Cisco Catalyst 6800-SUP6T-XL: Extended Life Supervisor Engine for Catalyst 6800 Series

Jun 20 , 2025 3

Cisco Catalyst 6800-SUP6T-XL: Extended Life Supervisor Engine for Catalyst 6800 Series

Product Overview

The Cisco Catalyst 6800-SUP6T-XL is an extended-life supervisor engine designed for the Catalyst 6800 Series modular switches, providing high availability, scalability, and investment protection for enterprise campus and data center networks. As an enhanced version of the SUP6T, it offers increased system bandwidth, improved performance, and extended support lifecycle to meet growing network demands.

Key Specifications:

✔ System Capacity: 720Gbps (vs. 480Gbps on standard SUP6T)
✔ Forwarding Rate: 476Mpps (high-performance packet processing)
✔ CPU: Quad-core 2.4GHz processor with hardware acceleration
✔ Memory: 32GB DDR4 (expandable to 64GB)
✔ Storage: 64GB internal flash (with optional external storage support)
✔ Management Ports:

• 2x 1G/10G SFP+ ports (for out-of-band management)

• 1x 1G RJ45 console port
  ✔ Redundancy: 1:1 supervisor redundancy with NSF/SSO (Stateful Switchover)
  ✔ Power Efficiency: Optimized power consumption for high-density deployments

Advanced Features:

Cisco IOS XE Software with programmable APIs for automation
Full support for SD-Access, DNA Center, and Intent-Based Networking
Advanced security with TrustSec, MACsec (256-bit AES), and ACLs
Flexible NetFlow, SPAN/RSPAN, and enhanced telemetry
Seamless software upgrades (ISSU) for minimal downtime
Enhanced QoS and multicast support for converged networks

Deployment Scenarios:

• Enterprise campus core/distribution layer

• Data center aggregation switches

• High-density PoE+ deployments (with Catalyst 6807-XL chassis)

• Networks requiring extended lifecycle support

Next-Generation Evolution: Catalyst 6800-SUP8T-XL (Projected 2025)

Major Enhancements:

System Capacity: 1.44Tbps (2x improvement over SUP6T-XL)
Forwarding Rate: 950Mpps (double the packet processing speed)
CPU: 8-core 3.2GHz processor with AI acceleration
Memory: 64GB DDR4 (expandable to 128GB)
Storage: 128GB NVMe flash storage (faster boot and logging)
Management Ports:

• 4x 10G/25G SFP28 ports (higher bandwidth management)

• 1x 2.5G RJ45 console port
  New Capabilities:

• AI/ML-powered network analytics (predictive troubleshooting)

• Enhanced automation with model-driven programmability (YANG/NETCONF)

• Cloud-scale telemetry (Streaming Telemetry v2)

• Quantum-safe cryptography support

• Improved power efficiency (30% lower power consumption)

Why Upgrade?

✔ Future-proof architecture for 400G/800G networks
✔ AI-driven automation for reduced operational complexity
✔ Enhanced security against emerging threats
✔ Higher performance for modern workloads (Wi-Fi 6E, 5G, IoT)
✔ Extended support lifecycle for critical infrastructure

Conclusion

The Catalyst 6800-SUP6T-XL is a high-performance, extended-life supervisor engine that delivers reliable, scalable, and secure networking for enterprise and data center environments. Meanwhile, the Catalyst 6800-SUP8T-XL represents the next evolution, offering doubled performance, AI-driven automation, and advanced security to meet future networking demands.