Cisco Catalyst WS-C4908G-L3 Full English Product Description

1. Short Sales Title

Cisco WS-C4908G-L3 Legacy Fixed 1RU 8-Port GBIC Gigabit Layer 3 Router Switch, 8×GBIC Gigabit Fiber Slots, Dual Redundant Hot-Swap Power Supplies, Redundant Hot-Swap Fans, 22 Gbps Non-Blocking Backplane, 11 Mpps Wire-Speed IP Routing, Cisco IOS 12.0 WX Software, Multi-Protocol Routing (IP/IPX/DECnet), End-of-Sale Legacy Small Campus Core, Data Center Backbone & Branch WAN Aggregation Switch for Multi-Protocol Converged Fiber Networks

2. Official Product Overview

The Cisco Catalyst WS-C4908G-L3 is an early-generation fixed-form-factor 1RU Gigabit Layer 3 routing switch within the Catalyst 4900 legacy platform, released in early 2000s, End-of-Sale Oct 31, 2003, End-of-Support Oct 31, 2008, fully obsolete and no longer covered by Cisco official support lifecycleCisco. It is a dedicated fiber-based backbone router switch designed for multi-protocol enterprise networks, distinct from later Catalyst 4948/4900M series hardware.

Unlike Layer 2-only Catalyst switches, the WS-C4908G-L3 operates primarily as a wire-speed hardware router with limited Layer 2 bridging functionality. All ports default to routed interfaces; native multi-protocol support for IP, IPX, DECnet/LAT enables consolidation of legacy and IP-only network traffic on a single fiber backbone without separate parallel router infrastructure.

The chassis ships fully assembled with integrated fan tray; GBIC transceivers, AC/DC power supplies are sold separately as FRUs. It features eight GBIC-based Gigabit uplink ports for single-mode/multi-mode fiber inter-switch trunking, dual redundant power bays and hot-swappable cooling fans for basic high availability in mission-critical small campus core, mini data center backbone, and regional branch WAN aggregation deployments.

Model Suffix Breakdown

WS-C: Cisco Catalyst LAN Switch Identifier
4908: Catalyst 4900 legacy fixed switch series, 8 total Gigabit ports
G: Gigabit Ethernet port interface (GBIC-based fiber only)
L3: Hardware Layer 3 multi-protocol routing capability (core differentiator from Layer 2 WS-C4908G)

Front & Rear Panel Layout

Front Panel Traffic Ports: 8 × GBIC hot-swappable Gigabit fiber slots (1000BASE-SX/LX/LH/ZX GBIC transceivers sold separately)
Front Management Interfaces:
- RJ45 RS232 serial console port for local CLI access
- 10/100BASE-T out-of-band auxiliary Ethernet management port
Rear Compartment: Dual independent hot-swappable power supply bays + integrated redundant fan tray assembly
Front diagnostic LED bank: System, power, fan, port link/activity, fault alarm indicators

Supported Transceivers & Power Options

Gigabit transceivers: Standard Cisco GBIC modules (1000BASE-SX, LX, LH, ZX fiber)
Power supply variants: Single/dual AC-input hot-swap PSUs, optional DC telecom negative power PSUs
No PoE support; this chassis carries only fiber backbone traffic, no copper access ports

3. Hardware & Physical Specifications

Core Switching & Routing Performance

Total backplane capacity: 22 Gbps full-duplex non-blocking shared memory fabric
Wire-speed forwarding rate: 11 Mpps for 64-byte IP packets (layer 3 routed traffic)
Packet buffer memory: Shared dynamic buffer across all 8 Gigabit ports
CPU: Integrated dedicated routing processor for multi-protocol control plane
MAC address table: 16,384 MAC entries for Layer 2 bridging
IP routing table capacity: Up to 32,000 IPv4 routes (hardware CEF forwarding)
Jumbo frame support: Up to 1600 bytes (limited legacy jumbo frame size, no 9K MTU)
Maximum EtherChannel bundles: Gigabit EtherChannel (GEC) up to 8 physical ports per logical trunk

Power & Cooling System

Power supply bays: 2 hot-swappable redundant slots supporting 1+1 N+1 power failover
AC input range: 100–240V 50/60Hz; optional –48V DC telecom power
Fan tray: Integrated multiple redundant hot-swappable fans with real-time thermal monitoring
Airflow direction: Front-to-back port intake to rear exhaust
Hardware fault alerting: Fan/power/temperature traps sent via console syslog and SNMP

Physical & Environmental Parameters

Rack form factor: 1 RU standard 19-inch rack mount
Dimensions (H × W × D): 4.45 cm × 43.2 cm × 40.6 cm (1.75 × 17.0 × 16.0 inches)
Bare chassis weight: 12.2 kg (26.9 lbs) without power supplies; fully loaded max weight 16.8 kg (37 lbs) with dual PSUs and full GBICs installed
Operating temperature: 0°C to 40°C (32°F–104°F)
Storage temperature: -40°C to 75°C (-40°F–167°F)
Relative humidity: 10%–90% non-condensing, non-condensing
Compliance Certifications: FCC Class A, UL 1950, CE, VCCI Class A, NEBS Level 3 compliant

4. Full IOS 12.0 WX Layer 2 & Multi-Protocol Layer 3 Feature Set

Layer 2 Bridging Features (Limited Scope)

IEEE 802.1D STP only (no Rapid STP / MSTP support on legacy IOS train)
802.1Q trunk encapsulation (ISL trunking unsupported)
Static VLAN assignment (max 1005 standard VLANs; no extended VLAN range)
Port security, static/dynamic secure MAC address learning
Gigabit EtherChannel (GEC) link aggregation, LACP support
Broadcast/multicast storm suppression
Local SPAN port mirroring (no RSPAN remote monitoring)
Key Limitation: No VTP, DTP, PAgP dynamic trunking protocols supported; all trunks must be statically configuredCisco

Multi-Protocol Layer 3 Routing Suite (Core Value)

IP Routing (Hardware CEF Forwarding)
- Static IPv4 routing, RIP v1/v2, full multi-area OSPFv2, EIGRP, BGPv4
- Inter-VLAN routed SVI interfaces
- PIM-DM / PIM-SM IP multicast routing, MSDP
- ECMP equal-cost multi-path load balancing
- Policy-Based Routing (PBR) supported with advanced IOS feature set
Legacy Multi-Protocol Support (Unique to WS-C4908G-L3)
- IPX routing & IPX EIGRP
- DECnet Phase IV routing, LAT local-area transport bridging
- AppleTalk routing for legacy Macintosh networks
IPv6 Note: Native hardware IPv6 forwarding is not supported on this legacy hardware; limited software IPv6 only via later IOS minor releases

QoS & Traffic Prioritization

4 hardware egress queues per Gigabit port
802.1p CoS / IP DSCP packet marking and re-marking
Ingress policing, egress rate shaping for backbone bandwidth control
Basic Auto-QoS templates for VoIP and video multicast traffic

Enterprise Security Features

IEEE 802.1X port NAC authentication (RADIUS/TACACS+ AAA)
Static port ACL, VLAN ACL hardware traffic filtering
SSHv2 encrypted CLI management, SNMPv3 secure monitoring
Control Plane Policing (CoPP) to protect routing CPU from DDoS attacks
Private VLAN host isolation for multi-tenant backbone segmentation

Monitoring & Management

IOS CLI command-line management via serial console or out-of-band Ethernet port
SNMP v1/v2c/v3 network monitoring, syslog event logging
Cisco Discovery Protocol (CDP) for neighbor device discovery
No Flexible NetFlow support; only basic IP accounting for traffic statistics

5. High Availability Capabilities

Dual hot-swappable redundant AC/DC power supplies (1+1 power failover protection)
Redundant hot-swappable fan tray assembly with individual fan fault detection
Full OIR Online Insertion and Removal for GBIC transceivers, power supplies and fan trays (live replacement without chassis shutdown)
No redundant supervisor or SSO/NSF capability (single fixed control plane architecture, single point of failure for routing processor)
Hot-swap GBIC transceivers for fiber uplink maintenance without chassis power down

6. Typical Deployment Scenarios

Small Enterprise Campus Fiber Core Backbone

Eight GBIC Gigabit ports aggregate multiple building distribution switches via single/multi-mode fiber trunks; multi-protocol routing consolidates legacy IPX/DECnet and modern IP voice/data traffic on a single compact 1RU core chassis.
Mini Data Center Backbone Router Switch

Fiber uplinks connect server racks, storage arrays and firewalls, providing wire-speed Layer 3 inter-server routing and multi-protocol legacy workload support for small on-prem data centers.
Regional Branch Office WAN Aggregation Core

Dual redundant power supplies ensure branch network uptime; Gigabit fiber ports terminate metro Ethernet WAN links and local building access switch trunks, combining inter-VLAN routing and legacy protocol support for mixed environment remote sites.
Legacy Multi-Protocol Network Hardware Replacement

Drop-in upgrade for aging Catalyst 4000/2948G-L3 routing switches, fully compatible with existing GBIC fiber transceivers and multi-protocol network designs to extend legacy network lifecycle.

7. Standard Package Contents

1 × WS-C4908G-L3 fixed 1RU 8-port Gigabit Layer 3 routing switch chassis

Pre-installed integrated redundant fan tray assembly

19-inch standard rack mounting rail kit

Hardware installation guide, global safety compliance documentation

Items Sold Separately (Not Included)

AC or DC hot-swappable redundant power supply units
Cisco GBIC 1000BASE-SX/LX/LH/ZX fiber transceivers
RS232 serial console rollover cable
Cable management accessories, fiber patch cords

Short Commercial Catalog Version (For Quotation & Datasheet Use)

The Cisco Catalyst WS-C4908G-L3 is an End-of-Sale obsolete legacy 1RU fixed multi-protocol Layer 3 routing switch from the early Catalyst 4900 series, supplied fully assembled with factory fan tray (power supplies and GBIC transceivers sold separately). It features 8×GBIC-based Gigabit fiber ports, dual hot-swappable redundant power supply bays and redundant hot-swap fans, built on a 22 Gbps non-blocking backplane delivering 11 Mpps wire-speed IP CEF routing. Running Cisco IOS 12.0 WX software, it uniquely supports multi-protocol routing for IP, IPX, DECnet and AppleTalk alongside standard Layer 2 bridging, static 802.1Q trunking, GEC link aggregation and basic enterprise security/QoS tools. Optimized for legacy multi-protocol small campus core, mini data center backbone and branch WAN aggregation deployments, with full OIR hot-swap FRU support and dual power redundancy; note single non-redundant routing processor and limited modern feature support (no MSTP, RSPAN, native hardware IPv6 or VTP). Compliant with global safety, EMI and NEBS industrial standards, out of official Cisco hardware support since October 2008.


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