With a little imagination, we can say that there is a battle going on in the networking world. Which supplier can call itself the manufacturer of the world’s smartest switches? Both HPE Aruba Networking and Cisco have clearly entered this battle. Today at Cisco Live, Cisco is giving it new impetus with the announcement of the C9350 and C9610 Smart Switches.
We recently wrote an extensive article about the HPE Aruba Networking CX 10040, the successor to the smart switch that started it all years ago, the CX 10000. The term “smart switch” for this new type of switch, which is a lot smarter than “traditional” switches thanks to built-in extra processing power in the form of a DPU, was coined by Cisco earlier this year when it introduced the N9300 Smart Switches. Now, four months after the launch of those switches, Cisco is already following up with the C9350 and C9610.
The network needs a major update
The announcement of the C9350 and C9610 Smart Switches is significant for several reasons. First of all, it shows that Cisco is serious about this category. Waiting three years to introduce a new model, as HPE Aruba Networking did with the CX 10000 and CX 10040, is a luxury Cisco cannot afford. Not only because the rest of the market is not standing still, but also, if we are to believe Cisco, because a fundamental upgrade of the network is needed.
The reason for the need for a fundamental upgrade of the network is easy to guess in 2025. It is, of course, the emergence and rollout of AI and the workloads that come with it. Martin Lund, EVP Common Hardware Group at Cisco, referred to AI workloads during a session we attended at Cisco Live as “the most demanding workload that exists within networks.” To illustrate how heavy the workload is, he then refers to it as”VoIP on steroids.” Not only does it require extremely high throughput, but it also places high demands on things such as latency, jitter, and so on.
Expansion from data center to campus
A second reason why the announcement of the new Cisco Smart Switches, the C9350 and C9610, is significant has to do with their intended use. The N9300 Series Smart Switches are part of the Nexus line, which is Cisco’s data center offering. However, the “C” in the product names of the switches announced by Cisco today stands for Catalyst. This is Cisco’s line for campus networks. While HPE Aruba Networking stayed within the data center with the update of the CX 10000 (even though they stress it’s also suitable for campus networks), Cisco is further expanding the target group for smart switches with the C9350 and C9610.
One might wonder whether smart switches, which will undoubtedly be a lot more expensive than ‘traditional’ switches, are already necessary in campus networks. After all, smart switches are mainly smarter than standard switches because they can run all kinds of extra services on the switch itself. When it becomes generally available this summer, the N9300 Series will be able to run Hypershield on the switches themselves, for example. Hypershield is a new security architecture that Cisco plans to roll out across its entire portfolio. It is a fundamental part of the company’s security vision. However, Cisco promises that many more services will become available to run on Smart Switches.
The question we currently have is whether running these kinds of extra services is strictly necessary on access switches such as the C9350 and C9610 Smart Switches. You could argue that these switches should also integrate as well as possible with the security architecture, but whether that is really necessary if the data centers to which the campus networks connect are already part of it is questionable. As mentioned, it will undoubtedly be a substantial investment.
Programmable thanks to Silicon One
If we listen carefully to Lund during the session we attended, we get the impression that the Catalyst C9350 and C9610 Smart Switches are part of a different type of smart switch than the N9300 Series. It seems to be mainly about the programmability that Silicon One brings.
The idea is that with this new hardware, you’ll be ready for whatever AI throws at you. You can program the Silicon One chip in the switch so well that you’ll be able to handle the “VoIP on steroids” workloads that AI will run across your network in the future. Cisco claims that the switches can deliver up to 51.2 Tbps of throughput at less than 5 ms latency. On top of that, the switches are quantum-proof, i.e., they use PQC.
The new Catalyst Smart Switches announced by Cisco today therefore seem to be of particular interest from a future-proofing perspective. To be honest, we rarely find that a very good argument for purchasing something. Developments are happening fast these days, including in network infrastructure. The chances are high that something even better will come along soon that will make you even more future-proof. Thanks to market dynamics, that new product may and probably will also be (a lot) cheaper. On the other hand, this type of switch, with the Silicon One ASIC that you can program as you wish, will undoubtedly serve you well for a long time. It will not become ‘outdated’ very quickly. If you want or need to do a major network update now, you might as well go for this type of switch right away.
Smartness only comes from Silicon One
The fact that the Cisco C9350 and C9610 Smart Switches are clearly different switches from the N9300 Series and CX models from HPE Aruba Networking is also very clear from the components of the switches themselves. These new models do not contain an AMD Pensando DPU (Data Processing Unit), which you will find in all other smart switches mentioned in this article. In the case of the N9300 Series, it is a combination of Silicon One and AMD Pensando.
In other words, the intelligence of the Cisco C9350 and C9610 Smart Switches comes entirely from their own Silicon One chip. The equivalent of the DPU found in the other models must therefore be located on the ASIC. This undoubtedly ensures better performance, as it is deeply integrated. In addition, Cisco cuts out a third party from the supply chain and manufacturing process. This will also offer advantages in several ways.
We wonder, however, whether the Cisco C9350 and C9610 Smart Switches actually contain the equivalent of a DPU. Given the approach we describe above, which emphasizes throughput and security, it could well be that no additional services need to run on them at all. That it is really all about programmability and that this programmability is what makes it a smart switch. In that case, less than six months after launching the term ‘smart switch’, Cisco is already muddying the waters a bit. This is to be expected with a new term, but it is good to clarify this quickly. At Cisco Live this week, we will ask and find out what the situation really is.
Who will win the battle?
Whatever the exact division between the various smart switches may be, it is clear that an interesting battle has emerged in the market. Cisco is not wasting any time and wants to take steps as quickly as possible to catch up with HPE Aruba Networking. The C9350 and C9610 Smart Switches will be available to order this month. This means they will be available at the same time as the N9300 Series. We are curious to see what impact this will have on the market and, of course, to hear the response from HPE. They are still eagerly awaiting approval of the Juniper takeover. If this eventually goes ahead, HPE Aruba Networking will also be able to take bigger steps, including in this part of the networking market.