The Catalyst 8300 Series Edge Platforms are well suited for medium-sized and large enterprise branch offices for high WAN IPSec performance with integrated Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN services.Cisco Catalyst 8300 Series Edge Platforms (Catalyst 8300) with Cisco IOS XE SD-WAN Software deliver Cisco’s secure, cloud-scale Catalyst SD-WAN solution for the branch. The Catalyst 8300 Series is purpose-built for high performance and integrated SD-WAN Services along with flexibility to deliver security and networking services together from the cloud or on premises. It provides higher WAN port density and a redundant power supply capability.
The Catalyst 8300 Series Edge Platforms have a wide variety of interface options to choose from—ranging from lower and higher module density with backward compatibility to a variety of existing WAN, LAN, voice, and compute modules. 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. Catalyst 8300 Series Edge Platforms also come with Trustworthy Solutions 2.0 infrastructure that secures the platforms against threats and vulnerabilities with integrity verification and remediation of threats.
Table 1. Cisco Catalyst 8300 Series Edge Platforms highlights
| Product feature | Benefits and description |
| Multicore processors | ● 8 or 12 core CPU with 8-GB memory default (up to 32 GB memory upgrade) ● High-performance multicore processors support high-speed WAN connections. ● Dynamic core allocation architecture that can leverage data plane cores for I/O and service plane as per-user configuration. |
| Embedded IPsec VPN hardware acceleration | ● Up to 9.3 Gbps of IPSec Internet Mix (IMIX) traffic ● Increases scalability for IPSec throughput needs for medium- and large-sized branches ● SSL and crypto hardware acceleration |
| Integrated Gigabit Ethernet ports | ● Provides 6 built-in Layer 3 Ethernet ports for WAN or LAN with port speeds ranging from 10Mbps, 100Mbps, 1Gbps and up to 10Gbps, depending on platform model ● All platforms have at least 2 Ethernet ports that can support Small Form-Factor Pluggable (SFP or SFP+) based connectivity in addition to 4 RJ-45 connections, enabling fiber or copper connectivity. |
| DRAM | ● All Catalyst 8300 platforms have 8GB default DRAM and can be upgraded to 16GB and 32GB for higher scale and performance. |
| Flash memory support | ● All Catalyst 8300 platforms have an integrated on-board 8GB flash and it is not upgradeable. M.2 storage provides upgrade options for additional storage. |
| M.2 storage | ● All the Catalyst 8300 models ship with default 16GB M.2 USB for SD-WAN logging and additional storage on the platform. It can be upgraded to 32GB M.2 USB and to 600GB or 2TB M.2 Non-Volatile Memory Express (NVMe) |
| Default dual power supplies | ● All Catalyst 8300 platforms ship with dual power supplies for redundancy. ● AC Power over Ethernet (PoE), DC and Reversed-airflow DC (NEBS) options are available on all models. ● Enabling PoE ports on Network Interface Modules (NIM) or on Service Modules (SM) requires at least one PoE supporting PSU to be installed |
| Modularity and form factor | ● 1RU and 2RU form factor ● Supports SM, NIM, and Pluggable Interface Module (PIM) slots |
| Integrated security | ● Advanced security features available on-box, including Next-Generation Firewall (NGFW) with Application Awareness, IPS/IDS, Advanced Malware Protection, URL filtering, and Cisco Umbrella Secure Internet Gateway (SIG) (Secure Access Service Edge [SASE]) ● Hardware-anchored Secure Boot and Secure Unique Device Identification (SUDI) support for Plug and Play to verify the identity of the hardware and software |
| Dedicated management for netops and secops | ● Netops: manage routers through Catalyst SD-WAN manager or Cisco DNA Center ● Secops: option to combine security policy management and visibility of the integrated NGFW with standalone Cisco Secure Firewalls as well as other security technologies through Cisco Security Cloud Control
|
Table 2. Cisco Catalyst 8300 Series Edge Platforms Specifications
|
Model |
Description |
10G port density |
1G port density |
Slots |
Memory (DRAM) default |
Storage (M.2 SSD) default |
|
C8300-2N2S-4T2X |
C8300 2RU w/ 10G WAN (2 SM and 2 NIM slots, and 2 x 10-Gigabit Ethernet and 4 x 1-Gigabit Ethernet ports) |
2 |
4 |
2 SM 2 NIM 1 PIM |
8 GB |
16 GB |
|
C8300-2N2S-6T |
C8300 2RU w/ 1G WAN (2 SM and 2 NIM slots, and 6 x 1-Gigabit Ethernet ports) |
- |
6 |
2 SM 2 NIM 1 PIM |
8 GB |
16 GB |
|
C8300-1N1S-4T2X |
C8300 1RU w/ 10G WAN (1 SM slot and 1 NIM slot, and 2 x 10-Gigabit Ethernet and 4 x 1-Gigabit Ethernet ports) |
2 |
4 |
1 SM 1 NIM 1 PIM |
8 GB |
16 GB |
|
C8300-1N1S-6T |
C8300 1RU w/ 1G WAN (1 SM slot and 1 NIM slot, and 6 x 1-Gigabit Ethernet ports) |
- |
6 |
1 SM 1 NIM 1 PIM |
8 GB |
16 GB |
Table 3. Cisco Catalyst 8300 Series Catalyst SD-WAN performance
|
Feature |
C8300-2N2S-4T2X (2RU w/ 10G WAN) |
C8300-1N1S-4T2X (1RU w/ 10G WAN) |
C8300-2N2S-6T (2RU w/ 1G WAN) |
C8300-1N1S-6T (1RU w/ 1G WAN) |
|
SD-WAN IPsec Throughput (1400Bytes) |
Up to 18.8Gbps |
Up to 17Gbps |
Up to 2Gbps |
Up to 2Gbps |
|
SD-WAN IPsec Throughput with IQDF** (1400Bytes) |
Up to 18.8Gbps |
Up to 17Gbps |
Up to 2Gbps |
Up to 2Gbps |
|
SD-WAN IPsec Throughput (IMIX*) |
7.6Gbps |
6.3Gbps |
1.8Gbps |
1.8Gbps |
|
SD-WAN IPsec Throughput with IQDF** (IMIX*) |
5.6Gbps |
5.5Gbps |
1.7Gbps |
1.7Gbps |
|
SD-WAN Overlay Tunnels scale |
6000 |
6000 |
6000 |
6000 |
Table 4. Modules supported on Cisco Catalyst 8300 Series Edge Platforms
|
Product number |
Description |
|
Ethernet Layer 3 modules |
|
|
C-NIM-1X |
1-port 10Gbps SFP/SFP+ NIM with WAN MACSec |
|
C-NIM-1M |
1-port 2.5/1Gbps RJ-45 WAN, 90W Poe 802.3 af/at/bt NIM |
|
C-NIM-2T |
2-port 100Mbps/1Gbps dual-mode RJ45/SFP, NIM with WAN MACSec |
|
LAN modules |
|
|
C-NIM-4X |
4-port 1/10Gbps SFP/SFP+ switch NIM, LAN/WAN MACSec & Optional L3 |
|
C-NIM-8T |
8-port 100Mbps/1Gbps switch NIM, LAN/WAN MACSec & Optional L3 |
|
C-NIM-8M* |
8-port 100M/1/2.5Gbps switch NIM, UPoE, LAN/WAN MACSec & Optional L3 |
|
NIM-ES2-4 |
Cisco 4-port Gigabit Ethernet switch NIM |
|
NIM-ES2-8 |
Cisco 8-port Gigabit Ethernet switch NIM |
|
NIM-ES2-8-P |
Cisco 8-port Gigabit Ethernet switch NIM with PoE support |
|
C-SM-16P4M2X |
Cisco 22-port Catalyst L2 switch module with UADP ASIC |
|
C-SM-40P8M2X |
Cisco 50-port Catalyst L2 switch module with UADP ASIC |
|
Compute modules |
|
|
UCS-E160S-M3/K9 |
UCS-E, single-wide, Intel Broadwell 6-core CPU; up to 64 GB RAM, 1-2 HDD |
|
UCS-E180D-M3/K9 |
UCS-E, double-wide, Intel Broadwell 8-core CPU; up to 128 GB RAM, 1-4 HDD |
|
UCS-E1120D-M3/K9 |
UCS-E, double-wide, Intel Broadwell 12-core CPU; up to 128 GB RAM, 1-4 HDD |
|
UCS-E1100D-M6/K9 |
UCS-E, double-wide, Intel Icelake 10-core CPU; up to 128 GB RAM, 1-4 SSD |
|
Voice modules |
|
|
NIM-2FXO |
2-port FXO NIM |
|
NIM-4FXO |
4-port FXO NIM |
|
NIM-2FXSP |
2-port FXS NIM |
|
NIM-4FXSP |
4-port FXS NIM |
|
NIM-2FXSP/4FXOP |
2-port FXS and 4-port FXO NIM |
|
NIM-4E/M |
4-port E/M NIM |
|
NIM-2BRI-NT/TE |
2-port BRI (NT and TE) NIM |
|
NIM-4BRI-NT/TE |
4-port BRI (NT and TE) NIM |
|
SM-X-8FXS/12FXO |
8-port FXS and 12-port FXO single-wide service module |
|
SM-X-16FXS/2FXO |
16-port FXS and 2-port FXO single-wide service module |
|
SM-X-24FXS/4FXO |
24-port FXS and 4-port FXO single-wide service module |
|
SM-X-72FXS |
72-port FXS double-wide service module |
|
NIM-PVDM-32 |
32-channel Voice DSP NIM Module |
|
NIM-PVDM-64 |
64-channel Voice DSP NIM Module |
|
NIM-PVDM-128 |
128-channel Voice DSP NIM Module |
|
NIM-PVDM-256 |
256-channel Voice DSP NIM Module |
|
SM-X-PVDM-3000 |
3080-channel high-density voice DSP module |
|
SM-X-PVDM-2000 |
2048-channel high-density voice DSP module |
|
SM-X-PVDM-1000 |
1024-channel high-density voice DSP module |
|
SM-X-PVDM-500 |
768-channel high-density voice DSP module |
|
NIM-1MFT-T1/E1 |
1-port multiflex trunk voice/clear-channel data T1/E1 module |
|
NIM-2MFT-T1/E1 |
2-port multiflex trunk voice/clear-channel data T1/E1 module |
|
NIM-4MFT-T1/E1 |
4-port multiflex trunk voice/clear-channel data T1/E1 module |
|
NIM-8MFT-T1/E1 |
8-port multiflex trunk voice/clear-channel data T1/E1 module |
|
DSL/broadband |
|
|
NIM-VAB-A |
Multi-mode VDSL2/ADSL/2/2+ NIM Annex A |
|
NIM-VA-B |
Multi-mode VDSL2/ADSL/2/2+ NIM Annex B |
|
NIM-VAB-M |
Multi-mode VDSL2/ADSL/2/2+ NIM Annex M |
|
NIM-4SHDSL-EA |
Multi-mode G.SHDSL NIM |
|
ISDN BRI for Data |
|
|
NIM-2BRI-S/T |
2-port ISDN BRI WAN interface card for data |
|
NIM-4BRI-S/T |
4-port ISDN BRI WAN interface card for data |
|
Channelized T1/E1 and ISDN PRI |
|
|
NIM-1CE1T1-PRI |
1-port Multiflex trunk voice/channelized data T1/E1 module |
|
NIM-2CE1T1-PRI |
2-port Multiflex trunk voice/channelized data T1/E1 module |
|
NIM-8CE1T1-PRI |
8-port Multiflex trunk voice/channelized data T1/E1 module |
|
Serial WAN interface |
|
|
SM-X-1T3/E3 |
1-port clear-channel T3/E3 service module |
|
NIM-1T |
1-port serial high-speed WAN interface card |
|
NIM-2T |
2-port serial high-speed WAN interface card |
|
NIM-4T |
4-port serial high-speed WAN interface card |
|
Async WAN interface |
|
|
NIM-16A |
16-port Asynchronous Module |
|
NIM-24A |
24-port Asynchronous Module |
|
Wireless WAN (LTE) |
|
|
P-5GS6-R16SA-GL* |
5G Sub-6 GHz Pluggable – 5G SA Global |
|
P-5GS6-GL |
5G Sub-6 GHz Pluggable – Global |
|
P-LTEAP18-GL |
CAT18 LTE Advanced Pro Pluggable - Global |
|
P-LTEA7-NA* |
CAT7 LTE Advanced Pluggable - North America |
|
P-LTEA7-EAL* |
CAT7 LTE Advanced Pluggable - EMEA, APAC, and LATAM |
|
P-LTEA7-JP* |
CAT7 LTE Advanced Pluggable - Japan |
|
P-LTEA-EA |
CAT6 LTE Advanced Pluggable - North America and EMEA |
|
P-LTEA-LA |
CAT6 LTE Advanced Pluggable - APAC, ANZ, and LATAM |
|
NIM-LTEA-EA |
CAT6 LTE Advanced - North America and EMEA |
|
NIM-LTEA-LA |
CAT6 LTE Advanced - APAC, ANZ, and LATAM |
|
NIM Carrier Adapter Card |
|
|
C-SM-NIM-ADPT |
Single-wide 2x NIM carrier module in SM-X form factor |
