The new Catalyst ESS9300: Transforming critical military communications through open standards

Today I am happy to unveil the new Catalyst ESS9300 Embedded Series switch based on open standards adopted by the US Department of Defense (DoD) for building the next generation of communications systems for their field operations. Adoption of these standards will help the military reduce its dependency on proprietary point solutions, which will reduce costs, enable better interoperability, and make deployment easier and faster.

The military adopted SOSA (Sensor Open Systems Architecture), C5ISR/EW Modular Open Suite of Standards (CMOSS), and OpenVPX standards to address the challenges that proprietary systems brought such as limited interoperability, security vulnerabilities, long development cycles, and limited scalability. The adoption of SOSA, CMOSS and OpenVPX helps the military modernize its communications systems, and addresses the issues they were facing by promoting interoperability, reducing costs, accelerating development cycles, and improving security. These standards support the reduction of size, weight and power of communications systems while increasing their flexibility and adaptability.

The new Catalyst ESS9300 Embedded Series

The new Catalyst ESS9300 Embedded Series switch aligns with SOSA, CMOSS, and VPX standards. It runs Cisco IOS XE software which brings in the richness of enterprise grade networking feature sets for these military use cases. IOS XE also brings advanced security capabilities such as Layer 2 encryption, device authentication, port security, and network segmentation that are necessary to protect their critical infrastructure and communications, and advanced networking capabilities such as EIGRP for maintaining reliable communications by quickly recovering from network topology changes, such as link failures.

Catalyst ESS9300 Embedded Series switch is built using Cisco Secure Development Lifecycle and supports Cisco Trustworthy Technologies. This protects our customers against counterfeit hardware, maintains software integrity and enables secure communications.

The new VPX3-623 Switch Module

We are also announcing that, working jointly with our partner Curtiss-Wright, we are building the standards-based VPX3-623 switch module of which the new Catalyst ESS9300 switch forms the technological backbone. This is the first time that Cisco switching will be available in the VPX form factor. To form the VPX3-623, Catalyst ESS9300 fits in a Curtiss-Wright developed carrier card, and together they fit in a rugged VPX chassis. This chassis goes inside military vehicles to provide critical secure communications even in the harshest battlefield conditions.

Figure 1: The new Catalyst ESS9300 Embedded Series switch attaches to the Curtiss-Wright carrier card to form a VPX switch module

The VPX3-623 delivers the features that ground and airborne network designers need and expect for communicating both in and outside of the system chassis while significantly improving network security, flexibility, and control at the tactical edge for CMOSS and SOSA aligned systems.

As the first ruggedized purpose-built switch compliant with these standards and supporting critical communications and cybersecurity standards such as FIPS 140 encryption, the joint solution will be qualified to meet MIL-STD-810H environmental ruggedization requirements and deliver an array of network switching capabilities not previously available on VPX hardware.

In addition to bringing widely used enterprise-class, hardware-based switching technology to CMOSS/SOSA aligned embedded ecosystems, VPX3-623's security certifications will enable it to be securely deployed on Government networks and migrate NSA-approved Commercial Solutions for Classified (CSfC) data encryption solutions to new form factors.

Figure 2: A SOSA/CMOSS chassis carries various VPX standard communications and computing modules

Cisco embedded networking portfolio

The new Catalyst ESS9300 VPX switch joins our extensive embedded networking family, comprising of other switches and routers that extend our industrial portfolio. Our embedded portfolio offers a range of advanced networking solutions designed to integrate seamlessly into diverse environments, including industrial, military, and transportation applications. These products provide robust, secure, and flexible networking capabilities tailored to meet the unique demands of mission-critical operations.

Figure 3: Cisco's embedded networking portfolio

The Cisco embedded networking portfolio is ideally suited for partners to build custom solutions due to its combination of advanced features, flexibility, and robust support. Using their industry expertise, technical knowledge, and complementary technologies, Cisco partners can use the portfolio to build tailored, scalable, and innovative solutions that meet specific operational requirements.

Learn more

Cisco and Curtiss-Wright are announcing the VPX3-623 product at the AUSA 2024 Annual Meeting and Exposition in Washington, DC. If you plan to be at the conference, be sure to visit Curtiss-Wright at booth 2143 to get a demonstration of the product. For more information, please review the press release, watch the announcement video, read the white paper, visit VPX3-623 and Catalyst ESS9300 pages, or reach us for a free no-obligation consultation.

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