Cisco Catalyst 6500 Series Replacement — What Cisco Recommends
Cisco support for the Cisco Catalyst 6500 Series has ended for some part numbers (last group runs to Sep 2025) — 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 (14 replacement parts listed) — named in the Cisco EOL bulletin ↗ as the migration path.
per-part mapping in the bulletin (4 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.
per-part mapping in the bulletin (4 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.
per-part mapping in the bulletin (2 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.
WS-X6824-SFP-2T and VS-S720-10G-3C and WS-F6700-DFC3A and WS-X6148A-45AF and WS-X6516A-GBIC and WS-X6148E-GE-45AT and WS-X6848-SFP-2T are not yet tracked on EOSL.ai — no vendor end-of-life notice has been captured for them, which is typical of current products.
Cisco Catalyst 6500 Series lifecycle dates
| SKU group | End of sale | EOSL / last support | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Switch hardware | Jul 2015 | Jul 2020 | bulletin ↗ |
| Switch hardware | Feb 2013 | Feb 2018 | bulletin ↗ |
| Switch hardware | Mar 2010 | Mar 2015 | bulletin ↗ |
| Switch hardware | Dec 2009 | Dec 2014 | bulletin ↗ |
| Switch hardware | May 2009 | May 2014 | bulletin ↗ |
| Switch hardware | Jul 2013 | Jul 2018 | bulletin ↗ |
| Switch hardware | Jan 2014 | Jan 2019 | bulletin ↗ |
| Switch hardware | Jul 2012 | Jul 2017 | bulletin ↗ |
| Switch hardware | Sep 2023 | Sep 2025 | bulletin ↗ |
Per-part-number replacement mapping (48)
As listed in the Cisco bulletin's migration table for each part number.
| End-of-life part | Description | Bulletin-listed replacement |
|---|---|---|
| WS-X6724-SFP | WS-X6824-SFP-2T | |
| WS-X6716-10T-3CXL | WS-X6816-10T-2TXL | |
| WS-X6716-10T-3C | WS-X6816-10T-2T | |
| WS-X6716-10G-3CXL | WS-X6816-10G-2TXL | |
| WS-X6704-10GE | WS-X6708-10G-3C | |
| WS-X6716-10G-3C | WS-X6816-10G-2T | |
| WS-X6704-10GE-4LR | WS-X6708-10G-3C | |
| WS-C6K-VTT | WS-C6K-VTT-E | |
| WS-C6K-CL | CLK-7600 | |
| VS-S720-10G-3CXL | VS-S2T-10G-XL | |
| VS-S720-10G-3C | VS-S2T-10G | |
| VS-C6509VE-S72010G | VS-C6509VE-SUP2T | |
| VS-C6509E-S720-10G | VS-C6509E-SUP2T | |
| VS-C6506E-S720-10G | VS-C6506E-SUP2T | |
| VS-C6504E-S720-10G | VS-C6504E-SUP2T | |
| S-65-S720 | VS-S720-10G-3C | |
| VS-C6513-S720-10G | VS-C6513E-SUP2T | |
| WS-C6503E-S720-DC | VS-C6504E-S720-10G | |
| WS-C6503E-S720-TX | VS-C6504E-S720-10G | |
| WS-C6509E-1S720-C | VS-C6509E-SUP2T | |
| WS-C6509E-2S720-C | VS-C6509E-SUP2T | |
| WS-SUP720-3B-UG | VS-S720-10G-3C | |
| WS-X6816-DFC3A | WS-F6700-DFC3A | |
| WS-X6816-DFC | WS-F6700-DFC3C | |
| WS-X6148-45AF | WS-X6148A-45AF | |
| WS-X6148-GE-45AF | WS-X6148A-GE-45AF | |
| WS-X6148-GE-TX | WS-X6148A-GE-TX | |
| WS-X6148-RJ-45 | WS-X6148A-RJ-45 | |
| WS-X6408A-GBIC | WS-X6516A-GBIC | |
| WS-X6148-21AF-UG | WS-X6148E-GE-45AT | |
| WS-X6148-45AF-UG | WS-X6148E-GE-45AT | |
| WS-X6148A-GE-TX | WS-X6848-TX-2T | |
| WS-X6148-FE-SFP | WS-X6848-SFP-2T | |
| WS-F6K-48-AF | WS-X6148E-GE-45AT | |
| WS-F6K-FE48X2-AF | WS-X6148E-GE-45AT | |
| WS-X6148-21AF | WS-X6148E-GE-45AT | |
| WS-X6148-FE-SFP | WS-X6848-SFP-2T | |
| WS-X6148-RJ-21 | WS-X6148E-GE-45AT | |
| WS-X6148A-45AF | WS-X6148E-GE-45AT | |
| WS-X6148A-GE-45AF | WS-X6148E-GE-45AT | |
| WS-X6148A-RJ-45 | WS-X6148E-GE-45AT | |
| WS-X6196-21AF | WS-X6148E-GE-45AT | |
| WS-X6196-RJ-21 | WS-X6148E-GE-45AT | |
| WS-X6348-RJ-21 | WS-X6148E-GE-45AT | |
| WS-X6516A-GBIC | WS-X6824-SFP-2T | |
| WS-X6524-100FX-MM | WS-X6148A-GE-TX | |
| WS-X6548-GE-45AF | WS-X6148E-GE-45AT | |
| WS-X6548-GE-TX | WS-X6848-TX-2T |
Migration questions
What is the replacement for the Cisco Catalyst 6500 Series?
Cisco's end-of-life bulletin names WS-X6824-SFP-2T and VS-S720-10G-3C and WS-F6700-DFC3A and WS-X6148A-45AF and WS-X6516A-GBIC and WS-X6148E-GE-45AT and WS-X6848-SFP-2T as the recommended migration path for the Cisco Catalyst 6500 Series. The exact wording and any per-part-number mapping are in the linked bulletin.
Is the Cisco Catalyst 6500 Series end of life?
Cisco support for the Cisco Catalyst 6500 Series has ended for some part numbers (last group runs to Sep 2025) — unsupported units need a plan. Full lifecycle dates by part number: https://eosl.ai/system/cisco-catalyst-6500/.
Is there a per-part-number replacement mapping for the 6500 Series?
Yes — the bulletin maps replacements at the part-number level for 48 SKUs (for example WS-X6724-SFP → WS-X6824-SFP-2T). 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 6500 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.