Cisco WS-X6808-10G Full Official Technical Specification Document

1. Product Overview

Official Full Designation

Cisco WS-X6808-10G is theCatalyst 6500 E-Series 6800 Family 8-Port 10-Gigabit Ethernet X2 Hot-Swappable Distributed Forwarding Fiber Switching Module, a low-density compact 10G optical line card exclusively designed for Cisco Catalyst 6500 E-Series modular campus core, distribution and data center aggregation switches, working in tandem with Supervisor Engine 2T / 2TXL (VS-S2T-10G / VS-S2T-10GXL)Cisco.

The standalone base model WS-X6808-10G is never sold separately; it ships factory-integrated with two DFC4 distributed forwarding daughter card variants as complete SKUs:

1. WS-X6808-10G-2T: Equipped with WS-F6K-DFC4-E standard DFC4 (1GB DRAM, 60 Mpps L2/IPv4/MPLS forwarding capacity, 30 Mpps IPv6)Cisco
2. WS-X6808-10G-2TXL: Equipped with WS-F6K-DFC4-EXL high-capacity XL DFC4 (expandable larger DRAM, expanded routing table storage, bigger ACL and NetFlow scale)Cisco

This module delivers cost-effective low-count 10G fiber aggregation for small enterprise campus core inter-switch trunks, compact-scale data center server/IP SAN rack aggregation, metro Ethernet carrier edge access, and VSS (Virtual Switching System) dual-chassis high-availability Virtual Switch Link (VSL) deployments.

Core Definition: Full-slot hot-swappable Catalyst 6500 E-Series line card with 8 independent X2 10-Gigabit Ethernet optical transceiver slots. The module forms a single unified port group of all 8 ports, configurable in two independent operational modes (oversubscription mode for maximum port density, performance mode for wire-speed low-latency core/VSL links). Dual 20-Gbps full-duplex fabric channels connect the module to the chassis crossbar switch fabric, shared across all 8 ports. The integrated DFC4 daughter card enables fully distributed line-rate dCEF forwarding, eliminating supervisor engine packet processing bottlenecks. It supports hot-swappable X2 optical transceivers (fiber-only, no native copper ports), jumbo frames up to 9216 bytes, large per-port packet buffer pools, multi-queue hardware QoS, dedicated hardware multicast replication engines, and the complete Layer 2/Layer 3 routing, multicast and enterprise security feature suite native to Catalyst 6500 classic IOS SY firmwareCisco.

SKU Naming Breakdown

1. WS-X: Cisco standard prefix for modular chassis switching line cards
2. 68: 6800 Next-Generation high-performance interface module family for Catalyst 6500 E-Series, requiring Supervisor 2T/2TXL and integrated DFC4 distributed forwarding
3. 08: Total physical interface slots on the module (8 independent X2 10-Gigabit Ethernet ports)
4. 10G: 10-Gigabit Ethernet media type, X2 hot-swappable optical transceiver interface

• Suffix explanation:
  • -2T: Complete assembly with standard WS-F6K-DFC4-E distributed forwarding daughter card
  • -2TXL: Complete assembly with high-capacity WS-F6K-DFC4-EXL XL distributed forwarding daughter card

Product Lifecycle Notice

• Official Global Release Year: 2011
• End-of-Sale (EoS) Announcement Date: Cisco permanently discontinued manufacturing and new unit sales
• Minimum Supported IOS Software Version: Classic IOS SY train 12.2(50)SY and all later SY releases
• End of Software Maintenance: No new feature IOS releases post-EoS; limited critical security vulnerability patch support expired
• Final End-of-Support (EoSS) Date: Cisco official hardware repair, RMA replacement, and TAC technical engineering support fully terminated
• Legacy Status: All product datasheets, hardware installation guides, IOS configuration manuals are archived on Cisco’s legacy networking documentation portal; only third-party refurbished hardware and limited aftermarket best-effort support are available.

Supported Chassis & Supervisor Compatibility

Compatible Chassis Platforms

Cisco Catalyst 6500 E-Series Modular Switches only: 6504-E, 6506-E, 6509-E, 6509-NEB-A, 6513. Non-E Catalyst 6503/6506/6509 legacy chassis are fully unsupported, the module will not power up or be recognizedCisco.

Mandatory Supervisor Engine Requirement

Only compatible with Supervisor Engine 2T and Supervisor Engine 2TXL (VS-S2T-10G / VS-S2T-10GXL). Incompatible with all older Supervisor generations (Supervisor 1A, Supervisor 2, Supervisor 32, Supervisor 720).

VSS Compatibility

Fully supports Virtual Switching System (VSS); ports in performance mode are dedicated for low-latency Virtual Switch Link (VSL) inter-chassis redundant trunk connections.

Standard Factory Complete Bundle Contents

Each factory-sealed WS-X6808-10G-2T / 2TXL retail package contains all hardware and accessories required for chassis deployment:

1. WS-X6808-10G base 8-port X2 fiber line card with factory pre-installed WS-F6K-DFC4-E / DFC4-EXL distributed forwarding daughter card
2. Chassis mounting retention screws for secure slot installation
3. Quick-start hardware installation guide for line card insertion/removal and X2 transceiver deployment
4. Global regulatory compliance, safety, and electromagnetic interference (EMI) certification documentation packet

Supported Software & Enterprise Deployment Architectures

Compatible Cisco IOS Software

WS-X6808-10G series exclusively runs classic IOS SY train firmware for Catalyst 6500 E-Series platforms:

• Minimum baseline release: 12.2(50)SY IOS XE, Catalyst 9000/9300/9400 series operating systems are fully incompatible with this legacy 6500-series line card.

Supported Deployment Architectures

1. Small Enterprise Campus Core Low-Density Inter-Switch Trunk Aggregation Deployed in Catalyst 6500 E-Series core switches to provide small-quantity 10GE fiber uplinks between distribution layer switches and central core routers, supporting multi-mode short-range and single-mode long-distance fiber cabling via interchangeable X2 optical transceivers.
2. Compact-Scale Data Center Server & Storage Access Aggregation Low-port-count 10G fiber connectivity for compact rack-mounted virtualized application server clusters, IP SAN gateways, backup deduplication appliances; X2 single-mode fiber modules support long-distance inter-rack data center trunking for low-volume high-throughput workloads.
3. Metro Ethernet & Service Provider Carrier-Grade Edge Access Optimized for Catalyst 6500 E-Series carrier deployments, providing scalable low-density 10GE fiber customer premise equipment (CPE) access links for business Ethernet broadband and managed network services.
4. VSS Virtual Switching System Multi-Chassis High Availability Deployments Supports dedicated Virtual Switch Link (VSL) ports configured in performance mode, enabling dual-chassis redundant core switching architectures for enterprise and carrier high-availability network requirements.

Core Integrated Functional Capabilities: Full-slot hot-swappable design, 8 X2 10-Gigabit Ethernet optical transceiver slots forming one unified port group, dual 20-Gbps full-duplex chassis crossbar switch fabric channels (80Gbps aggregate bidirectional bandwidth), factory pre-installed WS-F6K-DFC4-E / DFC4-EXL distributed dCEF forwarding daughter card, zero PoE inline power circuits, Layer 2 IEEE 802.1Q VLAN trunking, jumbo frame support up to 9216 bytes, large dedicated per-port packet buffer pools, multi-queue hardware QoS queuing, dedicated hardware multicast replication engines, IGMP v1/v2/v3 hardware multicast snooping, EtherChannel/PAgP/LACP link aggregation (up to 80Gbps per EtherChannel bundle), UDLD unidirectional link fault detection, broadcast/multicast storm suppression, private VLAN segmentation, hot-swappable OIR module design, and full inheritance of all Catalyst 6500 E-Series enterprise unified communications, multicast, and security feature sets.

2. Hardware & Performance Specifications

Core Switching & Forwarding Performance

• Switch Fabric Architecture: Centralized crossbar fabric managed by Supervisor Engine 2T/2TXL; factory pre-installed WS-F6K-DFC4-E / DFC4-EXL distributed forwarding daughter card enables local line-card dCEF line-rate forwarding to eliminate supervisor packet processing bottlenecks
• Backplane Fabric Connection: Dual full-duplex 20-Gbps channels (aggregate 40Gbps unidirectional / 80Gbps bidirectional bandwidth) to chassis crossbar switch fabric, shared equally across all 8 ports of the single port group
• Port Group Operation Modes (single unified 8-port port group, configurable globally for all ports):
  1. Oversubscription Mode (Default): All 8 ports in the group are active, 4:1 port-to-fabric oversubscription ratio, optimized for high-density server/aggregation port deployments
  2. Performance Mode: Only 1 port in the group is active (remaining 7 ports administratively shut), wire-speed non-oversubscribed operation with doubled per-port buffer memory, optimized for low-latency VSL core trunk links
• Port Buffer Allocation: Larger buffer pools in performance mode; dedicated ingress/egress memory per port to absorb bursty data center and campus traffic loads
• Forwarding Throughput Performance:
  • WS-X6808-10G-2T (DFC4-E): 60 Mpps sustained L2/IPv4/MPLS line-rate forwarding, 30 Mpps IPv6 forwarding, 256K IPv4 forwarding entries, 64K shared ACL entries, 512K NetFlow entriesCisco
  • WS-X6808-10G-2TXL (DFC4-EXL XL): Higher route table capacity, expandable DRAM, 1M IPv4 forwarding entries, 256K shared ACL entries, 1M NetFlow entriesCisco
• Maximum Supported Frame Size: Jumbo frames up to 9216 bytes for high-throughput large packet data center workloads
• Link Aggregation Capacity: Supports IEEE 802.3ad LACP and Cisco distributed EtherChannel; maximum 8 physical ports per logical EtherChannel bundle, aggregate bundle bandwidth up to 80Gbps, cross-module port channels supported with other 6800-family line cards in the same chassis
• MTBF (Mean Time Between Failures): 140,696 operating hours under standard indoor data center/wiring closet environmental conditions
• Max Module Power Consumption: Up to ~460 Watts maximum rated power draw (DFC4 daughter card power included in total module power rating)

X2 Transceiver Compatibility Specifications

Each of the 8 ports accepts standard Cisco hot-swappable X2 10-Gigabit Ethernet optical transceivers, supporting multiple media and distance types; the module does not include built-in copper RJ45 ports, and supports CVR-X2-SFP10G OneX adapters for SFP+ 10G transceiver conversion:

1. Fiber Optical X2 Modules
   • 10GBASE-SX: Multimode fiber short-range campus trunking
   • 10GBASE-LRM: Extended reach multimode fiber
   • 10GBASE-LX4: WDM multimode medium reach
   • 10GBASE-LR: Single-mode fiber medium-distance inter-building links
   • 10GBASE-ER: Long-haul single-mode fiber metro/long-distance campus connectivity
   • 10GBASE-ZR / DWDM X2: Coarse wavelength division multiplexing carrier-grade optical transceivers
2. Adapter Support
   • CVR-X2-SFP10G: OneX adapter to plug SFP+ 10G transceivers into X2 slots
3. Direct Attach Copper Support
   • Passive SFP-H10GB-CU1M / CU3M cables used with OneX adapters

• PoE Power Delivery Specifications:No PoE Capability: This line card contains zero inline power hardware, no power classification circuits, and cannot supply DC power to connected endpoints (IP phones, wireless APs, surveillance cameras). All attached devices must rely on local AC power adapters for operation.

Front Panel Physical Port & Indicator Layout

1. X2 10-Gigabit Ethernet Optical Ports (8 × X2 Hot-Swappable Transceiver Slots)
   • Port numbering: Left to right sequential numbering from Port 1 to Port 8, forming a single unified port group with no subgroup segmentation
   • Media flexibility: Optical LC fiber connector natively; OneX adapters enable SFP+ copper/fiber conversion
   • Per-port bi-color status LEDs: Green = Link Up / Active bidirectional data traffic; Amber = Port administratively disabled, physical link down, faulty X2 transceiver, or port error state
2. Module Global System Status Indicators
   • Global module health LED: Solid green = Module detected by Supervisor 2T/2TXL and fully operational; Solid red = Critical line card hardware fault or DFC4 daughter card initialization failure; Flashing amber = Module entering ROMMON boot/diagnostic initialization mode
   • Hot-swap ejector levers with integrated locking retention tabs for safe module insertion/removal without full chassis power shutdown
3. No Integrated Console or Local Management Ports – all chassis-wide management interfaces (console, Ethernet management port) are located on the front panel of the installed Supervisor Engine 2T/2TXL module.

Physical, Environmental & Power Specifications

Physical Dimensions & Weight

• Form Factor: Standard full-slot hot-swappable line card for Catalyst 6500 E-Series chassis
• Overall Dimensions (H × W × D): 3.0 × 35.6 × 40.6 cm (1.2 × 14.4 × 16.0 inches)Cisco
• Bare Line Card Net Weight: ~5.0 kg (11.02 pounds) excluding X2 transceivers; each X2 transceiver adds ~0.25 pounds of weight

Environmental Operating Specifications

• Operating Ambient Temperature Range: Agency-certified for operation: 0°C to 40°C (32°F to 104°F); designed and tested for extended range: 0°C to 55°C (32°F to 130°F)
• Storage & Transport Temperature Range: -40°C to 75°C (-40°F to 167°F)
• Operating Relative Humidity: 10% to 90%, non-condensing humidity for 24/7 continuous chassis operation
• Operating Altitude: Agency-certified for operation: –150 to 2000m (–500 to 6500 ft); designed/tested for extended altitude range: –150 to 3000m (–500 to 10000 ft)
• Acoustic Noise: No onboard cooling fans; all thermal dissipation via passive aluminum heatsinks; chassis main fan tray handles overall system thermal load
• Carrier-Grade Compliance: NEBS Level 3 (GR-1089-CORE, GR-63-CORE), ETSI ETS-300386-2, EN 50121-4
• Safety Certifications: UL 1950, EN 60950, CSA-C22.2 No.950, IEC 60950-1 2nd Edition

3. Supported Layer 2 / Layer 3 Protocol & Feature Set

Layer 2 Switching Features

• IEEE 802.1Q tagged VLAN trunking, maximum 4094 active concurrent VLANs (VLAN limit inherited from Supervisor Engine 2T/2TXL configuration)
• Spanning Tree Protocol suite: IEEE 802.1D STP, 802.1w Rapid STP (RSTP), 802.1s Multiple STP (MSTP); UplinkFast, BackboneFast, root guard, BPDU guard
• Link Aggregation: IEEE 802.3ad LACP, Cisco distributed EtherChannel, cross-module EtherChannel support with other 6800-family full-slot line cards
• Multicast Optimization: IGMP v1/v2/v3 hardware snooping, Cisco Group Multicast Protocol (GMP) server functionality, dual dedicated hardware multicast replication engines
• Link Fault Detection: Unidirectional Link Detection (UDLD) and aggressive UDLD operating modes
• Security Layer 2 Features: Port security, MAC address learning limits, static secure MAC address binding, private VLANs with promiscuous trunk support, Q-in-Q VLAN stacking pass-through for Metro Ethernet service deployments
• Energy Efficiency: IEEE 802.3az Energy Efficient Ethernet (EEE), automatic port power-down for idle link states to reduce chassis power consumption
• Traffic Suppression: Broadcast, multicast, unknown unicast storm control (hardware rate-limiting); STP BPDUs are not exempt from multicast storm suppression filtering
• Misc Layer 2: Cisco Discovery Protocol (CDP), Layer 2 protocol tunneling (L2PT), CoS mutation for trunk ports.

Layer 3 Routing Features

• IPv4 Hardware Forwarding: Static routing, default static routes, EIGRP stub routing support, IP unnumbered SVI interfaces, SVI autostate exclude (DFC4-E supports 256K IPv4 distributed forwarding; DFC4-EXL XL offers expanded route table capacity)
• IPv6 Forwarding: Distributed hardware accelerated IPv6 packet forwarding (30 Mpps baseline capacity on DFC4-E)
• Access Control Lists: Hardware-based Port ACLs (PACLs), VLAN ACLs (VACLs), Router ACLs (RACLs) with low forwarding latency; ACL processing executed on local DFC4 distributed ASIC
• WCCP Version 2 Layer 2 redirect support for web cache offloading.

QoS Traffic Management Features

• Hardware Per-Port QoS Architecture:
  • Oversubscription Mode: 1 ingress queue with multiple drop thresholds, multi-class egress queue scheduling (strict priority + weighted round-robin)
  • Performance Mode (VSL dedicated port): Enhanced multi-queue ingress buffering, expanded egress queue count for low-latency core traffic
• Traffic Classification Mechanisms: Layer 2 CoS marking, Layer 3 DSCP / IP Precedence classification, full Layer 3/Layer 4 ACL header matching for granular application traffic identification
• Policing & Shaping: 512 independent ingress policer instances, 512 independent egress policer instances; aggregate and per-flow policing modes, egress traffic shaping and bandwidth sharing
• Congestion Avoidance: Dynamic Buffer Limiting (DBL) to prevent egress buffer overflow and random packet loss for bursty enterprise application traffic
• Scheduling Algorithms: Strict priority queuing for real-time voice/video media traffic, weighted round-robin (WRR) shared queue scheduling for standard data traffic
• Unified Communications QoS: Auto-QoS CLI template for simplified VoIP and TelePresence deployment, per-port/per-VLAN CoS/DSCP marking and mutation for converged voice-data network environments.

Enterprise Security Features

• IEEE 802.1X port-based Network Access Control (NAC) fully compatible (NAC authentication processing executed on the supervisor engine or local DFC4 daughter card)
• DHCP Snooping with DHCP Option 82 insertion to block rogue DHCP server attacks and prevent IP address spoofing
• Dynamic ARP Inspection (DAI) for Layer 2 ARP spoofing and man-in-the-middle attack prevention
• Encrypted management traffic support: AES encryption for SSH v2 remote CLI access, TLS 1.1/1.2 for HTTPS web administration (all security processing handled by the chassis supervisor engine or local DFC4 daughter card)
• Cisco TrustSec identity-based network access tagging support (TrustSec hardware feature set inherited from Supervisor Engine 2T/2TXL).

High Availability Redundancy Features

• Hot-swappable full-slot line card design: Insert, remove, or replace the module without powering down the entire Catalyst 6500 E-Series chassis; all other active line card ports remain fully operational during module replacement
• Stateful Switchover (SSO) and Non-Stop Forwarding (NSF) fully compatible (requires dual redundant Supervisor Engine 2T/2TXL modules installed in the chassis); line card Layer 2 MAC address tables and forwarding state are synchronized between redundant supervisors for subsecond failover with zero data-plane traffic outage
• VSS Virtual Switching System support: Performance mode port configuration enables dedicated Virtual Switch Link inter-chassis trunk ports for dual-chassis core high availability deployments.

4. Network Security & QoS Compliance Standards

1. Dual-stack IPv4 / IPv6 network protocol support; DHCP dynamic IP addressing or static IP configuration managed via chassis supervisor engine
2. Enterprise Network Access Security Controls: IEEE 802.1X EAP-TLS/EAP-PEAP wired authentication, multi-level local administrator password access control, role-based access control (RBAC) for web-based device management portal
3. Remote Administration Security Protocols: Encrypted SSH v2 secure shell CLI remote access, HTTPS TLS 1.1 / TLS 1.2 encrypted web management portal, XML/SOAP encrypted remote API interfaces for third-party network monitoring systems
4. Digital Identity Certificate Support: Manufacturer-Installed Certificates (MIC), Locally Significant Certificates (LSC), and X.509 DER/Base64 digital identity certificates for secure TLS authentication to TACACS+/RADIUS AAA servers
5. QoS Traffic Prioritization Compliance: IEEE 802.1Q VLAN tagging for logical segmentation of voice/media traffic and enterprise data traffic; IEEE 802.1p Layer 2 CoS marking to prioritize real-time VoIP and TelePresence video conference streams above standard office data packets, eliminating media latency and packet loss artifacts.

5. Unified Communications & Network Automation Feature Set

Core Enterprise Unified Communications & Meeting QoS Feature Set

1. Supported Unified Communications Deployment Scenarios:
   • Small enterprise campus core low-density 10G fiber trunk aggregation for CUCM unified communications server clusters
   • Data center fiber access for IP telephony media gateways and video conference TelePresence appliances
   • Metro Ethernet business customer fiber access links for hosted unified communications service provider deployments
   • VSS dual-chassis core redundant trunk deployments for enterprise high-availability unified communications architectures
2. Complete Voice & Video Call QoS Control Operations:
   • Auto-QoS template automatic CoS/DSCP marking for VoIP media packets on all X2 fiber uplink ports
   • Strict priority egress queue scheduling to guarantee low-latency transport for TelePresence video conference traffic
   • Per-port ingress policing to limit rogue voice/video stream bandwidth consumption and protect mission-critical media traffic
   • OBTP (One Button To Push) calendar-scheduled meeting dynamic QoS policy activation; line card automatically prioritizes video conference traffic during pre-booked enterprise TelePresence meetings
3. Directory & Network Log Management Capabilities:
   • LDAP corporate directory lookup compatibility integrated with Cisco Unified Communications Manager (CUCM) and Cisco TelePresence Management Suite (TMS)
   • Persistent local switch logging storage on supervisor engine onboard flash memory; remote syslog server export for centralized enterprise network audit tracking
4. Supplementary Unified Communications Features: Integrated visual voicemail indicator support for IP phone endpoints, single number reach mobility feature support, ad-hoc point-to-point video conference traffic prioritization; URI dialing support for SIP video endpoints, RFC 4733 DTMF tone transmission for analog PSTN gateway integration; NTP network time synchronization for accurate meeting log timestamps, DNS service discovery, automatic gatekeeper discovery for legacy H.323 TelePresence endpoint interoperability.

Intelligent Network Workflow Automation Functions

1. OBTP Scheduled Meeting QoS Sync: When enterprise video conferences are scheduled via Microsoft Outlook/Google Calendar and launched from Cisco TelePresence endpoints connected to the Catalyst 6500 E-Series switch, the WS-X6808-10G line card automatically applies high-priority QoS policies to all fiber uplink ports carrying conference media traffic without manual administrator configuration
2. Automatic System Hardware Fault Monitoring: Continuous real-time monitoring of line card internal temperature, port physical link status, X2 transceiver fault conditions, DFC4 daughter card initialization status; automated SNMP trap alert generation sent to enterprise network monitoring servers for hardware failure pre-alerting
3. Multi-Platform Meeting Interoperability: Native certified support for Cisco Webex Meetings traffic QoS prioritization, all third-party standards-compliant SIP/H.323 video conferencing endpoints without requiring auxiliary external AV switching hardware or third-party media bridge equipment
4. Multi-Mode Device Control Interfaces: Full Catalyst 6500 E-Series chassis and line card function control via three independent user interface methods:
   • Local RJ-45 console CLI (primary local administrator control method for all switch configuration and troubleshooting functions, located on chassis supervisor engine front panel)
   • Remote HTTPS encrypted web administration portal for off-site enterprise IT administrator full chassis configuration and real-time port/route status monitoring
   • Bidirectional SNMP v2c / v3 MIB control integration for third-party enterprise network monitoring automation systems (SolarWinds, PRTG, Zabbix)
5. Third-Party Enterprise Network Monitoring Automation Integration: Supports SNMP trap notification linkage with third-party network monitoring platforms, standardized MIB object libraries for chassis resource utilization tracking, fully customizable automation macros for scheduled switch configuration backup, IOS/IOS XE image upgrade scheduling, and routine port status audit workflows
6. Digital Signage Kiosk Standby Mode QoS: Configurable automatic QoS policy adjustment for connected digital signage kiosk endpoints during off-hours non-meeting periods, lowering signage traffic priority to reserve uplink fiber bandwidth for critical enterprise voice and video conference traffic.

6. Supported Enterprise Compatibility Platforms

1. On-Premises Unified Communications Architecture: Cisco Unified Communications Manager (CUCM) version 8.x, 9.x, 10.x stable official software releases with dedicated Catalyst 6500 E-Series core/distribution switch voice VLAN and QoS compatibility configuration templates, integrated with Cisco Unified Presence (Jabber IM/presence synchronization) and Cisco TelePresence Management Suite (TMS) for enterprise-wide IP phone and video conference endpoint full-lifecycle management
2. Remote Access & Cloud Hybrid Architecture: Cisco TelePresence Expressway-C / Expressway-E cross-firewall traversal gateways for secure off-site remote TelePresence endpoint registration across corporate network fiber infrastructure; native support for Cisco WebEx cloud meeting platform and Cisco TelePresence Management Suite (TMS) centralized on-premises device management portal
3. Third-Party Interoperability Compliance: Fully standards-compliant SIP RFC signaling protocol, H.323 and H.460 firewall traversal communication protocols, compatible with all industry-standard third-party video conferencing platforms, IP PBX telephone systems and multi-vendor TelePresence endpoint hardware from competing collaboration vendors, as well as all third-party enterprise network monitoring and SNMP management platforms.

7. Core Deployment Advantages of Cisco WS-X6808-10G Line Card

1. Standard full-slot hot-swappable design exclusive to Catalyst 6500 E-Series chassis paired with Supervisor 2T/2TXL, delivering compact low-density 8-port X2 10G pure-fiber aggregation; enables flexible mixed-port-type deployments combining this module with other 6800-family line cards (16-port 10G fiber, 16-port 10G copper, Gigabit SFP/copper) in a single modular chassis, ideal for small enterprise campus core, compact data center, and carrier metro Ethernet edge environments
2. Factory pre-integrated WS-F6K-DFC4-E / DFC4-EXL distributed forwarding daughter card eliminates separate DFC hardware procurement and on-site installation labor, provides local line-card dCEF line-rate packet processing to remove supervisor engine forwarding bottlenecks for low-volume core and data center traffic workloads
3. Dual independent 20-Gbps fabric channels deliver 80Gbps aggregate bidirectional backplane bandwidth, single unified 8-port port group with two selectable operational modes (oversubscription mode for maximum port density aggregation, performance mode for low-latency dedicated VSL inter-chassis redundant trunk links) to adapt to diverse enterprise and carrier core network architecture requirements
4. Larger dedicated per-port packet buffer pools in performance mode provide robust burst traffic absorption capability, minimizing packet loss during peak data center server-to-server and campus core inter-switch traffic load periods
5. Zero PoE power circuit design delivers moderate chassis power consumption, reducing overall rack power load and cooling requirements when deployed alongside PoE copper line cards in the same Catalyst 6500 E-Series chassis
6. Next-gen 6800-family ASIC architecture with dedicated hardware multicast replication engines optimizes IPTV, video conferencing and broadcast media traffic forwarding performance for enterprise and service provider multicast deployments
7. Centralized crossbar fabric architecture with DFC4 distributed acceleration inherits all advanced Layer 2/Layer 3, QoS, and security features directly from the installed Supervisor Engine 2T/2TXL, eliminating the need for separate ASIC feature licensing and delivering exceptional long-term investment protection via simple supervisor engine IOS SY firmware upgrades
8. Full hot-swappable OIR operation allows IT administrators to replace or add this line card to the Catalyst 6500 E-Series chassis without shutting down the entire switch, minimizing enterprise network maintenance downtime and supporting 24/7 always-on business network and carrier service requirements
9. Passive heatsink thermal design produces zero audible operational noise from the line card module itself; all cooling load is handled by the chassis main fan tray, making WS-X6808-10G perfectly suited for quiet office wiring closet and executive campus network closet environments where noisy active-cooled line card modules create disruptive background distractions
10. Full backward compatibility with all generations of Supervisor Engine 2T and 2TXL for Catalyst 6500 E-Series chassis, fully interoperable with existing enterprise CUCM/VCS/TMS on-premises unified communications infrastructure, enabling cost-effective low-density 10G fiber core trunk line card hardware replacement without full chassis refresh investment
11. Centralized mass Gigabit/10-Gigabit Ethernet wired LAN device fleet management via CUCM, TMS or VCS simplifies bulk IOS SY firmware batch upgrades, batch standardized enterprise security/QoS policy template deployment, real-time distributed headquarters/branch office Catalyst 6500 chassis hardware health monitoring and remote IT administrator troubleshooting, drastically reducing daily enterprise IT administration workload for small-scale distributed global corporate headquarters, regional branch office and carrier service provider network fleets.

8. Supplementary Product Specification Notes

SKU / Model Naming Recap

• WS-X6808-10G: Cisco Catalyst 6500 E-Series 6800 Family full-slot 8-port X2 10-Gigabit Ethernet hot-swappable modular fiber aggregation switching line card base hardware, factory integrated with two DFC4 distributed forwarding variants as complete SKUs:
  1. WS-X6808-10G-2T: Equipped with WS-F6K-DFC4-E standard DFC4 daughter card (1GB DRAM, 60 Mpps L2/IPv4/MPLS forwarding capacity, 30 Mpps IPv6, 256K IPv4 forwarding entries, 64K shared ACL entries, 512K NetFlow entries)
  2. WS-X6808-10G-2TXL: Equipped with WS-F6K-DFC4-EXL XL high-capacity DFC4 daughter card (expandable DRAM, 60 Mpps L2/IPv4/MPLS forwarding capacity, 30 Mpps IPv6, 1M IPv4 forwarding entries, 256K shared ACL entries, 1M NetFlow entries) Key characteristics: Dual 20-Gbps full-duplex chassis crossbar switch fabric channels (80Gbps aggregate bidirectional bandwidth), single unified 8-port port group configurable in oversubscription or performance mode, zero PoE inline power support, X2 optical transceiver-only design with CVR-X2-SFP10G OneX adapter compatibility, dedicated dual hardware multicast replication engines, large per-port packet buffer pools, IEEE 802.3az Energy Efficient Ethernet, compatible exclusively with Catalyst 6500 E-Series chassis paired with Supervisor Engine 2T/2TXL platform, universal 100–240V AC chassis power input compatible, K9 secure IOS SY firmware compliant with AES encrypted management traffic and full enterprise NAC security policy support for regulated industry small enterprise campus core, compact data center and service provider metro Ethernet low-density 10G fiber uplink deployments.
• K9 Compliance Note: All factory WS-X6808-10G series IOS SY firmware releases implement H.235v3 AES 128-bit encrypted remote CLI, web portal and SNMP management traffic, meeting Cisco K9 secure network hardware classification standards required for government, military, healthcare, and financial regulated enterprise campus and service provider network deployments.
• NR Variant Note: No separate RF-restricted NR cellular radio variant exists for WS-X6808-10G; the line card contains no integrated cellular mobile radio signal generation or transmission modules, all network connectivity is delivered exclusively via X2 fiber optical transceiver ports (or SFP+ via OneX adapters) only.

Regulatory Compliance Certifications

Fully compliant with global international industry certification standards including EU Low-Voltage Directive 2014/35/EU (IEC/EN 60950-1), EMC Electromagnetic Compatibility Directive 2004/108/EC, UL 60950-1 safety certification, CAN/CSA-C22.2 No. 60950-1, FCC CFR 47 Part 15 Class A electromagnetic emissions certification for data center IT networking equipment, NEBS Level 3 carrier-grade compliance, ETSI ETS-300386-2, EN 50121-4, and global RoHS hazardous substance restriction compliance approval.

Factory Hardware Warranty Terms

Standard 1-year limited hardware warranty coverage for brand-new factory-sealed complete WS-X6808-10G-2T / 2TXL line card modules purchased through official Cisco authorized global distribution channel partners. Critical lifecycle limitation note: The product EoS/EoSS status restricts active hardware replacement warranty service eligibility for all WS-X6808-10G units purchased after Cisco’s official End-of-Sale cutoff date; all formal Cisco technical TAC engineering hardware repair support services terminated permanently at the published End-of-Support date.

UNSPSC Classification Code

43222612 (Full-slot hot-swappable modular enterprise core / service provider router pure-fiber low-density 10-Gigabit Ethernet aggregation switching line card exclusive to Catalyst 6500 E-Series chassis paired with Supervisor Engine 2T/2TXL, 8-port X2 10-Gigabit Ethernet optical transceiver interfaces compatible with OneX SFP+ adapters, 6800-family ASIC architecture with dedicated hardware multicast replication engines, single unified 8-port port group with dual operational modes, dual 20-Gbps chassis crossbar switch fabric channels, factory integrated WS-F6K-DFC4-E / DFC4-EXL distributed forwarding daughter card options, zero PoE inline power delivery, large per-port packet buffer pools, hardware QoS and enterprise NAC access security feature support, AES encrypted network management traffic, compatible with all Supervisor Engine 2T/2TXL variants for modular rack-mount small enterprise campus core, compact data center and carrier metro Ethernet switch/router chassis deployments).