Enterprise SwitchingCatalyst 9400 Series
Cisco’s lead modular access, distribution, and core switch, built for security and IoT.
Cisco Catalyst 9400 Series switches are Cisco’s lead modular enterprise switching platform — spanning access, distribution, and core — built for security, IoT, and cloud with unparalleled investment protection. Their chassis architecture delivers high availability, high density, and the same Catalyst 9000 security and SD-Access foundation as the fixed models. Faltrox deploys, segments, and manages them as the backbone of a secure campus.
Overview
What Catalyst 9400 Series is
The Catalyst 9400 Series is the modular, chassis-based member of the Catalyst 9000 family, positioned as Cisco’s leading platform for enterprise access, distribution, and core in one architecture. Its slot-based design provides high availability through redundant supervisors and power, high port density, and long-term investment protection as you add line cards rather than replace chassis.
It shares the family’s IOS XE software, UADP ASIC, and security model — Cisco TrustSec segmentation, MACsec, Encrypted Traffic Analytics, and the SD-Access foundation — so a modular core enforces the same identity-based policy as the access edge. Built for IoT and cloud, it scales power and density for demanding campus environments. Faltrox deploys the chassis, designs segmentation and high availability, and folds its telemetry into ongoing monitoring.
Coverage
What it protects
The platforms, threats, and surfaces this product is built to defend.
Access, Distribution & Core
One modular platform spans all three campus layers with a consistent security model.
High Availability
Redundant supervisors, power, and fans deliver chassis-grade resilience for critical campuses.
High-Density PoE
High port density and power for large campus deployments of phones, APs, and IoT.
SD-Access Segmentation
TrustSec group-based policy and network segmentation from the modular core outward.
MACsec Encryption
Line-rate MACsec encrypts traffic across the campus fabric.
Investment Protection
Add line cards and supervisors over time rather than forklifting the chassis.
How it works
The mechanism
How the product moves from signal to protected state, step by step.
- 01
Build
A modular chassis is populated with supervisors and line cards sized to the campus, with redundant power and cooling for high availability.
- 02
Fabric
As part of the SD-Access foundation, it enforces group-based policy and segmentation from the core across access and distribution.
- 03
Encrypt
MACsec encrypts traffic at line rate across the fabric, and Encrypted Traffic Analytics surfaces threats without decryption.
- 04
Scale
Add line cards and power over time to grow density and capacity while protecting the initial investment.
- 05
Operate
Faltrox designs segmentation and redundancy, maintains software, and integrates telemetry into the monitoring it runs.
Capabilities
Key capabilities
Modular Chassis
Slot-based architecture spans access, distribution, and core with high density and flexibility.
Redundant Supervisors
High availability through redundant supervisor engines, power supplies, and fans.
SD-Access Foundation
Group-based policy, segmentation, and policy-based automation from edge to cloud.
Cisco TrustSec
Identity-based segmentation enforced consistently from the modular core outward.
MACsec Encryption
Line-rate encryption protects traffic across the campus fabric.
Encrypted Traffic Analytics
Detects threats in encrypted traffic without decryption across the network.
IoT & Cloud Ready
Built to scale power and density for IoT-dense, cloud-connected campuses.
Investment Protection
Line-card and supervisor upgrades extend chassis life and protect capital investment.
Works with
Part of the platform
Cisco products this pairs with, and the Faltrox services that operate it.
Delivery
You buy the outcome, not the console
Managed by Faltrox
Faltrox licenses, deploys, and tunes Cisco Catalyst 9400 Series for your environment, then runs it as part of a managed service, so you get the protection without staffing another security console.
FAQ
Common questions
01When would we choose the modular 9400 over a stack of 9300s?
The 9400 suits large campuses that need chassis-grade high availability (redundant supervisors and power), very high port density in one footprint, and the flexibility to add line cards over time. A 9300 stack suits distributed access. Faltrox designs the mix per campus.
02Can it act as both access and core?
Yes — it is Cisco’s lead modular platform spanning access, distribution, and core, so a single architecture can serve multiple campus roles while enforcing one consistent security model.
03Does it use the same security features as the rest of the family?
Yes. It shares IOS XE, the UADP ASIC, TrustSec segmentation, MACsec, Encrypted Traffic Analytics, and the SD-Access foundation with the other Catalyst 9000 switches, so policy is consistent from edge to core.
04How does the investment protection work?
The modular design lets you add or upgrade line cards and supervisor engines rather than replacing the chassis, so the platform grows with your needs and protects the initial capital investment over its life.
05How does Faltrox deliver it?
We deploy the chassis, design the segmentation and high-availability architecture, harden and maintain it, and integrate its telemetry into the network monitoring and SOC services we operate for you.
Start an engagement
Secure what’s next.
Speak with the engineering team to define scope, walk through the methodology, and decide whether Faltrox is the right team to test and run your environment.
Contact us