Catalyst 9200 series of switches. Utilizing the same ASIC as the C9200 (Cisco UADP 2.0 Mini) and running Cisco IOS-XE Lite, the C9200CX series of switches bring advanced security, programmability, telemetry, and deployment flexibility to the enterprise with design choices accommodating L2, L3, and fabric deployment use-cases.
Introducing mGig/UPOE Switches for Enabling Wi-Fi 6/6E and High Link-Speed Functionality
The C9200CX-8UXG models are mGig/UPOE switches that offer two variations of built-in 315W power supplies: an AC variant (C9200CX-8UXG-2X), and a hVDC variant (C9200CX-8UXG-2XH). With the addition of the mGig speeds (10MB/100MB/1GB/2.5GB/5GB/10GB) and 802.3bt Type 3 Class 6 60W UPOE port types, these two switches offer the latest and greatest features and technologies adding to the already capable portfolio of the C9200CX. Four of the eight ports on these switches are mGig capable, while the other four are 1G ports. All eight ports are 802.3bt Type 3 (60W) capable. With a large PoE power budget of 240W and UPOE capabilities, these two models will enable the full potential of next generational Wi-Fi 6/6E access points—enabling distributed access type of deployments. Table 1 references a few of the many Cisco Catalyst Wi-Fi 6/6E APs we can power with the Catalyst 9200CX.
Table 1. Wi-Fi 6/6E AP Options
And lastly, architectures are evolving with the demand for L3 feature richness, robust security, and desired support for different fabric overlay solutions. The C9200CX not only supports numerous L2/L3 features, but also fabric solutions like SDA with LISP/VXLAN along with Fabric Enabled Wireless (FEW), and various security features including MACsec-256.
Introducing hVDC on 8/12 Port 1G/PoE+ Switches for Sustainably Powered Environments
Figure 3. C9200CX-8P-2X2H/C9200CX-12-2X2H
In addition to the aforementioned mGig/UPOE C9200CX models, there are also the new hVDC power supply 1G/PoE+ models in 8-port and 12-port configurations. In terms of networking functions and capabilities, these two switches are identical to the 8-port (C9200CX-8P-2X2G) and 12-port (C9200CX-12P-2X2G) AC-only power-supply switches released in 2022.
The special capability of these hVDC variants is that they can be powered by either a hVDC or an AC power source. The hVDC switches use a special power connector called Saf-D-Grid to prevent accidental disconnects and arcing. The other end of the power cable can be of any plug type depending on the power source. This allows for max deployment flexibility and future-proofs these switches for when the power infrastructure of a campus moves to a renewable energy source, where hVDC powering is a possibility. A few options of cable types are shown below in Table 2. Furthermore, powering options are listed in Table 3.
Table 2. C9200CX hVDC Switch Power Cable Options*
Table 3. C9200CX hVDC Switch Powering Options**
Why hVDC?
We’re seeing use cases for hVDC emerging. Operating at a standard voltage of 380 volts, these higher DC voltages, are present in deployments that are grid-independent, or grid-interactive; for example, a particular corporate office campus, as shown in Figure 4. As in Figure 4’s diagram, power is supplied by a battery bank, or by a standard AC grid, or by a clean energy source like solar/wind, or perhaps a combination of the three. Moving forward, as society ventures more into sustainable powering infrastructure, local production and storage of energy will come to the forefront. And both are DC native. On the other hand, while converting to AC power (which is the prominent standard in present electrical environments), there is energy loss resulting in energy wastage. And then, that AC power needs to be reconverted to DC by several electrical devices, which is the case for most electronics that use transistors. Secondly, higher voltage helps reduce conductor material required, helping lessen our need for material usage such as copper. These are a few types of deployment use cases which make the 9200CX hVDC models a great fit for DC micro-grid infrastructures.
Catalyst 9000 Functionality in a Compact Form-Factor
From a capabilities’ perspective, these new switches have the latest and greatest feature support present within the Catalyst 9200 family of switches. These include full SDA Edge Node capabilities with support for 16 VN/VRFs, MACsec-256, programmability, Full Flexible NetFlow, cold patching, PnP, Bonjour SDG-Agent/Service-Peering support, and more within a compact, fan-less form factor. With the feature richness of this line of compact switches, the deployment use-cases of the C9200CX are endless. And with the hardware innovations introduced with these mGig and hVDC SKUs, the deployment needs of sustainably powered infrastructures and next generation Wi-Fi 6/6E use-cases are also met.
* Power cable not provided with hVDC C9200CX models
** Need a plenum-rated enclosure for Plenum Voltage
References:
Additional websites that offer more details about the Cisco Catalyst 9200CX Series and its capabilities:
Cisco Catalyst 9200CX Series Switches Data Sheet
Cisco Catalyst 9200CX Series Switches Hardware Installation Guide
