Cisco Catalyst 4500 Series Replacement: What Cisco Recommends
Cisco support for the Cisco Catalyst 4500 Series has ended for some part numbers (last group runs to Oct 2023). Unsupported units need a plan. Cisco's own end-of-life bulletin names the successor below, quoted from the source, with the successor's live support status where EOSL.ai tracks it.
The Cisco-named replacement
per-part mapping in the bulletin (13 replacement parts listed) Named in the Cisco EOL bulletin ↗ as the migration path.
named as the replacement part number in the Cisco EOL bulletin. Named in the Cisco EOL bulletin ↗ as the migration path.
named as the replacement part number in the Cisco EOL bulletin. Named in the Cisco EOL bulletin ↗ as the migration path.
named as the replacement part number in the Cisco EOL bulletin. Named in the Cisco EOL bulletin ↗ as the migration path.
per-part mapping in the bulletin (3 replacement parts listed) Named in the Cisco EOL bulletin ↗ as the migration path.
per-part mapping in the bulletin (6 replacement parts listed) Named in the Cisco EOL bulletin ↗ as the migration path.
per-part mapping in the bulletin (2 replacement parts listed) Named in the Cisco EOL bulletin ↗ as the migration path.
C1-X45-SUP8L-E and C4500E-3NR-8L-4748 and C4500E-3NR-8L-MGIG and C4500E-3NR-8L-UPOE and C4500E-6NR-8L-4748 and C4500E-6NR-8L-MGIG and C4500E-6NR-8L-UPOE and C4500E-7R-S8L-4748 and WS-X45-SUP8L-E and C4500E-S8L-SFP-DEF and C4500E-7R-S8L-MGIG and WS-4506E-S8L and WS-4507E-S8L and WS-X45-SUP7L-E and WS-C4507RE and WS-C4506E-S7L and WS-C4503E-S7L and 2S7LES-C and 1S7LES-C and C4506-1S7LES-C and C4503-1S7LES-C and C4500E-S7L-S7 and C4500E-S7L-DEFAULT and WS-X45-SUP7-E and WS-X4624-SFP-E and WS-X4612-SFP-E and WS-X4148-FX-MT and WS-X4148-RJ and WS-X4248-RJ45V and WS-X4306-GB and WS-X4548-GB-RJ45 and WS-X4648-RJ45V and WS-X45-SUP6L-E and WS-X4516-10GE and WS-C4503-E and WS-C4503E-S6L-48V and WS-C4506-E and WS-C4506E-S6L-96V and WS-C4507R-E and WS-C4510R-E are not tracked on EOSL.ai yet, so this page shows no lifecycle dates for them.
Cisco Catalyst 4500 Series lifecycle dates
| SKU group | End of sale | EOSL / last support | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Switch hardware | Oct 2018 | Oct 2023 | bulletin ↗ |
| Switch hardware | Feb 2015 | Feb 2020 | bulletin ↗ |
| Switch hardware | Mar 2014 | Feb 2019 | bulletin ↗ |
| Switch hardware | Jul 2013 | Jul 2018 | bulletin ↗ |
| Switch hardware | Nov 2011 | Nov 2016 | bulletin ↗ |
| Switch hardware | Jul 2010 | Jul 2015 | bulletin ↗ |
| Switch hardware | Jul 2010 | Jul 2015 | bulletin ↗ |
| Switch hardware | Jul 2010 | Jul 2015 | bulletin ↗ |
Per-part-number replacement mapping (53)
As listed in the Cisco bulletin's migration table for each part number.
| End-of-life part | Description | Bulletin-listed replacement |
|---|---|---|
| C1-X45-SUP7L-E | C1-X45-SUP8L-E | |
| C4500E-S3-4748RJV | C4500E-3NR-8L-4748 | |
| C4500E-S3-MGIG | C4500E-3NR-8L-MGIG | |
| C4500E-S3-UPOE | C4500E-3NR-8L-UPOE | |
| C4500E-S6-4748RJV | C4500E-6NR-8L-4748 | |
| C4500E-S6-MGIG | C4500E-6NR-8L-MGIG | |
| C4500E-S6-UPOE | C4500E-6NR-8L-UPOE | |
| C4500E-S7-4748RJV | C4500E-7R-S8L-4748 | |
| WS-X45-SUP7L-E | WS-X45-SUP8L-E | |
| C4500E-S7L-SFP-DEF | C4500E-S8L-SFP-DEF | |
| C4500RE-S7-MGIG | C4500E-7R-S8L-MGIG | |
| ME-4506E-S7L | WS-4506E-S8L | |
| ME-4507E-S7L | WS-4507E-S8L | |
| WS-X45-SUP6L-E | WS-X45-SUP7L-E | |
| WS-C4507RES6L | 4507R+E Chassis, TwoWS-X4648-RJ45V+E, Sup6L-E | WS-C4507RE |
| WS-C4506E-S6L-96V | 4506-E Chassis, TwoWS-X4648-RJ45V+E, Sup6L-E | WS-C4506E-S7L |
| WS-C4506E-S6L-4200 | 4506-E Chassis, Two WS-X4648-RJ45V+E, Sup6L-E, 4200W PS | WS-C4506E-S7L |
| WS-C4506E-S6L-2800 | 4506-E Chassis, TwoWS-X4648-RJ45V+E, Sup6L-E, 2800W PS | WS-C4506E-S7L |
| WS-C4506E-S6L-1300 | 4506-E Chassis, Two WS-X4648-RJ45V+E, Sup6L-E, 1300W PS | WS-C4506E-S7L |
| WS-C4503E-S6L-48VE | 4503-E Chassis, One 24G PoE Line Card, Sup6L-E | WS-C4503E-S7L |
| WS-C4503E-S6L-48V | 4503-E Chassis, One WS-X4648-RJ45V+E, Sup6L-E | WS-C4503E-S7L |
| WS-C4503E-S6L-1300 | 4503-E Chassis, One WS-X4648-RJ45V+E, Sup6L-E, 1300W PS | WS-C4503E-S7L |
| 2S6L-C | 4507R+E Chassis and Two Sup6L-E | 2S7LES-C |
| 1S6L-C | 4507R+E Chassis and Sup6L-E | 1S7LES-C |
| C4506-S6L-C | 4506-E Chassis and Sup6L-E | C4506-1S7LES-C |
| C4503-S6L-C | 4503-E Chassis and Sup6L-E | C4503-1S7LES-C |
| C4500E-S6L-S7 | Sup6L-E/4648 to Sup7-E/4748 Upgrade for Bundle | C4500E-S7L-S7 |
| C4500E-S6L-DEFAULT | Default WS-X45-SUP6L-E with WS-X4648-RJ45V+E Bundle | C4500E-S7L-DEFAULT |
| WS-X45-SUP6-E | WS-X45-SUP7-E | |
| WS-X4306-GB | WS-X4624-SFP-E | |
| WS-F4531 | WS-X45-SUP7-E | |
| WS-X4418-GB | WS-X4624-SFP-E | |
| WS-X4506-GB-T | WS-X4612-SFP-E | |
| WS-X4124-FX-MT | WS-X4148-FX-MT | |
| WS-X4124-RJ45 | WS-X4148-RJ | |
| WS-X4148-RJ21 | WS-X4148-RJ | |
| WS-X4224-RJ45V | WS-X4248-RJ45V | |
| WS-X4232-GB-RJ | WS-X4148-RJ | |
| WS-X4248-RJ21V | WS-X4248-RJ45V | |
| WS-X4302-GB | WS-X4306-GB | |
| WS-X4424-GB-RJ45 | WS-X4548-GB-RJ45 | |
| WS-X4524-GB-RJ45V | WS-X4648-RJ45V | |
| WS-X4013 | WS-X45-SUP6L-E | |
| WS-X4515 | WS-X4516-10GE | |
| WS-X4516 | WS-X4516-10GE | |
| WS-C4503 | WS-C4503-E | |
| WS-C4503-E-S2 | WS-C4503E-S6L-48V | |
| WS-C4503-S2 | WS-C4503E-S6L-48V | |
| WS-C4506 | WS-C4506-E | |
| WS-C4506-S2 | WS-C4506E-S6L-96V | |
| WS-C4506E-GE-96V | WS-C4506E-S6L-96V | |
| WS-C4507R | WS-C4507R-E | |
| WS-C4510R | WS-C4510R-E |
Migration questions
What is the replacement for the Cisco Catalyst 4500 Series?
Cisco's end-of-life bulletin names 13 successor part numbers and 10 successor part numbers and WS-X45-SUP7-E and WS-X4624-SFP-E and 3 successor part numbers and 6 successor part numbers and 2 successor part numbers as the recommended migration path for the Cisco Catalyst 4500 Series. The exact wording and any per-part-number mapping are in the linked bulletin.
Is the Cisco Catalyst 4500 Series end of life?
Cisco support for the Cisco Catalyst 4500 Series has ended for some part numbers (last group runs to Oct 2023). Unsupported units need a plan. Full lifecycle dates by part number: https://eosl.ai/system/cisco-catalyst-4500/.
Is there a per-part-number replacement mapping for the 4500 Series?
Yes. The bulletin maps replacements at the part-number level for 53 SKUs (for example C1-X45-SUP7L-E → C1-X45-SUP8L-E). The full table is on this page.
Do I have to buy the Cisco-recommended replacement?
No. The bulletin's named successor is Cisco's suggested path, not an obligation. Teams also keep 4500 Series units running under third-party maintenance after the support cutoff, migrate to a different vendor, or run low-criticality units to failure with the risk documented. See the support-options guide for the trade-offs.