High-Performance SD-WAN for Medium & Large Branch
The Cisco Catalyst 8300 Series is a high-performance 5G-ready SD-WAN edge platform for medium and large enterprise branches. An 8- or 12-core CPU with hardware acceleration delivers up to 9.3 Gbps IMIX IPsec VPN (C8300-2N2S-4T2X), up to 19.7 Gbps IPv4 forwarding and up to 7.6 Gbps IMIX SD-WAN IPsec throughput — with modular NIM, SM, and PIM expansion slots for diverse WAN connectivity requirements.
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The Catalyst 8300's dedicated hardware crypto engine delivers up to 9.3 Gbps IMIX IPsec throughput on the C8300-2N2S-4T2X — providing the WAN capacity needed for large enterprise branches running video conferencing, cloud applications, and encrypted inter-site traffic at scale. Hardware acceleration maintains throughput under full encryption load, unlike CPU-only designs that degrade under encryption pressure.
The 8300's modular design supports 5G pluggable interface modules (such as P-5GS6-GL) for 5G cellular WAN connectivity — positioning the platform for next-generation branch WAN as 5G private networks and enterprise 5G WAN become mainstream. Existing installations can add 5G capability by inserting a compatible pluggable module without replacing the platform.
One or two NIM slots (1RU or 2RU models) accommodate additional WAN interfaces, one or two SM slots enable enhanced service modules for advanced security or routing functions, and a PIM slot provides investment protection for existing interface cards. The result is a platform that adapts to current and future WAN requirements without hardware replacement.
Runs the full Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN software stack — application-aware routing, real-time SLA monitoring, automated WAN failover, cloud-on-ramp for AWS/Azure/Google Cloud, Cisco Umbrella integration for cloud security, and ThousandEyes for end-to-end application performance visibility across the WAN.
Cisco Trustworthy Solutions 2.0 provides hardware-anchored platform integrity verification — cryptographically validating boot chain integrity from silicon to software. Combined with integrated NGFW, TrustSec micro-segmentation, and Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) integration, the 8300 provides defence-in-depth security from the physical layer upward.
Dual redundant power supplies ship as standard, providing hardware-level resilience for mission-critical branch deployments. PSU failure does not interrupt network connectivity or active SD-WAN sessions — essential for branches where the SD-WAN appliance is the single WAN edge device.
The Cisco Catalyst 8300 Series targets medium to large enterprise branches — the tier above the compact 8200 — delivering significantly higher throughput (up to 9.3 Gbps IMIX IPsec on the C8300-2N2S-4T2X vs 900 Mbps IMIX on the C8200-1N-4T) with an 8- or 12-core processor, expanded modular connectivity, 5G readiness, and dual power supplies as standard. The C8300-2N2S-6T is the primary large-branch configuration with 6 built-in ports and full modular expansion capability.
Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN (formerly Viptela) is the software platform running on the 8300, providing enterprise SD-WAN with application-aware routing, intelligent WAN path selection across up to 8 concurrent WAN links, automated failover with sub-second convergence, and cloud-on-ramp for direct, optimised access to major public cloud platforms and SaaS applications.
For enterprises with existing Cisco infrastructure, the Catalyst 8300 provides native integration across the Cisco WAN portfolio: ThousandEyes for application performance monitoring across the WAN, Cisco Umbrella for cloud-delivered security without additional on-premise hardware, Cisco DNA Center for network automation, and Meraki for hybrid on-premise/cloud management — all accessible through a unified Cisco portfolio without vendor integration complexity.
SD-WAN edge for high-throughput large branch offices — video conferencing, cloud applications, and inter-site encrypted traffic at up to 9.3 Gbps IMIX IPsec (C8300-2N2S-4T2X) without performance compromise.
Insert a 5G pluggable module when 5G enterprise connectivity becomes available in the branch area — no hardware replacement needed. Manage 5G alongside fibre and MPLS WAN links from a single SD-WAN Manager policy.
Acts as a high-throughput regional hub in a Cisco SD-WAN hub-and-spoke topology — aggregating encrypted SD-WAN tunnels from multiple smaller branch spokes with ADVPN dynamic tunnel support.
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