C1-C4506-E Cisco ONE Catalyst 4500 E-Series 6 Slots Chassis

Deep Dive: C1-C4506-E Chassis Architecture & Design

The C1-C4506-E is engineered for maximum uptime and operational flexibility. Its 6-slot modular design provides an optimal balance between port density, service integration, and physical footprint, making it suitable for a wide range of deployment scenarios.

Physical Design & Robust Construction

Built to enterprise-grade standards, the chassis features a robust metal construction with redundant, hot-swappable power and cooling systems. The six slots are intelligently allocated, typically supporting a combination of supervisor engines, line cards, and service modules. This design ensures critical network functions are isolated and can be upgraded independently without full system outages.

Slot Allocation and Purpose

Supervisor Engine Slots

The chassis typically designates specific slots (often slots 1 and 2) for supervisor engines. Supporting redundant supervisors is a key feature, enabling stateful switchover (SSO) and non-stop forwarding (NSF) for sub-second failover during a hardware or software fault.

Line Card & Service Module Slots

The remaining slots are available for a versatile mix of switching modules. This allows network architects to tailor the switch to exact needs—mixing 1GbE, 10GbE, and even 40GbE densities, alongside integrated wireless controllers, application visibility modules, or security service cards.

Backplane Performance: The Fabric of Speed

The true power of a modular chassis lies in its backplane. The Catalyst 4500 E-Series chassis boasts a high-bandwidth, non-blocking architecture.

Aggregate Switching Capacity: The backplane is designed to handle the cumulative throughput of all installed modules at line rate, preventing internal bottlenecks.
Centralized Arbitration: This architecture ensures fair and efficient access to switching resources across all slots, maintaining consistent performance even under full load.

Key Features and Strategic Benefits

Choosing the C4506-E chassis unlocks a suite of features that translate directly into operational and business advantages for enterprise networks.

Unmatched Reliability and High Availability

Network downtime is not an option. This platform is built for always-on operation.

Redundant Power & Cooling

Support for multiple, hot-swappable power supplies (AC or DC) and fan trays ensures that a single component failure does not impact operations. Power supplies offer load-sharing and N+1 redundancy.

In-Service Software Upgrades (ISSU)

With dual supervisor engines, the system can perform software upgrades with minimal disruption, as one supervisor is updated while the other continues to forward traffic.

Investment Protection and Scalability

The Catalyst 4500 E-Series is renowned for its long lifecycle and compatibility.

Forward and Backward Compatibility

The chassis supports both E-Series and older Classic series modules in many cases, allowing for gradual, cost-effective upgrades. Newer E-Series line cards can be installed alongside existing ones.

Scalable from Access to Core

Start with a configuration for a wiring closet and scale up to a distribution or core layer switch by adding higher-density or higher-speed modules, all within the same physical chassis.

Consolidation of Services

Reduce network sprawl and complexity by integrating multiple functions.

Integrated Wireless LAN Controller

Certain supervisor engines and service modules can embed a Cisco Wireless LAN Controller, managing hundreds of access points directly from the switch, eliminating a separate appliance.

Application Visibility and Control

Modules like the Network Analysis Module (NAM) provide deep packet inspection and performance monitoring, giving IT teams critical insights into application performance and network traffic.

Building Your System: Compatible Components & Modules

The versatility of the C4506-E is realized through its compatible modules. Understanding these components is essential for planning and configuration.

Supervisor Engines: The Brain of the System

The supervisor engine dictates the software features, management capabilities, and overall performance ceiling of the chassis.

Catalyst 4500E Supervisor Engine 8-E (WS-X45-SUP8-E)

A high-performance supervisor supporting advanced routing protocols (BGP, OSPF, EIGRP), MPLS, and full IPv6 capabilities. It often includes an integrated wireless controller.

Catalyst 4500E Supervisor Engine 7-E (WS-X45-SUP7-E)

Provides robust Layer 2 and Layer 3 features for enterprise distribution and access layers, offering a balance of performance and cost.

Line Cards: Port Density and Connectivity

Line cards define the network interfaces available to connect servers, endpoints, and other network devices.

10/100/1000BASE-T (Copper) Modules

Various cards offer 24, 48, or 96 ports of Gigabit Ethernet over copper (RJ-45), often with Power over Ethernet (PoE/PoE+) capabilities for phones, APs, and cameras.

Fiber and 10 Gigabit Ethernet Modules

SFP-based cards for fiber connectivity (1Gb SFP, 10Gb SFP+) and 10GBASE-T cards for copper 10GbE connections, crucial for server aggregation and uplinks.

Power Supplies and Fan Trays

These critical components must be selected based on the power budget and redundancy requirements.

AC Power Supplies (e.g., PWR-C45-2800AC-V)

Various wattages are available to support different PoE loads. It is critical to calculate total system power needs, including all PoE devices, when selecting supplies.

DC Power Supplies

For telecommunications environments or data centers requiring DC input, compatible -48V DC power supplies are available.