Cisco SNS-3655-K9 (Commonly referred to as ISE3655-K9) Full English Product Description
1. Short Official Part & License Label
SNS-3655-K9 (Market Alias ISE3655-K9): Cisco Medium-Scale Secure Network Server 3655 Dedicated Hardware Appliance for Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE), 1U Rack-Mount UCS C220 M5 Server, Single Intel Xeon Silver 4116 (12 Cores / 24 Threads), 96GB DDR4 ECC RAM, 4×600GB SAS Drives (RAID 10), 6×1GBASE-T Ethernet Interfaces, UEFI Secure Boot Locked for Cisco ISE OS, Supports up to 50,000 Concurrent Endpoints, Distributed Multi-Persona ISE Cluster Deployment, Integrated CIMC Out-of-Band Hardware Management, End-of-Sale SNS 3600 Series ISE Platform
2. Full Product Overview
The Cisco SNS-3655-K9, widely known in the market as ISE3655-K9, is the medium-sized dedicated physical appliance within the SNS 3600 Secure Network Server family, purpose-built exclusively to run the Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) — Cisco’s flagship zero-trust network access control (NAC) platform. It is built on the hardened UCS C220 M5 1U rack server platform with enforced UEFI Secure Boot, which only permits Cisco-signed ISE operating system images to boot; generic operating systems cannot be installed.
Designed for medium-to-large enterprise campus networks, multi-site branch architectures, SD-Access fabrics and TrustSec microsegmentation deployments, the SNS-3655-K9 supports a maximum of50,000 concurrent monitored endpoints. It can operate as a standalone all-in-one ISE node or be segmented into distributed functional personas: Policy Administration Node (PAN), Policy Service Node (PSN), Monitoring & Troubleshooting Node (MnT), and pxGrid integration node for scalable multi-node ISE clusters.
The appliance delivers comprehensive identity policy enforcement across wired Catalyst switches, Catalyst 9800 wireless infrastructure, remote VPN gateways, SD-Access fabrics and ACI datacenter fabrics. Core workloads include 802.1X authentication, MAB, web authentication, BYOD provisioning, guest access lifecycle management, endpoint posture assessment, and bidirectional threat sharing via pxGrid. It natively integrates with Cisco Catalyst Center, Catalyst 9800 WLCs, and Cisco security appliances for end-to-end zero-trust workflows.
Lifecycle Status: SNS-3655-K9 reached End-of-Sale (EoS) on October 12, 2023. Last Date of Hardware Support is August 31, 2028. Supported ISE releases up to ISE 3.x; successor hardware is the SNS-3755-K9 and newer SNS-3855-K9 generations. Software licensing (ISE Base, Plus, Apex subscriptions) is ordered separately from base hardware.
Key Differentiator vs SNS-3615-K9: Higher CPU core count, 96GB memory, redundant RAID 10 storage, and capacity for up to 50,000 endpoints versus 10,000 endpoints on the small model. Compared to flagship SNS-3695-K9: Balanced medium-scale capacity for mainstream enterprise deployments without ultra-large datacenter scale requirements. Compared to virtual ISE: Dedicated physical hardware with predictable authentication throughput, built-in CIMC remote management and secure boot protection unavailable on virtual instances.
3. Complete Hardware Physical & Interface Specifications
Form Factor & Mechanical
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Rack Form Factor: Standard 1U 19-inch rack-mount chassis (UCS C220 M5 SFF)
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Dimensions: 44.45 mm (H) × 431.8 mm (W) × 711.2 mm (D) / 1.75 × 17 × 28 inches
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Unit Weight: 14.5 kg (32 lbs) single PSU; up to 15.9 kg fully loaded with dual PSUs
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Cooling: Multiple hot-swappable redundant internal cooling fans
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Power Supply: Single AC PSU standard; optional second redundant AC PSU (80 Plus Platinum)
Rear Panel Interface Layout
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6×10/100/1000BASE-T RJ45 Ethernet ports for ISE service traffic (RADIUS, CoA, pxGrid, logging)
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1× Dedicated RJ45 CIMC out-of-band management port for independent hardware administration
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RJ45 RS‑232 serial console port for OS installation and emergency recovery
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USB 3.0 Type‑A ports for configuration files, firmware uploads and diagnostics
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Dual AC power supply slots (primary + optional redundant secondary PSU)
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Physical security lock slot for anti-theft security cable attachment
Front Panel LED Status Indicators
Global status LEDs: Power, System Health, Critical Fault Alarm, Fan Status, Disk Activity
Per-port Link/Activity LEDs for all six GbE data ports and CIMC management port
Power & Environmental Parameters
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Input AC Range: Universal 100–264 VAC, 47–63 Hz power input
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Maximum Total Power Consumption: 770 W fully loaded
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Operating Temperature: 5°C to 40°C (41°F to 104°F)
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Storage Temperature: -40°C to 65°C (-40°F to 149°F)
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Humidity: 10%–90% non‑condensing (operation & storage)
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Regulatory Certifications: UL 60950‑1 safety, CE, FCC Class A EMC, ICES‑003, VCCI
Base Hardware Configuration
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CPU: Single Intel Xeon Silver 4116, 2.1 GHz, 12 Cores / 24 Threads
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Memory: 96 GB DDR4 ECC RDIMM
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Storage: 4×600GB 10K SAS hard drives, configured as RAID 10 for data redundancy
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Firmware Security: UEFI Secure Boot, locked to Cisco-signed ISE images only
Verified ISE Scalability Limits
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Maximum concurrent monitored endpoints: 50,000
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Supported ISE Personas: PAN, PSN, MnT, pxGrid, Guest Services
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Authentication throughput: Up to 2,400 PAP authentications/sec (internal identity store)
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Supports standalone deployment or participation in multi-node distributed ISE clusters
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Log and session retention capacity determined by internal RAID storage
4. Core Cisco ISE Software Feature Suite
1. Unified Network Access Control
802.1X wired/wireless authentication, MAB, web portal authentication, self-service guest access, BYOD device registration and automatic provisioning.
2. Context-Aware Dynamic Policy Enforcement
Combine user identity, device type, endpoint posture, physical location, time and risk level to enforce granular access policies. Supports dynamic VLAN assignment, downloadable ACLs, RADIUS CoA re-authentication and session termination.
3. TrustSec Software-Defined Microsegmentation
Assign Security Group Tags (SGT) to endpoints; integrates with Catalyst switches, routers, Catalyst 9800 wireless controllers and ACI fabrics for end-to-end group-based segmentation.
4. Endpoint Posture Assessment
Evaluate endpoint compliance status including OS patches, antivirus presence, disk encryption and host firewall status; automatically quarantine non-compliant devices until remediation is completed.
5. Threat Integration & pxGrid Data Sharing
Bidirectional integration with Catalyst Center, Stealthwatch, FTD firewalls and third-party security tools; consume threat intelligence to dynamically isolate compromised endpoints.
6. Identity Federation
Synchronize identity repositories with Active Directory, LDAP, RSA SecurID, and support SAML SSO for unified identity management.
7. Monitoring, Reporting & Compliance
Centralized MnT logging, real-time session visibility, persistent audit trails, customizable compliance reports aligned with PCI DSS, HIPAA and enterprise security governance requirements.
8. High Availability & Operations
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Standalone deployment or cluster member for distributed ISE architecture
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Independent persona separation to scale authentication and monitoring workloads
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Scheduled full configuration backup and restore
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Independent CIMC out-of-band power cycling, remote KVM and hardware diagnostics
9. Programmability & Orchestration
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Embedded HTML5 GUI, local CLI access
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Comprehensive REST APIs for integration with automation platforms, ticketing systems and SIEM solutions
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Operates under Cisco ISE subscription licensing model
5. Typical Deployment Scenarios
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Medium-to-large enterprise primary ISE cluster node for campus wired and Catalyst 9800 wireless NAC
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Distributed Policy Service Node (PSN) deployed at regional aggregation datacenters
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Centralized MnT monitoring node for consolidated logging and compliance reporting
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TrustSec SGT enforcement and SD-Access zero-trust fabric integration
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Pre-production lab and proof-of-concept environment for large-scale ISE validation
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Migration intermediate platform before upgrading to newer SNS-3700 / SNS-3800 ISE appliance generations
6. Short Sales Listing Tagline
Cisco SNS-3655-K9 (ISE3655-K9) Legacy 1U Rackmount Medium-Scale ISE Dedicated Secure Network Server, Built on UCS C220 M5, Single Xeon Silver 4116 (12C/24T), 96GB DDR4 RAM, 4×600GB SAS RAID10 Storage, 6×1GBASE-T Ports, Integrated CIMC Out-of-Band Hardware Management, UEFI Secure Boot Restricted for ISE OS, Supports up to 50,000 Concurrent Endpoints, Runs Cisco Identity Services Engine for NAC, TrustSec Microsegmentation & Zero-Trust Access, Deployable as Standalone or Multi-Persona Cluster Node, End-of-Sale Medium-Tier ISE Hardware for Medium-to-Large Enterprise Campus & SD-Access Fabric Networks
Note: Official ordering part number isSNS-3655-K9, widely referenced in market listings as ISE3655-K9. Peer models: SNS-3615-K9 (Small), SNS-3695-K9 (Large). Successor hardware: SNS-3755-K9.
