Cisco IE3500H IE-3500H-20FT4T-A 24-Port IP67 M12 Industrial Switch, Network Advantage
- Switch, L3, Managed, 20 × 100/10 (M12 D-Code) + 4 × 10/100/1000 (M12 X-Code), IP66/IP67 rugged, fanless, wall-mount, no PoE
Overview
The Cisco IE3500 Heavy Duty Series is the IP66/IP67-rated, M12-connector member of Cisco's newest and highest-scale rugged switch platform, wall-mounted without a housing cabinet for direct exposure to dust and water. The IE-3500H-20FT4T-A is the 24-port Fast Ethernet and Gigabit configuration at the Network Advantage tier. Both tiers of the IE3500H are Layer 3 and route with OSPF, OSPFv3, and RIP; this Network Advantage member adds BGP, IS-IS, EIGRP, and HSRP plus SGT/SGACL Cisco TrustSec segmentation, which is what separates it from the otherwise-identical Network Essentials IE-3500H-20FT4T-E. SD-Access Fabric Edge is planned to be supported with a future Cisco IOS XE release. It ships with a 3-year, 24-endpoint Cisco Cyber Vision and Secure Equipment Access license, and because these IE-3500H models have a single power input and do not stack, resiliency comes from REP and MRP ring topologies.
Technical Details
The Cisco IE3500H IE-3500H-20FT4T-A is a Layer 3 managed, fanless, IP66/IP67-rated industrial switch with twenty Fast Ethernet (M12 D-coded) ports and four Gigabit Ethernet (M12 X-coded) ports, running Cisco IOS XE with the perpetual Network Advantage license. It is sealed against dust and water and is wall-mounted without a housing cabinet. It forwards at line rate on all ports, holds up to 24,000 MAC addresses and 7,000 IPv4 routes, and includes IEEE 802.1Qbu/802.3br TSN frame-preemption for time-sensitive traffic and a Cisco Cyber Vision and Secure Equipment Access license for OT visibility. It carries no Power over Ethernet, so all ports are data-only. It supports full dynamic routing (OSPF, BGP, IS-IS, and EIGRP for IPv4 and IPv6, as well as RIP) and SGT/SGACL Cisco TrustSec segmentation. SD-Access Fabric Edge is planned to be supported with a future Cisco IOS XE release. Operating temperature is -40 °C to +75 °C with airflow, and power is a single DC input over an M12 mini-change connector. It is used for secure connectivity of industrial devices such as PLCs, HMIs, drives, machine-vision cameras, and sensors directly on factory floors, trackside, and outdoor sites exposed to dust and water.
Best For
The IE-3500H-20FT4T-A suits harsh, wet, or dusty industrial sites such as factory floors, trackside, and outdoor installations that connect industrial devices such as PLCs, HMIs, drives, and machine-vision cameras over Fast Ethernet and Gigabit M12 ports without a sealed housing cabinet. Its IP66/IP67 sealing, M12 connectors, fanless design, TSN frame-preemption, and -40 °C to +75 °C range let it mount directly in the environment. The Network Advantage license fits deployments that need BGP, EIGRP, or IS-IS routing, Cisco TrustSec segmentation.
Not suitable if:
- you only need OSPF or RIP routing without TrustSec segmentation, since the base Network Essentials IE-3500H-20FT4T-E would be sufficient
- you need all ports at Gigabit speed, since most ports on this model are 10/100 Fast Ethernet with only four Gigabit ports
- you need to power endpoints over the switch, since this configuration is data-only with no Power over Ethernet
- you need SFP fiber uplinks, since all ports on this configuration are fixed M12 copper (the IE-3500H-12P2MU2X configuration adds SFP ports)
- you need HSR or PRP lossless redundancy, since those are supported on the IE3505H variants rather than the IE-3500H models
IE-3500H-20FT4T-A Specifications
| Class & Licensing | |
|---|---|
| License Tier | Network Advantage |
| License Detail / MTBF | Network Advantage; MTBF 367,056 hours; IP66/IP67 rated |
| Ports & Uplinks | |
| Port Speed | Fast Ethernet + Gigabit |
| Uplink Configuration | None (all M12 ports; no dedicated SFP uplinks) |
| Performance & Scale | |
| Stacking | No |
| Switching Capacity | Not published |
| Forwarding Rate | Line rate (all ports, all packet sizes) |
| MAC Table | 24,000 |
| IPv4 Routes | 7,000 indirect routes |
| Hardware & Memory | |
| DRAM | 8 GB |
| Flash | 5.1 GB user accessible |
| Power & Thermal | |
| Power Input / PSU | Single DC input via M12 Mini-change connector, 12 V to 48 V DC (single input) |
| Redundant PSU | No (single power input) |
| Cooling | Fanless |
| Physical & Environmental | |
| Dimensions (H x W x D) | 9.6 x 13.9 x 3.2 in (24.3 x 35.3 x 8.0 cm) |
| Weight | 13.90 lbs (6.30 kg) |
| Operating Temperature | -40°C to +75°C (with 200 LFM airflow) |
| Operating System | Cisco IOS XE |
| Software | |
| Routing Protocols | OSPF, OSPFv3, RIP, PBR, BGP, IS-IS, EIGRP, HSRP (IPv4/IPv6) |
Part Number Decode
- IE-3500H — IE-3500H is the platform prefix, identifying the Cisco IE3500 Heavy Duty Series, an IP66/IP67-rated M12-connector industrial switch deployed without a housing cabinet.
- 20FT — 20FT indicates twenty Fast Ethernet ports on M12 D-coded connectors.
- 4T — 4T indicates four Gigabit Ethernet ports on M12 X-coded connectors.
- A — A is the license suffix for the perpetual Network Advantage tier, which adds BGP, EIGRP, and IS-IS routing and Cisco TrustSec.
IE-3500H-20FT4T-A Accessories
| SKU / Part Number | Description |
| SD-IE-16GB | IE 16GB SD memory card for configs/logs/firmware |
| CAB-CONSOLE-M12= | Console cable 1.8 m, M12 A-coded ↔ DB9F |
| SKU / Part Number | Description |
| IE3500-DNA-A-3Y | Cisco DNA Advantage 3-Year term |
| IE3500-DNA-A-5Y | Cisco DNA Advantage 5-Year term |
| IE3500-DNA-A-7Y | Cisco DNA Advantage 7-Year term |
| Item | Details |
| M12 D-coded industrial Ethernet cable | Data cable for 100M FE ports (4-pin, IP67) |
| M12 X-coded industrial Ethernet cable | Data cable for 1G GE ports (8-pin, Cat6A, IP67) |
| Alarm cable (field) | M12 A-coded 5-pin connector |
| Console connector | M12 A-coded 5-pin (use CAB-CONSOLE-M12=) |
| SKU / Part Number | Description |
| 130006-0737 | 4-pin female → pigtail, 16 AWG, PVC (switch DC power input) |
| 130010-0863 | 4-pin male ↔ female, 16 AWG, TPE (PSU output ↔ switch input) |
| 130006-0223 | 3-pin female → pigtail, 16 AWG, PVC (AC power supply input) |
| 130006-0091 | 2-pin female → open end (DC power supply input) |
FAQ
Does the Cisco IE3500H IE-3500H-20FT4T-A support PoE?
No. The Cisco IE3500H IE-3500H-20FT4T-A is a data-only switch, and its M12 ports do not source Power over Ethernet. For Power over Ethernet in the same series, Cisco offers the IE-3500H-14P2T (PoE/PoE+, 240 W) and the IE-3500H-12P2MU2X (PoE plus 802.3bt 4PPoE on its multigigabit ports).
What are the IP rating and environmental specifications of the IE-3500H-20FT4T-A?
The Cisco IE3500H IE-3500H-20FT4T-A is rated IP66 and IP67, meaning it is dust-tight and protected against water submersion, so it can be wall-mounted directly in harsh environments without a housing cabinet. It uses M12 connectors (X-coded for Gigabit, D-coded for Fast Ethernet, and a mini-change connector for power), is fanless and convection-cooled, and operates from -40 °C to +75 °C with airflow. It is powered by a single DC input.
Can the Cisco IE3500H IE-3500H-20FT4T-A be stacked, and is its power redundant?
No. The Cisco IE3500H IE-3500H-20FT4T-A does not support stacking, and it has a single power input rather than dual redundant power supplies. Multiple units are managed as individual switches. Network-layer resiliency is supported through REP and MRP. DLR is supported only on IE3505H variants, not on IE-3500H models. The HSR and PRP lossless-redundancy protocols are available on the separate IE3505H variants, not on the IE-3500H models.
What is the difference between the IE-3500H-20FT4T-A and the IE-3500H-20FT4T-E?
The Cisco IE3500H IE-3500H-20FT4T-A and IE-3500H-20FT4T-E are the same IP67 M12 hardware and identical performance, and differ only in license tier. Both are Layer 3 switches that route with OSPF, OSPFv3, RIP, and policy-based routing. The IE-3500H-20FT4T-E ships with perpetual Network Essentials. The IE-3500H-20FT4T-A ships with perpetual Network Advantage, which adds BGP, IS-IS, EIGRP, and HSRP routing, VRF-lite, SGT/SGACL group-based segmentation with Cisco TrustSec, and MACsec-256. SD-Access Fabric Edge is planned to be supported with a future Cisco IOS XE release.
Is the Cisco IE3500H IE-3500H-20FT4T-A a Layer 3 switch?
Yes. With its perpetual Network Advantage license the Cisco IE3500H IE-3500H-20FT4T-A is a full Layer 3 switch that runs OSPF, OSPFv3, BGP, IS-IS, and EIGRP for IPv4 and IPv6, as well as RIP, plus HSRP, policy-based routing, and VRF-lite. SD-Access Fabric Edge is planned to be supported with a future Cisco IOS XE release. It supports SGT/SGACL Cisco TrustSec segmentation and MACsec-256, and holds up to 7,000 IPv4 and 3,500 IPv6 routes.
Does the IE-3500H-20FT4T-A require a subscription to operate?
No. The Cisco IE3500H IE-3500H-20FT4T-A runs on its perpetual Network Advantage license indefinitely, and no subscription is required to operate. The switch also includes a 3-year, 24-endpoint Cisco Cyber Vision and Secure Equipment Access license for OT asset visibility and secure remote access. Optional Cisco Catalyst Center licenses add discovery, assurance, and automation; the Catalyst Center Advantage tier also requires Network Advantage. These are management add-ons and do not change the switch network feature tier.
Is the Cisco IE3500H IE-3500H-20FT4T-A end of life?
No. The Cisco IE3500 Heavy Duty Series is a newly introduced product, and Cisco has published no End-of-Sale or End-of-Life notice for the series or the IE-3500H-20FT4T-A. It is a current-generation switch running Cisco IOS XE and carries a five-year limited hardware warranty from Cisco.
What condition is the IE-3500H-20FT4T-A sold in, and what warranty applies?
The Cisco IE3500H IE-3500H-20FT4T-A is sold new and factory-sealed. It is covered by a Network Devices Inc. one-year warranty and a 30-day return policy.
