Cisco Catalyst 9400 Series Switches Ordering Guide

 

Things to know

Before placing an order, please review the following:

●     The Cisco Catalyst 9400 Series offer structure has three main components: the switch hardware, a Network stack perpetual license, and choice between a Cisco DNA or Cisco Catalyst (DNX) software subscription license.

●     The software subscription licenses and Network Stack perpetual licenses are smart product IDs (SKUs). The subscription license, which comes with a perpetual license, is required with a hardware purchase.

●     A Smart Account is mandated during purchase (for more information, please see the Smart Accounts section).

●     Available service options:

◦    Solution support

◦    Enhanced Limited Lifetime Warranty (E-LLW)

◦    Smart Net Total Care support

◦    Success Tracks

◦    Included base product-level support

Common terminology

●     Network Stack: NW

●     Cisco Digital Network Architecture: DNA

●     Cisco Catalyst software subscription: DNX

●     Essentials: -E

●     Advantage: -A

●     Smart Account: SA

●     Smart License: SL

Purpose of this document

This document provides a detailed overview of the ordering process for Cisco Catalyst 9400 Series Switches on CCW.

Hardware and software order overview

Cisco Catalyst 9400 Series switches can be ordered through Cisco Commerce Workspace as a Cisco DNA or Catalyst Essentials or Advantage subscription. Both options include switch hardware coupled with Cisco IOS and the Network Stack software.

What is the difference between the Catalyst and Cisco DNA software subscription for Switching?

The Catalyst software subscription for Switching includes base software and now hardware support for the Essentials and Advantage tiers. This support delivers a four-hour TAC response objective for severity 1 and 2 service requests. In addition, if you opt for the Advantage tier, you also receive ISE licenses (quantity dependent on switch model). Catalyst 9400 series receive 10 endpoint sessions per Catalyst Advantage license.

The Cisco DNA software subscription for Switching includes base support for software only, delivering a one-hour TAC response objective for severity 1 and 2 service requests. RMAs are also accessed through the Catalyst warranty program. In addition, the Cisco DNA software subscription does not include ISE licenses.

Note that for both the Cisco DNA and Catalyst software subscriptions for Switching:

●     Cisco DNA features and tier levels (Essentials, Advantage) remain the same.

●     Hardware replacements are accessed separately through the Catalyst warranty program.^[1]

Cisco Catalyst software subscription Overview

Catalyst software subscription feature matrix

For the latest features, please view the Switching feature matrix.

How to order a Cisco Catalyst 9400 Series Switch

Both a network stack license and Cisco DNA or Catalyst software subscription license are mandatory at the time of purchase. Network Advantage is included with the hardware, while a Cisco DNA Advantage (-A) term license needs to be selected at the time of order.

To order in CCW, follow these steps:

1.     Select the appropriate Cisco Catalyst 9400 Series Switch SKU: C9404R, C9407R, C9410R. A C9407R is used in this step-by-step guide.

2.     Choose the preferred consumption model —Cisco DNA Advantage.

3.     Choose the Cisco DNA term license (3, 5, or 7 years).

4.     Add other components (secondary supervisor, line cards, additional power supplies, power cables, and accessories).

Step-by-step ordering in CCW

Enter the hardware SKU in Cisco Commerce Workspace.

The network stack license is perpetual and included with the hardware by default (it will not be visible in the selection menu) for the respective hardware SKU.

The Cisco ThousandEyes Network and Application Synthetics license is included by default upon the selection of a Cisco DNA Advantage option with a 3 year, 5 year or a 7 year subscription. Each Catalyst 9400 Cisco DNA Advantage subscription entitles the customer to run the equivalent of one ThousandEyes network or web test every 5 mins from a ThousandEyes enterprise agent (22 units per month), up to a maximum of 110,000 units per month of ThousandEyes test capacity per customer.

Expand to “View Full Summary” view to view the Cisco ThousandEyes Network and Application Synthetics license (TE-EMBEDDED-T). The TE-EMBEDDED-T is bundled with the Cisco DNA Advantage subscription and follow the same term as the Cisco DNA subscriptions.

The Cisco Spaces Extend license is included by default upon the selection of a Cisco DNA Advantage option with a 3 year, 5 year or a 7 year subscription. Each Catalyst 9400 Cisco DNA Advantage subscription entitles the customer to run the equivalent of one Spaces gateway and access to IoT device marketplace, Cisco Spaces cloud with included software and support.

Expand to “View Full Summary” view to view the Cisco Spaces Extend license (D-DNAS-EXT-S-T). The D- DNAS-EXT-S-T is bundled with the Cisco DNA Advantage subscription and follow the same term as the Cisco DNA subscriptions.

For Cisco DNA Advantage, the term-based Cisco DNA license is preselected to the 5-year term by default but can be changed to a 3- or 7-year term. A Cisco DNA term license is mandatory (customers must select one of the term options to complete the configuration).

The primary supervisor selection is mandatory, and the default supervisor is the C9400-SUP-1XL, which provides higher bandwidth of up to 240G per slot for the C9404 chassis and includes Cisco StackWise Virtual by default. This supervisor provides options for 1/10/40G uplink connectivity. The other supervisor options are C9400X-SUP-2/2XL supporting up to 480 Gbps per slot and 100G uplink option, C9400-SUP-1XL-Y with 25G uplink option, ands 1/10/40G and C9400-SUP-1, which provides lower bandwidth of 80G per slot and uplink options of 1/10/40G.

The supervisor is selected with 240 GB of SSD storage by default. You can choose a different SSD storage size if desired. Please refer to the screen shots below.

An optional secondary supervisor can be selected as part of the configuration.

Note:       Applicable only to a la carte and Cisco DNA Advantage bundle configurations.

An optional transceiver may be selected for the supervisor uplink ports.

Optional 1G SFP selection:

Optional 10G SFP+ selection:

Optional 40G QSFP selection:

The optional line cards can be selected as part of the configuration. The maximum line card quantity allowed is eight for the C9410R, five for the C9407R, and two for the C9404R chassis variants. Line cards can be selected from copper line cards, 1G fiber line cards, and 10G fiber line card. Copper line cards can be further selected from Multigigabit line cards and 1G line cards with power options of Cisco UPOE+, UPOE, PoE+, or data only.

 

 

Software image selection is available as a configurable option. The universal version can be selected for all regions where there’s no restriction under U.S. export control. The NPE version is for all other regions. Please refer to the U.S. export control applicable for your region.

The next mandatory selection is the power supply. The choices are between 3200AC, 2100AC, and 3200DC power supplies. Power supplies can be mixed in the configuration; for example, two 3200AC and two 3200DC power supplies can be configured together. A maximum of eight power supplies can be configured for the C9407R and C9410R, and a maximum of four power supplies can be configured for the C9404R chassis.

For every AC power supply configured, a power cable must be selected. Power cables are available for specific regions. There’s an option for CAB-OPTOUT to skip the selection of an AC power cable. For DC power supplies, CAB-OPTOUT is mandatory.

The optional accessory configuration allows configuring a console cable for the chassis console port for virtual terminal (vty) access.

Finally, a Network Plug and Play (PNP) license can be configured. It is selected by default and offers plug-and- play functionality for the chassis.

How to order Cisco ThousandEyes internet and cloud intelligence with your existing Catalyst 9400 switches

Customers with existing Catalyst 9400 switches can claim the credits to Cisco ThousandEyes by following the steps mentioned in this document.

Link to CSSM Activation guide hosted on cisco.com.

How to order Cisco Spaces Indoor IoT Services with your Catalyst 9400 switches

Customers ordering new Catalyst 9400 switches with Cisco DNA Advantage licensing:

The Cisco Spaces Onboarding team does proactive outreach to customers that order Cisco DNA Advantage on eligible 9400 switches. Customers may also contact the Cisco Spaces team to request account activation by following the format below

Customers with existing Catalyst 9400 switches with Cisco DNA Advantage licensing:

Customers should contact the Cisco Spaces team to request account activation. Customers contacting Cisco to activate a Cisco Spaces account should provide the following information to the Cisco Spaces Support and Onboarding team:

●     Send email to spaces@cisco.com

●     Title the Subject Heading as “Activate Cisco Spaces for Catalyst Switching”

●     Provide Company / Account name

◦    Smart account domain:

◦    Contact name for Account Provisioning

◦    Contact email for Account Provisioning

◦    Contact phone for Account Provisioning

◦    Quantity for activation: # of switches (based on quantity of Cisco DNA Advantage ordered)

◦    Provide Web Order / Sales #

◦    New/Existing Cisco Spaces account

Default accessories shipped with the switch

Cisco Catalyst 9400 Series Switches ship with the following components and accessories by default:

●     Fan trays for each chassis variant: C9404-FAN, C9407-FAN, or C9410-FAN

●     Mounting brackets

●     Blank plate for line card slots (if applicable)

●     Blank plate for power supply slot (if applicable)

Licensing

Cisco Catalyst 9400 Series Switch hardware is available with Cisco DNA or Catalyst Advantage.

Table 1.           License levels and options

Smart Accounts

As with all Cisco Catalyst 9000 family switches, Smart Accounts are mandatory when ordering a Cisco Catalyst 9400 Series Switch. A Smart Account is a central data repository that provides visibility into and access control over all the Cisco software licenses and entitlements across an organization. Smart Accounts allow customers to store, manage, and move assets across locations and devices and begin to use them immediately. Smart Accounts are required for enabling Cisco Smart Software Licensing.

After a Smart Account has been set up, customers have the flexibility to create subaccounts (virtual accounts) to help manage licenses for departments, areas, or locations within their organization. Licenses can be pooled within virtual accounts as needed. Smart Accounts support role-based user access controls, which allow the delegation of authority to account administrators at the Smart Account level or at the virtual account level. In addition, customers can assign partner visibility and management rights to their virtual or enterprise-level accounts.

Additional information

●     Operations Exchange site featuring Smart Account overviews and training sessions; navigate to the Smart Account Resources panel on the page.

●     Smart Account one-page aid.

●     To create Smart Accounts, visit: https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/buy/smart-accounts.html.

Smart Licensing

Smart Licensing is a cloud-based license management platform built to simplify the purchase, deployment, and management of Cisco software assets. Entitlements are immediately deposited into a customer’s virtual account for use. This eliminates the need to install license files on every device. Products that are Smart License enabled communicate to Cisco to report consumption. The primary location for managing product registration and monitoring Smart License consumption is the Cisco Smart Software Manager. License ownership and consumption are readily available to help customers make better purchase decisions based on consumption or other business needs.

Cisco Smart Software Manager

Cisco Smart Software Manager enables the management of software licenses. The interface allows customers to activate their product, manage entitlements, and renew and upgrade software. An active Smart Account is required to complete the Smart License registration process.

To learn more about end-to-end Smart Account and Smart License management, visit: https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/buy/smart-accounts/software-manager.html.

Smart Account and Smart License availability

Important information about Smart Account and Smart License availability

●     Cisco Catalyst 9400 Series Switch SKUs are smart SKUs. License entitlements will be deposited into the Cisco Smart Software Manager and the Smart Account.

●     In addition to viewing entitlements, customers can track license consumption.

A Smart Account is mandatory at the time of the order of a Cisco Catalyst 9400 Series Switch. If a customer does not have a Smart Account set up prior to the purchase, a new Smart Account must be created at the time of purchase.

Deploying Smart Licenses for Cisco Catalyst 9400 Series Switches

The Cisco Catalyst 9000 switch family comes in different licensing packages in comparison to previous- generation Cisco Catalyst platforms. Smart Licenses are transferable between the same types of devices (for example, from one Cisco Catalyst 9400 Series Switch to another). (See the figure below.)

Deploying Smart Licenses

In the deployment model shown in Figure 1, the Smart Account Cisco back end and Cisco Catalyst switches do not have a communication channel to report usage and consumption. They operate as separate entities. The switches must be configured in Right To Use (RTU) mode with the correct license level to enable the purchased feature set. License usage and consumption reporting is performed in Cisco Smart Software Manager.

Services and warranty

The Solution Support service option is strongly recommended; it provides coverage for a Cisco DNA Essentials and Advantage software licenses. Additional product-level hardware support options are available: Smart Net Total Care support, partner service support, and enhanced limited lifetime hardware warranty. It is strongly recommended that the term of the hardware support contract match the software subscription license term to avoid any service support gaps for the duration of the term.

With a Catalyst Software subscription, base product-level hardware and software support is included.

How does the base product-level support for software and hardware included in the Catalyst Switch software subscription differ from Cisco Smart Net Total Care and Software Support Services?

The base product-level support for software and hardware support included in the Catalyst Switch software subscription delivers the same features and benefits you experience today with Smart Net Total Care and Software Support Basic except as follows:

●     The Cisco TAC response objective for severity 1 and 2 service requests is:

◦    Four hours, compared to one hour for Smart Net Total Care and Software Support Basic), and

◦    Next business day (NBD) where commercially available for severity 3 and 4 service requests, compared to one hour for Smart Net Total Care during business hours and next business day outside of business hours, and next business day for Software Support Basic during and outside of business hours).

●     Hardware replacements are accessed through the Catalyst warranty program1, compared to a choice of eight RMA service-level options offered through Smart Net Total Care and Software Support Basic.

What are my support service options if I need faster response objectives for critical issues, more hardware RMA options, and/or higher levels of support than what’s included in the Catalyst Switch software subscription?

Because your enterprise network is the cornerstone of your IT and business, we recommend Cisco Success Tracks and CX Cloud, which is the one-stop, unified digital interface to Success Tracks. Success Tracks is designed to accelerate adoption and maximize value for the security, automation, and assurance capabilities in your Cisco enterprise network. It also fulfills your need for faster response objectives (30 minutes for severity 1 and 2 service requests) and all of Cisco’s RMA options (eight, as fast as two hours).

Can you tell me more about Success Tracks and CX Cloud?

Success Tracks is a set of comprehensive services accessed through the unified digital platform, CX Cloud. It offers streamlined, personalized access to Cisco experts and customized content that can help you simplify solution adoption, resolve complex issues faster than single product-focused support, and optimize your IT environment through:

●     Expert Resources: Expert guidance, best practices, and proven methodologies for a successful path to adoption.

●     Trusted Support: Prescriptive support to detect, prevent, and efficiently solve complex hardware, software, and multi-product, multi-vendor issues through a Cisco primary point of contact who streamlines the support experience across your Cisco enterprise network.

●     Insights and Analytics: Telemetry and intelligence with analytics that provide proactive and predictive insights and guided recommendations to help you solve problems faster and optimize operations.

●     Contextual Learning: Digital learning resources, tailored instructor-led training, certification prep and virtual practice labs, designed to expand a workforce’s skillset and capacity to achieve business outcomes faster and more efficiently.

CX Cloud

To see how Success Tracks can drive faster adoption and ROI for your Catalyst-based enterprise network, connect with your Cisco representative, and request a CX Cloud demo.

Table 2.           Support levels and Success Tracks

Comparison of Cisco support models for Catalyst Software subscriptions.

Cisco Enhanced Limited Lifetime hardware warranty

Cisco Catalyst 9400 Series Switches come with an Enhanced Limited Lifetime hardware warranty (E-LLW) that includes Next-Business-Day (NBD) delivery of replacement hardware where available and 90 days of 8x5 Cisco Technical Assistance Center (TAC) support.

Ordering information

Table 3 provides ordering information for Cisco Catalyst 9400 Series Switches.

Table 3.           Ordering information

Table 4.           Cisco Catalyst Software SKUs

Important links

Smart Accounts: All you need to know

●     Operations exchange: Partner and distributor software training: A comprehensive list of external software training resources and detailed training modules for ordering and license management.

●     Smart Account leading practices for customers: A leading practices guide that can help customers decide how to structure their Smart Accounts, including if they need multiple Smart Accounts.

●     Smart Account decision tree: A short branching survey that helps partners and customers understand what type of Smart Accounts to create.

●     Cisco Smart Accounts on Cisco.com: The primary Cisco.com site for Smart Accounts.

●     AMER SW training schedule: List of live software training sessions currently offered.

●     Training reservation form: Form to request a live software training session.