Cisco C9600-LC-24C Full Product Description
1. Short Overview
C9600-LC-24Cis a hot-swappable 24-port QSFP28 high-speed fiber line card designed exclusively for Cisco Catalyst 9600 series modular core chassis (C9604R, C9606R, C9610R), running Cisco IOS XE 16.11.1 and later firmware releasesCisco. All ports adopt universal QSFP28 transceiver slots supporting 40GE and 100GE optical modules, delivering flexible high-density high-bandwidth uplink capacity for enterprise campus core interconnections, data center spine-leaf fabric uplinks, multi-cloud gateway peering, and large-scale Wi-Fi 6/6E wireless controller aggregation.
This fiber-only line card contains zero PoE power delivery circuitry, built on UADP ASIC forwarding architecture to provide full wire-speed non-blocking Layer 2–Layer 4 packet forwarding. It supports OIR (Online Insertion and Removal) for hitless maintenance without chassis power shutdown, hardware-accelerated MACsec-256 encryption, and IEEE 1588v2 PTP precision timing, serving as the mainstream medium-density high-speed uplink module in the Catalyst 9600 fiber line card portfolioCisco.
Suffix Breakdown
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C9600: Catalyst 9600 high-performance Silicon One modular core switch platform
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LC: Line Card modular fiber uplink module
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24: Total 24 front-facing independent QSFP28 transceiver ports
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C: QSFP28 high-speed interface (40GE / 100GE dual-rate fiber port card)
Core Differentiators
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vs C9600-LC-48YL (48×SFP28 1/10/25G): LC-48YL targets 25G downlink aggregation; LC-24C provides higher 40G/100G bandwidth for core uplink interconnections.
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vs high-density QSFP-DD line cards (C9600X-LC-32CD): LC-24C only supports 40G/100G QSFP28 without 200G/400G capability, offering a cost-balanced entry-level 100G uplink solution.
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vs copper line cards (C9600-LC-48TX): Pure fiber design with no PoE power, optimized for long-distance high-speed trunking rather than end-user desktop access.
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vs Catalyst 9400 fiber line cards: C9600 series delivers much higher per-slot bandwidth, larger forwarding tables, and native full wire-speed 100G support for mission-critical core backbone deployments.
2. Hardware & Bandwidth Specifications
Port & Transceiver Capabilities
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Port Count: 24 identical hot-pluggable universal QSFP28 slots, full non-blocking architecture
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Supported Transceiver Speeds (Dependent on Supervisor Model)
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Deployed with C9600-SUP-1 (Gen1 Supervisor):
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Maximum 24×40GE ports, or 12×100GE ports (cannot run all 24 ports at 100GE wire-speed simultaneously)Cisco
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Deployed with C9600X-SUP-2 (Gen2 Silicon One Supervisor):
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All 24 ports support simultaneous wire-speed 40GE / 100GE auto-negotiation, full non-blocking 100G capacity across all portsCisco
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Compatible QSFP28 Transceiver Types
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Short-reach SR4, medium-reach LR4, long-haul ER4/ZR4 100G optical modules
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BiDi 100G single-fiber transceivers
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QSFP+ 40G SR4/LR4/ER4 optical modules
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QSFP28 copper breakout cables for 4×25G SFP28 downlink expansion
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Slot Bandwidth Allocation
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With C9600-SUP-1: 2.4 Tbps full-duplex per slot
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With C9600X-SUP-2: 6.4 Tbps full-duplex wire-speed per slot
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Aggregate Full-Duplex Throughput
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Gen1 SUP: Max 2.4 Tbps total card capacity
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Gen2 SUP-2: Max 4.8 Tbps total wire-speed throughput with all 24 ports running 100GE
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Jumbo Frame Support: Layer 2–Layer 4 jumbo frames up to 9216 bytes for video streaming, virtualization, and large backup workloads
Built-In Hardware Acceleration Features
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IEEE 802.1AE MACsec-256 AES-256 hardware port encryption (WAN MACsec requires C9600X-SUP-2 and HSEC license) to secure high-speed fiber core trunk trafficCisco
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IEEE 1588v2 / 802.1AS PTP hardware timing for synchronized broadcast video, unified VoIP, and industrial control network clock synchronization
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Wire-speed L2/L3/L4 ACL filtering, QoS policing, marking, shaping, NAT, and full IPv4/IPv6 hardware forwarding
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Intelligent port power management to reduce power consumption on empty/unused QSFP28 slots
Physical & Power Parameters
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Form Factor: Standard full-width Catalyst 9600 series line card, compatible with all empty line card slots of C9604R / C9606R / C9610R chassis
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Typical full-load power consumption: 210W
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Rated MTBF: 715,620 hours under nominal standard operating environment
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Asset tracking: Embedded passive UHF RFID tag for centralized enterprise asset lifecycle management
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Cooling: Passive multi-heatsink thermal design, fully dependent on chassis side-to-side horizontal airflow; no independent onboard fan
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No PoE capability: This module cannot supply any IEEE 802.3af/at/bt inline power to endpoints
Supported Chassis & Supervisor Compatibility
Compatible with all Catalyst 9600 redundant chassis: C9604R, C9606R, C9610R
Supported supervisors:
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C9600-SUP-1 (Gen1, limited 100G port concurrency)
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C9600X-SUP-2 (Gen2 Silicon One, full 24×100G wire-speed non-blocking)
3. Front Panel Layout & Status LEDs
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24 QSFP28 transceiver ports arranged in two horizontal rows (12 ports per row)
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Per-port bi-color link/activity LED for each QSFP28 slot:
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Solid Green: Valid optical link established, normal data forwarding operation
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Blinking Green: Bidirectional data transmission/reception in progress
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Solid Amber: Link down, missing transceiver, fiber cable fault, or port hardware error alarm
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Global module status indicators at the card edge:
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STATUS LED: Green = fully initialized and online; Amber = booting / minor warning; Red = critical hardware or backplane communication failure
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LOCATE blue beacon LED: Remotely triggered to identify the line card during rack maintenance
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Dual mechanical ejector latches on both sides to support OIR hot insertion/removal without chassis power shutdown
4. IOS XE Comprehensive Software Feature Suite
Layer 2 Campus & Fabric Core Functions
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IEEE 802.1Q VLAN trunking (4096 maximum VLANs), PVLAN private VLAN multi-tenant isolation
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Cross-line-card LACP/PAGP EtherChannel link aggregation for redundant 40G/100G fiber core trunks
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MSTP/RSTP spanning tree toolkit with BPDU guard, root guard, loop guard, UplinkFast fast convergence
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DHCP Snooping, Dynamic ARP Inspection (DAI), IP Source Guard, and MAC address port security
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IEEE 802.3az Energy Efficient Ethernet for idle port power saving
Layer 3 & SD-Access EVPN Fabric Capabilities
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Hardware-accelerated IPv4 / IPv6 unicast & multicast routing (static routes, OSPF, EIGRP, BGP, IS-IS)
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Up to 32-way ECMP equal-cost multi-path uplink load balancing for high-bandwidth core paths
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Native VXLAN EVPN hardware forwarding for Cisco SD-Access intent-based wired/wireless enterprise fabric border nodes
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Anycast gateway, LISP host mobility, and large-scale overlay traffic aggregation
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Hardware VRF-lite multi-tenancy segmentation, supporting up to 2,000 independent isolated forwarding tables
Hardware-Accelerated Security Features
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Wire-speed port-level MACsec-256 encryption for inter-core fiber links
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TrustSec SGT end-to-end policy segmentation, Encrypted Traffic Analytics (ETA) for hidden malware detection
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Hardware ACL filtering, CoPP control plane policing to protect supervisor CPU resources
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IEEE 802.1X, MAB, WebAuth wired access authentication; AAA TACACS+/RADIUS/LDAP authentication support
QoS & Precision Timing
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8 independent hardware priority queues per port, WRR/DRR congestion scheduling, per-port policing/marking/shaping
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IEEE 1588v2 PTP hardware timestamping for broadcast media, unified voice, and industrial synchronization
Automation, Programmability & Observability
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Model-driven open programmability: NETCONF, RESTCONF, YANG data models, gNMI, on-box Python scripting
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Real-time streaming telemetry, IPFIX flexible NetFlow export, continuous port latency and buffer utilization monitoring
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GOLD non-disruptive online diagnostic tests for real-time line card hardware health inspection
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Native seamless integration with Cisco DNA Center for zero-touch provisioning, unified policy management, and full network lifecycle automation
5. Typical Deployment Scenarios
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Medium/Large Enterprise SD-Access Fabric Border Uplink
24×40G/100G QSFP28 ports provide high-speed inter-core trunks between paired virtual Catalyst 9600 chassis, and 100G uplinks to multi-cloud gateway devices; paired with C9600-LC-48YL 25G downlink line cards to form a complete mixed-speed fiber core architecture.
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Mid-Size Hybrid Data Center Spine Backbone
100G QSFP28 uplinks connect leaf switches, storage array controllers, and backup storage clusters; hardware VRF segmentation logically separates enterprise, virtual server, and cloud tenant workloads for multi-tenant colocation environments.
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Multi-Building Campus Inter-Core Trunk Aggregation
Long-distance single-mode 100G fiber links connect geographically separated campus buildings; hardware MACsec encryption secures cross-campus backbone traffic, PTP timing synchronizes campus-wide video surveillance and VoIP systems.
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Ultra-Dense Wi-Fi 6/6E Wireless Controller Core Uplink
High-bandwidth 100G trunking aggregates centralized wireless controller clusters supporting tens of thousands of multi-radio enterprise APs; hardware QoS prioritizes low-latency voice, video conferencing, and real-time collaboration traffic.
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Financial, Government & Education Mission-Critical Core Network
Hitless OIR hot-swap capability and full wire-speed 100G forwarding with Gen2 supervisors meet strict zero-downtime network requirements; centralized security, fabric, and bandwidth policy management via Cisco DNA Center.
6. Standard Package Contents of C9600-LC-24C SKU
1 × Cisco C9600-LC-24C 24-port 40GE/100GE QSFP28 fiber line card module
Disposable plastic dust covers for empty front QSFP28 port slots
Hardware installation guide, global safety, EMC, NEBS seismic, and RoHS regulatory compliance documentation
Separately Mandatory & Optional Add-On Components
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Mandatory accessories for full operation
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QSFP28 40G/100G optical transceivers (SR4/LR4/ER4/ZR4/BiDi) or QSFP28 copper breakout cables
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Single/multi-mode fiber patch cords, optical attenuators for long-haul links
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Catalyst 9600 series chassis, supervisors, power supplies, and fan trays (sold separately)
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Optional upgrade hardware
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Spare QSFP28 transceivers for on-site hot-swap inventory
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Software Licenses
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DNA Advantage perpetual license required for full VXLAN EVPN SD-Access, WAN MACsec, streaming telemetry, and advanced automation features
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DNA Essentials base license for fundamental Layer 2/Layer 3 switching and routing functionality
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HSEC license required to enable WAN MACsec on C9600X-SUP-2 supervisors
Short Commercial Catalog Summary for Quotation
Cisco C9600-LC-24C is a hot-swappable medium-density 24-port 40GE/100GE QSFP28 fiber line card for the Cisco Catalyst 9600 modular core switch platform, purpose-built for enterprise campus core interconnections, mid-size data center spine uplinks, multi-cloud peering and large-scale wireless aggregation workloads requiring high-speed 40G/100G fiber trunking. Port performance varies by supervisor: full 24×100G wire-speed non-blocking with C9600X-SUP-2 Gen2 Silicon One supervisors, or limited 24×40G / 12×100G capacity with C9600-SUP-1 Gen1 supervisors. It supports all standard QSFP28 optical and breakout copper modules, delivers wire-speed Layer 2/Layer 3 forwarding via UADP ASIC architecture, and fully supports OIR zero-downtime online maintenance, hardware MACsec encryption and IEEE 1588 PTP precision timing, with no PoE power delivery functionality. Operating under secure containerized Cisco IOS XE (minimum 16.11.1 release), this module provides hardware-accelerated VXLAN EVPN SD-Access fabric, enterprise zero-trust security, hardware QoS and full Cisco DNA Center lifecycle automation capabilities. Fully compatible with all C9604R/C9606R/C9610R redundant chassis and both generations of Catalyst 9600 supervisors, it delivers flexible scalable high-speed uplink capacity balanced between low-density 100G line cards and ultra-high-density 400G QSFP-DD modules. Limitations require separate purchase of QSFP28 transceivers and fiber patch cords, restricted full 100G concurrency when paired with Gen1 supervisors, WAN MACsec requires additional HSEC license, and advanced fabric/security feature sets demand paid DNA Advantage licensing. The line card fully complies with global safety, EMC, NEBS seismic and RoHS environmental standards for 24/7 mission-critical core network deployment.
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