Cisco Catalyst C9500-16X 16-Port 10G Switch

The Cisco Catalyst C9500-16X is a fixed-core switch with 16 ports of 10 GbE, 480 Gbps of switching capacity and a UADP 2.0 ASIC. Cisco's last day to order one was 30 April 2026 under notice EOL15621, and Cisco supports it until 30 April 2031. The same notice also covers both uplink modules, which means a 16X built with modules sits on one set of dates.

Ports and what this switch is for

Sixteen ports of 10 GbE on SFP/SFP+ is a core or aggregation count rather than an access one, and the figures behind them are the ones Cisco still publishes in full for this model. Switching capacity is 480 Gbps, forwarding runs up to 360 Mpps, and the ASIC is named as UADP 2.0, with no ASIC count stated by Cisco for it or for any other switch in the family.

Power and cooling are built for a core position rather than a wiring closet. The chassis takes two power supplies in a 1+1 arrangement, both field-replaceable and hot-swappable, and Cisco ships the switch with one fitted, which always goes in supply bay number one when a second is not present. Cooling is up to five field-replaceable variable-speed fans on the FAN-T4-R part, and the switch runs with one fan failed. Airflow is front to back, and Cisco publishes no other direction for this platform. Cisco publishes supply ratings, BTU and input voltage but no switch power draw, so a rack power budget is built from the supply rating rather than from a consumption figure.

Lifecycle: what Cisco stopped selling, and what Cisco still supports

Cisco's last day to order a Catalyst C9500-16X was 30 April 2026, and Cisco's last day of support for it is 30 April 2031, both under end-of-life notice EOL15621. That is two years further out than the C9500-24Q and C9500-40X, which Cisco supports to 30 April 2029 under a separate notice, EOL15039, which renders on Cisco's site with an amended marker. The same EOL15621 notice also covers the C9500-NM-8X and C9500-NM-2Q uplink modules on the same two dates, so a 16X ordered with modules sits on one lifecycle rather than three.

Those two dates work as a pair and neither one is much use alone. A last day to order, read on its own, sounds like a reason to avoid the platform. A last day of support, read on its own, means nothing until you know Cisco has stopped selling it. Together they describe the position precisely: no new units are coming from Cisco, and the switch has vendor support ahead of it measured in years rather than months.

EOL15621 is the notice that covers all three part numbers, and it is the notice a 16X buyer plans against. Cisco's separate notice for the C9500-12Q, C9500-24Q and C9500-40X, EOL15039, lists neither the C9500-NM-8X nor the C9500-NM-2Q among its part numbers, so the C9500-16X is the only Catalyst 9500 in this range whose uplink modules share its notice. What can be stated is the part that is written down: switch, eight-port module and two-port module, three part numbers, one notice, the same two dates.

Uplink modules

A Catalyst C9500-16X accepts either of two Cisco uplink modules. The C9500-NM-8X adds eight ports of 1/10 Gigabit Ethernet on SFP/SFP+, and the C9500-NM-2Q adds two ports of 40 Gigabit Ethernet on QSFP+. Cisco supports these modules on the C9500-16X and the C9500-40X; a module ordered for a C9500-24Q will not be usable on it, because that model's twenty-four 40 Gigabit ports are fixed.

The choice between the two modules is a choice about what sits upstream. Eight more 10G ports extend the same fabric the sixteen fixed ports already speak, which suits a switch aggregating 10G links from below. Two 40G ports instead give the chassis a pair of much faster paths towards a spine or a data-centre core, at the cost of port count. Both modules share the switch's own end-of-life notice, EOL15621, on the same two dates.

A module is a separate order line from the switch and from the network stack level, which matters when buying on the secondary market: the three things arrive from three different places and none of them can be assumed from the others. Confirm the module fitted to a used unit rather than inferring it from the chassis part number.

Where the C9500-16X sits in the 9500 line

The comparison that decides most 16X purchases is against the 40-port model, because both switches speak 10G and both take the same uplink modules.

The C9500-40X offers more 10G ports than a C9500-16X and takes the same two uplink modules, and the difference that decides between them is the lifecycle: Cisco supports the C9500-16X until 30 April 2031 under EOL15621, and the C9500-40X until 30 April 2029 under EOL15039. There is no throughput comparison to draw between the two, because Cisco publishes a switching-capacity figure for this model and none for the 40-port one, and the 480 Gbps figure belongs to this page's switch alone.

Away from the Catalyst line, the data-centre answer to the same problem is a Nexus switch. A Nexus 93180YC-EX puts 48 ports of 25G access with 40 and 100G uplinks in the same rack unit, and it sits in the same commercial position: past its own last order date, still supported, and available on the secondary market rather than from Cisco.

Buying a switch Cisco no longer sells

Cisco will not sell you a Catalyst C9500-16X. Cisco will still support one until 30 April 2031 under EOL15621. That gap is the whole argument for buying the platform refurbished, and it is unusually clean on this model because the support horizon is the longest of the three switches on the Catalyst 9500 family page. The secondary market is the route to the hardware; Cisco remains the route to support for it.

Whole systems, switches included, carry a 2-year Enterasource warranty, and shipping is free FedEx Ground to the lower 48 states. We do not claim that any Cisco entitlement transfers with a used unit, and nothing on this page should be read that way. The broader Cisco switching and routing catalogue covers the neighbouring families for anyone weighing this against a different platform entirely.

Condition, testing and what ships with the switch

Each unit is tested on arrival, then dismantled, cleaned and booked into stock. A switch picked against an order is rebuilt, configured and tested again before packing, so the last event in its history here is a functional test rather than a label. Cosmetic condition is described as it is found, and any fitted uplink module is listed as part of what ships.

Software licenses and subscriptions are not included unless the listing states otherwise. Cisco sells the Catalyst 9500 in two network stack levels - Network Essentials and Network Advantage - and the level is recorded in the part number rather than being a cosmetic suffix. On this platform the difference is functional rather than cosmetic: Cisco lists StackWise Virtual as a Network Advantage feature and not a Network Essentials one. Tell us which level your network needs before you order and we will confirm, in writing, what the specific unit we are shipping carries.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the Cisco C9500-16X end of life?

Cisco has published an end-of-life notice for it, EOL15621, and that notice sets two dates. The last day to order the switch from Cisco was 30 April 2026, and the last day of support for it is 30 April 2031. Those are different milestones and the gap between them is what matters to a buyer: the hardware has to come from the secondary market, and the vendor support behind it runs for years yet. The same notice covers the two uplink modules on the same dates.

Which uplink modules does a C9500-16X take?

Two, and Cisco names both. The C9500-NM-8X carries eight ports of 1/10 Gigabit Ethernet on SFP and SFP+, and the C9500-NM-2Q carries two ports of 40 Gigabit Ethernet on QSFP+. Either fits the uplink slot on this chassis, and Cisco supports the same pair of modules on the C9500-40X as well, so a module is not a reason to choose one of those two switches over the other. The C9500-24Q takes neither, because all of its ports are fixed.

Do the uplink modules share the switch's lifecycle dates?

Yes. Cisco's notice EOL15621 lists the C9500-16X, the C9500-NM-8X and the C9500-NM-2Q together, and it gives all three the same last day to order, 30 April 2026, and the same last day of support, 30 April 2031. A chassis planned with a module is therefore planned around one set of dates instead of trying to reconcile three, which is worth knowing before a module is sourced separately from the switch it is going into. Cisco's separate notice EOL15039, which covers the C9500-12Q, C9500-24Q and C9500-40X, lists neither module among its part numbers.

What is the switching capacity of a C9500-16X?

Cisco publishes 480 Gbps of switching capacity for this model, along with a forwarding rate of up to 360 Mpps. The ASIC is named as UADP 2.0, and Cisco does not state how many ASICs the switch contains, so this page does not either. Scale figures published alongside them include up to 64,000 MAC addresses, up to 64,000 indirect IPv4 routes and up to 80,000 IPv4 host and ARP entries, with 16 GB of DRAM and 16 GB of flash.

Can Catalyst 9500 switches be stacked?

Not in the sense the Catalyst 9200 and 9300 use the word. There are no data-stacking ports on this platform and Cisco builds no stacking kit for it, so there is no equivalent of a C9200L-STACK-KIT to buy. What Cisco does publish is StackWise Virtual, which pairs two chassis over a StackWise Virtual Link with stateful switchover and in-service software upgrade, and supports Multichassis EtherChannel across the pair. It is a Network Advantage feature, so the network stack level on both units decides whether it is available at all.

Does a refurbished C9500-16X include a Cisco license?

Software licenses and subscriptions are not included unless the listing says so. On this model there are genuinely three separate order lines to think about: the chassis, any uplink module fitted to it, and the network stack level recorded in the part number. None of the three can be inferred from either of the others on a used unit. Tell us whether the design needs Network Essentials or Network Advantage and we will confirm in writing what the specific switch being shipped actually carries.