Cisco VS-S720-10G-3C
Cat 6500 Supervisor 720 with 2 x 10GbE and 3x1GE MSFC3 PFC3C
Product Highlights
As enterprise networks scale and converge voice, video, and data onto a single infrastructure, the supervisor engine at the heart of your Catalyst 6500 chassis must deliver uncompromising performance, resilience, and feature depth. The Cisco VS-S720-10G-3C Supervisor Engine 720 meets that challenge head-on.
This supervisor engine integrates two X2-based 10 Gigabit Ethernet uplinks, two Gigabit Ethernet SFP ports, and one 10/100/1000 RJ-45 port alongside the MSFC3 multilayer switching feature card and PFC3C policy feature card. Together, they deliver hardware-accelerated Layer 2–4 forwarding at up to 450 Mpps for IPv4 and 225 Mpps for IPv6, backed by a 720 Gbps centralized switching fabric.
A key enabler of the Cisco VSS 1440 Virtual Switching System, the VS-S720-10G-3C allows you to combine two Catalyst 6500 chassis into a single logical switch — scaling system bandwidth to 1.4 Tbps while simplifying management and eliminating Spanning Tree dependencies. Hardware-based MPLS, GRE tunneling, NAT, NetFlow, ACLs, and QoS ensure that advanced services run at line rate without burdening the CPU.
Ideal for enterprise backbone, data center aggregation, campus access, and metro Ethernet deployments, the VS-S720-10G-3C supports all three generations of Catalyst 6500 Series interface modules, protecting your existing line card investment while delivering modern capabilities. Note: This product has reached End-of-Sale status; it remains a cost-effective option for maintaining and expanding existing Catalyst 6500 deployments.
Features & Benefits
Virtual Switching System (VSS 1440)
The VS-S720-10G-3C is a primary component of the Cisco VSS 1440, which pools two Catalyst 6500 chassis into a single virtual switch. This eliminates Spanning Tree loops, doubles available bandwidth to 1.4 Tbps, and provides deterministic sub-second failover — all while reducing the number of IP addresses and management points required per VLAN.
Hardware-Accelerated Forwarding
The integrated PFC3C policy feature card delivers hardware-based forwarding for IPv4 (up to 450 Mpps), IPv6 (up to 225 Mpps), and Layer 2 bridging at line rate. MPLS, GRE tunneling, and NAT are also processed in hardware, ensuring advanced services do not create CPU bottlenecks.
High-Density 10GbE Uplinks
Two built-in X2-based 10 Gigabit Ethernet ports provide high-bandwidth uplinks for data center, campus backbone, and aggregation scenarios. By integrating 10GbE directly on the supervisor, you free up line card slots for additional service modules or port density.
Comprehensive Security
The Supervisor Engine 720 offers a robust security feature set including hardware-based ACLs, CPU rate limiting, multipath unicast Reverse Path Forwarding (uRPF), Port Security, AutoSecure, and extensive 802.1x extensions. These features protect the network infrastructure without sacrificing forwarding performance.
Scalable Routing & MPLS
With support for 256,000 IPv4 routes, 128,000 IPv6 routes, and up to 1,024 VRF instances, the VS-S720-10G-3C handles complex multi-tenant and service provider environments. Hardware-based MPLS enables Layer 3 VPNs and Ethernet over MPLS (EoMPLS) tunneling at scale.
Investment Protection
The VS-S720-10G-3C supports all three generations of Cisco Catalyst 6500 Series interface modules and service modules. This backward compatibility protects your existing line card investment while enabling a smooth migration path to newer capabilities.
Deployment Scenarios
Enterprise Campus Backbone
Deploy the VS-S720-10G-3C in a Catalyst 6509-E chassis as the campus core or distribution layer. The dual 10GbE uplinks aggregate traffic from access-layer switches while VSS 1440 eliminates Spanning Tree complexity and provides sub-second failover for mission-critical applications.
Data Center Aggregation
Use the supervisor's 720 Gbps fabric and hardware-based QoS to aggregate server farm traffic in a Catalyst 6500 data center deployment. The large MAC and route table capacity handles dense virtualized environments, while MPLS VPN support enables secure multi-tenant segmentation.
Metro Ethernet / Service Provider Edge
Service providers can leverage hardware-based MPLS, EoMPLS, and up to 1,024 VRFs to deliver managed Ethernet services at the metro edge. The 10GbE uplinks provide high-bandwidth transport, and NetFlow support (128,000 entries) enables traffic accounting and SLA monitoring.
Existing Catalyst 6500 Maintenance & Expansion
For organizations with established Catalyst 6500 infrastructure, the VS-S720-10G-3C serves as a cost-effective replacement supervisor or upgrade from the Supervisor Engine 720-3B or Supervisor Engine 32, adding VSS capability and 10GbE uplinks without replacing the entire chassis.
General
Ports & Interfaces
Performance
Capacity
Features
Physical & Environmental
Compliance
Lifecycle
Compatibility Notes
Chassis Compatibility
- Cisco Catalyst 6500 Series: 6503, 6503-E, 6504-E, 6506, 6506-E, 6509, 6509-E
- Cisco 7600 Series: 7603, 7603-S, 7606, 7606-S, 7609, 7609-S, 7613
Uplink Optics (X2 Slots)
- X2-10GB-SR (10GBASE-SR)
- X2-10GB-LR (10GBASE-LR)
- X2-10GB-ER (10GBASE-ER)
- X2-10GB-LX4 (10GBASE-LX4)
- X2-10GB-CX4 (10GBASE-CX4)
SFP Ports
- GLC-SX-MM, GLC-LH-SM, GLC-ZX-SM, GLC-T, GLC-BX-D, GLC-BX-U
VSS Requirements
- VSS 1440 mode requires PFC3C or PFC3CXL; DFC3A/DFC3B/DFC3BXL line cards are not supported in VSS mode.
- Redundant supervisor engines in the same chassis must use identical PFC hardware.
EOL Notice
- End-of-Sale: July 31, 2015. Cisco-suggested replacement: VS-S2T-10G (Supervisor Engine 2T with MSFC5 and PFC4).
Downloads & Resources
Frequently Asked Questions
| Part Number | Product | Key Difference |
|---|---|---|
| VS-S720-10G-3CXL | Supervisor 720 10GE PFC3CXL | XL variant with expanded tables: 1M IPv4 routes, 500K IPv6 routes, and 256K NetFlow entries vs. 256K/128K/128K on the 3C |
| VS-S2T-10G | Supervisor Engine 2T | Cisco-recommended replacement with MSFC5, PFC4, higher performance, and continued Cisco support |
| WS-SUP720-3BXL | Supervisor 720-3BXL | Predecessor without built-in 10GbE uplinks or VSS 1440 support; uses PFC3BXL |
| WS-SUP32-10GE-3B | Supervisor Engine 32 10GE | Lower-cost supervisor with PFC3B and MSFC2A; lacks VSS support and PFC3C forwarding capabilities |
