The Catalyst 4500 Series with CenterFlex technology provides scalable nonblocking Layer 2-4 switching with Secure, Flexible, Non-Stop communications, enabling business resilience for enterprises, small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), and Metro Ethernet customers deploying business-critical applications. CenterFlex technology is the technology enabled by the Supervisor 6-E centralized ASICs, which deliver the highest centralized performance and configuration flexibility in the industry. CenterFlex technology enables granular optimization of real-time voice, video and data communication, maximizing performance and enhancing end user experience. The new "E-Series" with CenterFlex technology is designed with unprecedented backward and forward compatibility delivering exceptional investment protection and deployment flexibility to meet the evolving needs of organizations of all sizes.

The Cisco Catalyst 4500 Series includes two series of Catalyst chassis: the E-Series and Classic Series chassis. Integrated resiliency in both hardware and software minimizes network downtime, helping to ensure workforce productivity, profitability, and customer success.

The Cisco Catalyst 4500 Series extends control to the network edge with intelligent network services, including sophisticated quality of service (QoS), predictable performance, advanced security, comprehensive management, and integrated resiliency. Scalability of these intelligent network services is made possible with dedicated specialized resources known as ternary content addressable memory (TCAM). Ample TCAM resources (up to 384,000 entries) enable "high feature capacity," which provides wire-speed routing/switching performance independent of provisioning of services such as QoS and security. This helps ensure scalability for today's network requirements with ample room for future growth.

With unprecedented forward and backward compatibility spanning multiple generations, the Catalyst 4500 Series reduces the cost of ownership by minimizing recurring operational expenses, improving return on investment (ROI).