Building sustainability into innovation: Circular design in the C9350 switch

[ad_1] Three and a half years in the past, after we began designing the Cisco C9350 community good change, sustainability wasn’t an afterthought; it was constructed into our engineering selections from day one. At Cisco, we've got made Round Design Ideas basic to how we innovate, and the C9350 is an ideal instance of what’s attainable when sustainability and cutting-edge expertise work hand in hand.

5 methods we designed the C9350 for circularity 1. Modular design for reuse and effectivity Look contained in the C9350 and also you’ll see one thing completely different from our older switches within the Catalyst 9000 household: much more items, all by design. The central processing unit (CPU) sits on a separate card that can be utilized throughout all the product household and even in future merchandise. We’ve standardized energy provide kind elements to share them throughout completely different product traces. This modular strategy means fewer distinctive components, less complicated provide chains, and elements that may dwell a number of lives.

We went a step additional, and optimized every module individually, utilizing completely different printed circuit board (PCB) layer counts for every design to cut back materials utilization and value. Because of advances in high-bandwidth cable expertise, we have been capable of do all this with out including expense to the system.

2. Smarter cooling with out plastic waste Up to now, we used plastic air baffles to steer airflow over scorching elements. These plastic items made up 60 to 70% of plastic utilization in these switches. Within the C9350, they’re gone. As an alternative, we strategically positioned elements to naturally route air the place it must movement. We additionally labored with suppliers to develop followers which are 23% extra environment friendly, utilizing much less vitality whereas working quieter. Since followers can eat 10 to fifteen% of complete energy throughout regular operation, and as much as 30% at excessive temperatures, this makes an actual distinction. Plus, the handles and gaskets are created from post-consumer recycled plastic.

3. Clever energy administration The C9350 options three energy provide slots as a substitute of the normal two, and all energy provides are rated not less than 80 Plus Platinum, with Titanium choices obtainable. However {hardware} effectivity is barely a part of the story. We developed Cisco Chilly Redundancy, which deliberately drops the voltage on standby energy provides, so lively ones function of their best 40 to 70% load vary. In stacked configurations, our auto-offline characteristic manages as much as 12 energy provides throughout 4 techniques, mechanically taking extras offline whereas preserving them able to spin up immediately if wanted. These software-driven optimizations keep away from losing energy throughout regular operation.

4. Materials discount Our Catalyst switches used to have a elaborate plastic bezel on the entrance for aesthetics. However the C9350 is steel all the best way to the sting, and I believe it nonetheless seems to be nice. We eliminated 15 to 19% of the steel weight from the highest cowl, decreasing thickness from 0.9mm to 0.8mm, whereas sustaining the identical structural integrity and passing our rigorous 200g drop shock exams.

5. Packaging reimagined We eradicated foam from the C9350 packaging. The 48-port 10-Gig mannequin ships with a minimal 80% recycled fiber-based cushion whereas the 1-Gig fashions ship with thermoformed endcaps utilizing recycled plastic resin. This initially value us extra per field, and we ship one million models per 12 months, so it may add up. However being all-in on round design means making investments to drive all the provider ecosystem ahead. And the excellent news is we're already seeing prices strategy neutrality because the business scales these options.

The C9350 proves that sustainability and innovation aren’t competing priorities—they’re complementary ones. Whenever you design for circularity from the beginning, you don’t simply construct higher merchandise for the planet. You construct higher merchandise, interval.