Exciting news! The latest software release for Cisco IOS-XE 17.13.1 is now available, packed with exciting enhancements and improved hardware capabilities. This update guarantees a seamless networking experience within the Catalyst 9000 switching ecosystem.

To meet the diverse connectivity needs of modern networking infrastructure, having a high port density at the core is crucial for enhancing network performance. In line with this, Cisco Switching is thrilled to introduce a brand new line card, C9600X-LC-56YL4C for C9600X, which includes 56x 10G/25G/50G + 4x 40G/100G ports. Additionally, the C9400-LC-48TX line card for C9400 has been added, providing 48x 10G Multigigabit for Data-only scenarios, specifically designed for customers who don't require PoE capabilities. To support high-speed data transmissions even further, a new range of optics has also been included.

With a commitment to delivering a seamless and consistent user experience across the Catalyst switching portfolio, BGP support has been introduced on the C9200CX. This addition allows customers to deploy C9200CX switches for both simple branch and campus-level BGP deployments. Furthermore, the utilization of SGTs in inline tagging, which offers a more detailed and context-aware approach to network security, is now available on our Silicon 1 platforms: C9500X and C9600X-SUP2.

Ensuring strong switch security is vital for protecting the entire IT infrastructure. In line with this commitment and the growing network expansion, the IPsec tunnel scale has been increased to 480 IPv4 tunnels and 240 IPv6 tunnels per device for C9300X and C9400X. This enhancement enables a C9300X or C9400X to serve as a centralized hub, accommodating a larger remote workforce while addressing security vulnerabilities.

Speaking of vulnerability mitigation, a secure mechanism has been implemented to control management traffic on a switch by specifying the local IP and user-defined physical interfaces to prevent unauthorized access. Additionally, the monitoring of SGACL drops on a per-device basis using NetFlow has been enabled to gain detailed insights into security incidents.

Overlay fabrics play a critical role in providing flexible scalability. In this release, multicast connectivity to MPLS VPN sites spanning multiple autonomous systems has been introduced for MPLS fabric. This enhancement aims to expand multicast coverage for customers who require multicast to extend across multiple sites in an MPLS Layer 3 VPN service. Additionally, the consolidation of an existing MVPN service with another MVPN service is now made easier.

In the development of BGP-EVPN fabric for Catalyst 9000, significant additions have been made focusing on three key areas: scalability, with support for IPv6 Overlay Multicast; security, enabling customers to achieve a zero-trust architecture by inspecting all their traffic via a firewall through IPv6 neighbor-discovery proxy; and simplicity, achieved through simplified CLI for L2/L3 Overlay provisioning.

To improve streamlined network interactions within the same mDNS network (Bonjour), customers can now seamlessly use AirDrop on Apple devices to send items to other devices within their Cisco mDNS Network without the need for Bluetooth. Furthermore, mDNS service caching has been expanded to the Wide Area Bonjour domain within SDG-Agent and Service-Peers, ensuring that the Wide Area mDNS protocol cache is locally present within the switches. This enhancement offers benefits such as quick remote service discovery responses, eliminating the need for current timer-based discovery. Service types like AirPlay and AirPrint become instantly discoverable.

Lastly, to ensure a smooth transition to next-generation network management frameworks, a range of YANG Suite and SNMP mappings are available.

Upgrade to IOS-XE 17.13.1 now to unlock the power of Catalyst 9000 Switching!

For a comprehensive list of features, please refer to the release notes and configuration guides for the IOS-XE 17.13.1 release provided below:

Catalyst 9200 Release Notes

Catalyst 9300 Release Notes

Catalyst 9400 Release Notes

Catalyst 9500 Release Notes

Catalyst 9600 Release Notes
IOS XE 17.13.1 Catalyst 9000 Switching Updates Video

Check More Cisco Catalyst 9000 switches:

Série Catalyst 9200

Série Catalyst 9300

Série Catalyst 9400

Série Catalyst 9500

Série Catalyst 9600

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