The following new features of Cisco IOS Software Release 12.2(53)SG are applicable to all supervisor engines and 4900 fixed-configuration systems, unless otherwise stated.

The Supervisor Engine 6L-E provides a fourfold increase in per-slot switching capacity from previous-generation Layer 2 Cisco Catalyst 4500 supervisor engines at 24 Gbps per slot.

Primary Supervisor Engine 6L-E performance features include:

- Centralized 280-Gbps switching capacity with 225 Mpps of throughput
- IPv6 support in hardware, providing wire-rate forwarding for IPv6 networks
- Dynamic hardware forwarding-table allocations for easy IPv4-to-IPv6 migration
- Advanced quality of service (QoS) support with eight queues per port, dynamic queue sizing, and hierarchical policing
- FAT file system for easier network administration
- Dual 10 Gigabit Ethernet uplinks (X2 optics)

The Cisco Catalyst 4500 E-Series offers services essential for business-critical real-time applications. The Cisco Catalyst 4500 E-Series is easy to manage with features such as Smartports, EEM, and SMARTCallHome. These features combined with standard Cisco Catalyst 4500 features such as QoS, multicast, IPv6, and security features including L2 security, IEEE 802.1X, and Control Plane Policing (CoPP) make it an ideal platform for enterprise access.
Power consumption on the Supervisor Engine 6L-E is optimized, and the supervisor engine shows a 70 percent decline in power consumed/Gbps when compared with the WS-X4013+. The supervisor engine also allows the Cisco Catalyst 4500 chassis to minimize power usage by automatically sensing unused slots and turning off power to the ASICs on unused slots. When combined with Cisco Catalyst 4500 line cards, the system supports Power over Ethernet (PoE), Cisco enhanced PoE, and premium PoE features such as 30W per port.
The Supervisor Engine 6L-E offers flexibility and investment protection. It supports Cisco Catalyst 4500 E-Series line cards in addition to all currently shipping classic Cisco IOS Software supervisor engines, classic line cards dating back to 1999. Classic and E-Series line cards can be mixed and matched with no performance degradation. Twin Gigabit Ethernet converter modules offer flexibility for up to four Gigabit Ethernet Small Form-Factor Pluggable (SFP) uplinks in the X2 optic slots, allowing a phased migration to 10 Gigabit Ethernet. The Supervisor Engine 6L-E works with the 7-slot, 6- slot, and 3-slot E-series chassis and all shipping Cisco Catalyst 4500 power supplies.