Product Type | Switch Chassis |
Product Name | 6503-E Switch Chassis |
Product Model | 6503-E |
Product Series | 6500 |
Product Line | Catalyst |
Brand Name | Cisco |
Form Factor | Rack-mountable |
Rack Units | 4RU |
Layer Supported | 2 |
Number of Total Expansion Slots | 3 |
Supports Power Supplies | 1 or 2 |
Redundancy Support | Yes, with dual supervisor engines |
Failover | 1 to 3 seconds stateful failover |
Supervisor Engine Slots | 2 (Slot 1 and Slot 2) |
Weight (Approximate) | 33 lbs |
Cisco Catalyst 6503-E Enhanced 3-Slot Switch Chassis, 4RU



Key Benefits

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- Offers high availability with stateful failover and dual supervisor engine support, ideal for mission-critical networks
- Compact 4RU design conserves rack space in dense data center or enterprise deployments
- Supports multiple network protocols and configurations with compatibility for both Catalyst OS and IOS software
Product Overview
The Cisco Catalyst 6503-E is a high-performance, 3-slot chassis switch designed for enterprise networking. Its 4RU form factor supports up to two Catalyst 6500 modules and dual supervisor engines with rapid failover for high availability. The chassis offers Layer 2 functionality, runs both Catalyst OS and IOS software, and is TAA-compliant. Features include a replaceable clock module and a non-replaceable voltage termination module, all within a compact and scalable chassis ideal for secure data centers and remote applications.
Specifications
Product Overview
Wireless Features
Wireless Support |
Compliance & Origin
Country of Origin | UNITED STATES |
TAA Compliant | Yes |
RoHS Compliance | Yes |
Certifications | UL, CSA, CE Mark, FCC Part 15 Class A |
Advanced Security Features
Access Control | ACLs (Access Control Lists) via supervisor engine |
Hardware Encryption | Supported via certain supervisor modules |
802.1x Authentication Support | Dependent on supervisor engine OS |
MAC Address Filtering | Yes (via configuration) |
Port Security | Configurable via supervisor engine |
Interfaces
Module Slots | Supports up to 2 Catalyst 6500 series modules |
Supervisor Engine Compatibility | Yes (dual supported) |
Backplane Bandwidth | Up to 720 Gbps (with Supervisor Engine 720) |
Switch Fabric Modules Support | Not compatible with WS-C6500-SFM and WS-X6500-SFM2 |
Clock Module | Replaceable CLK-7600= |
Voltage Termination Module | Non-replaceable VTT |
Physical & Environmental
Height | 7" (177.80 mm) |
Width | 21.8" |
Depth | 17.37" (441.20 mm) |
Cooling | Fan tray supported (not included by default) |
Power Input | AC/DC support depending on power supply module (not included) |
Mount Type | Rack-mountable (19-inch rack) |
Chassis Material | Metal |
Cloud Management & Licensing
Management Software Support | Cisco IOS and Cisco Catalyst OS |
Software Licensing | Dependent on installed supervisor engine |
Remote Management | Supported via supervisor engine |
Monitoring Interface | Cisco Prime, SNMP support |