Cisco - Catalyst 6500 vs. 6500-E

Enhanced Chassis for Catalyst 6500 Series

The new 3-slot chassis (part number 6503-E) offers enhancements to support the Cisco Catalyst 67xx series line cards. The new 6- and 9-slot chassis (part numbers 6506-E and 6509-E) offer enhancements that increase the overall system power capacity for industry-leading power over Ethernet (PoE) port-density scalability.
Continuing with the Cisco Catalyst 6500 tradition of unmatched investment protection, all existing supervisors, line cards, switch fabrics, and even software releases are supported in the new E-series chassis.

SPECIFICATIONS OF NEW CHASSIS

• The new chassis are similar to existing 3-, 6-, and 9- chassis, with full support for all existing supervisors, line cards, switch fabrics, and even software releases.

• The new chassis are backward-compatible with all existing software versions (details in the software requirements table). Future software releases will be available to enable new features, such as new power supplies.

• The 3-slot chassis supports CEF720 line cards such as the WS-6704-10GE, WS-6724-SFP, and WS-6748-SFP.

• The 6- and 9-slot chassis are designed to scale beyond 4000W power supply configurations. In the future they will support 6000W power supplies. (* Currently they support 6000W and 8700W power supplies).

• The minimum power supply required is 2500W or higher (AC or DC) for the 6- and 9-slot chassis.

Table 1. Chassis Specifications

Name	Cisco Catalyst 6503 Chassis	Cisco Catalyst 6503-E Chassis	Cisco Catalyst 6506 Chassis	Cisco Catalyst 6506-E Chassis	Cisco Catalyst 6509 Chassis	Cisco Catalyst 6509-E Chassis
Dimensions (H x W x D)	7.0 x 17.5 x 21.7 in. (17.9 x 44.5 x 55.1 cm)	7.0 x 17.5 x 21.7 in. (17.9 x 44.5 x 55.1 cm)	20.1 x 17.2 x 18.2 in. (51 x 43.7 x 46.2 cm)	19.2 x 17.5 x 18.2 in. (48.8 x 44.5 x 46.2 cm)	25.3 x 17.2 x 18.2 in. (64.3 x 43.7 x 46.2 cm)	24.5 x 17.5 x 18.2 in. (62.2 x 44.5 x 46.2 cm)
Weight (fully loaded)	75 lb (34 kg)	80 lb (36.4 kg)	153 lb (69.6 kg)	159 lb (72.3 kg)	184 lb (83.7 kg)	190 lb (86.4 kg)
Fan Trays	FAN-MOD-3 FAN-MOD-3HS	WS-C6503-E-FAN	WS-C6K-6SLOT-FAN WS-C6K-6SLOT-FAN2	WS-C6506-E-FAN	WS-C6K-9SLOT-FAN WS-C6K-9SLOT-FAN2	WS-C6509-E-FAN

The enhancement to the chassis helps enable increased power capacity and thereby scales the powered device density.

Table 2 compares the maximum number of PoE devices scaled between existing chassis and enhanced chassis (assumes one Cisco Supervisor Engine with PFC2, best-case module, and redundant power supply).

Table 2. Comparison of PoE Devices on Existing Chassis and Enhanced Chassis

Power Supply	Cisco Catalyst 6506	Cisco Catalyst 6506-E	Cisco Catalyst 6509	Cisco Catalyst 6509-E
4000W power supply	184	184	184	184
6000W power supply*	184	282**	184	279
9000W power supply*	184	310**	184	434**

* Product roadmap

For more information about the enhanced chassis for Catalyst 6500 Series Switch, visit http://www.cisco.com/en/US/prod/collateral/switches/ps5718/ps708/prod_bulletin0900aecd8017a5e7.html