C9500-DNA-40X-ABDL

C9500-DNA-40X-ABDL is a Cisco DNA subscription licence for the Catalyst 9500 40X, the 40-port 10G model, supplied as an a-la-carte bundle. The Catalyst 9500 is a fixed-configuration core and aggregation switch.

How Catalyst 9000 licensing actually works. There are two layers and they are bought separately. The switch ships with a perpetual Network licence — Network Essentials or Network Advantage — which never expires and is what keeps the switch forwarding traffic. On top of that sits the DNA subscription, which is what this part number is. The subscription entitles the Catalyst Center features: automation, assurance and analytics across the estate. Cisco requires an add-on subscription to be ordered with a new switch, which is why these part numbers turn up on quotes even when the buyer only wanted hardware.

How it is delivered. These are Smart Licences, not a PAK or a paper certificate. The entitlement lands in a Cisco Smart Account and is managed through Cisco Smart Software Manager, so you need a Smart Account before the licence is of any use — if you do not have one we will tell you rather than let it become a surprise. One genuinely useful property: Smart Licences can be moved between devices of the same type, so a switch replacement does not mean rebuying the subscription.

A caveat on the hardware, not the licence. The Catalyst 9500 40X is end-of-sale. The licence is current and can still be bought, but the switch it licenses cannot be ordered new — Cisco points buyers at the 32QC, 32C and 48Y4C models instead. That makes this part number useful for an existing deployment and the wrong starting point for a new one.

One thing worth knowing about where this is heading. Cisco has introduced a unified Networking Subscription, with Essentials and Advantage tiers spanning switching, wireless and WAN and a 36-month minimum on a new subscription. It runs alongside the DNA part numbers rather than replacing them — as of Cisco’s ordering guides this autumn, DNA, Catalyst and Networking Subscription part numbers are all still orderable. The unified licences do require a recent IOS XE release, so if you are considering that route the software version on your switches decides whether it is available to you yet.

Green Code Technologies supplies Cisco switching, wireless and the licensing that goes with it. Tell us the switch model, its current Network licence tier and the port count, and we will confirm this is the right part number before you order — including whether a renewal or an upgrade part would serve you better and cost less.