GLC-T vs GLC-TE vs SFP-GE-T: Which Cisco Copper SFP to Buy
GLC-T, GLC-TE, and SFP-GE-T are electrically the same module — a 1000BASE-T copper SFP running 1 Gbps over Category 5 cable up to 100 m through an RJ-45 port, with 10/100/1000 auto-negotiation on all three. The real differences are temperature rating and lifecycle status, and the lifecycle has already made the decision: Cisco ended sales of the GLC-T and SFP-GE-T on the same day in 2017 and names the GLC-TE as the replacement for both.
GLC-T vs GLC-TE vs SFP-GE-T Compared
| Module | Temperature rating | NEBS 3 ESD | DOM | Lifecycle status (per Cisco) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GLC-T | COM, 0 to 70°C | No | No | End-of-sale June 1, 2017; support ended May 31, 2022 |
| GLC-TE | EXT, -5 to 85°C | No | No | Current — listed in the live SFP datasheet |
| SFP-GE-T | EXT, -5 to 85°C | Yes | No | End-of-sale June 1, 2017; support ended May 31, 2022 |
Per Cisco’s Gigabit Ethernet SFP datasheet (Table 4) and the end-of-sale notice covering both retired modules. For a new order the GLC-TE is the only one still sold new; the other two survive as spares. What remains is knowing which temperature rating your cabinet actually needs — and what the two retired part numbers mean when you inherit them in an audit.
What Is the GLC-T?
The GLC-T is Cisco’s original commercial-temperature 1000BASE-T copper SFP: 1 Gbps over Cat5 up to 100 m, rated for 0 to 70°C, no DOM support. For over a decade it was the default way to hand a fiber switch port to a copper run, which is why it still shows up in thousands of installed chassis and old BOMs.
Its status today is the part that matters. Cisco’s end-of-sale notice set the last order date at June 1, 2017 and the last date of support at May 31, 2022 — the GLC-T is not just end-of-sale but past support entirely. A working unit in a rack keeps working; a failed one has no TAC path and no new-unit replacement, which makes every GLC-T found in an audit a quiet line item for eventual swap. In a 22°C wiring closet the COM rating never mattered much; the reason to move on is purely lifecycle.
GLC-TE, the Copper SFP Cisco Sells Today
The GLC-TE is the module this comparison ends at: the extended-temperature (-5 to 85°C) 1000BASE-T SFP that Cisco’s end-of-sale notice names as the replacement for both the GLC-T and the SFP-GE-T. Same 1 Gbps over Cat5, same 100 m, same RJ-45 — the widened temperature band is the upgrade, and it splits the difference between the old commercial part and the old NEBS part closely enough that one PID now covers both roles.
Ordering notes an engineer actually needs: the GLC-TE appears in Cisco’s current SFP datasheet with no announced end-of-life, DOM is not supported (true of every module here, so nothing is lost), and the suffixes follow Cisco’s usual pattern — GLC-TE= for a spare, GLC-TE++= for the TAA-compliant buy. For availability and project quantities, the GLC-TE product page carries current stock, and the Cisco GLC module family covers the fiber siblings when a run outgrows copper.
SFP-GE-T and Its NEBS 3 ESD Rating
The SFP-GE-T was the hardened sibling: the same extended -5 to 85°C range as today’s GLC-TE, plus NEBS 3 ESD compliance — Cisco’s own end-of-sale notice describes it as “1000BASE-T SFP (NEBS 3 ESD)”. That ESD hardening, not a wider temperature band, is what carrier and telco-adjacent deployments were paying for.
It retired on the same schedule as the GLC-T: last orders June 1, 2017, support ended May 31, 2022, official replacement GLC-TE. Two practical consequences follow. Anything still specifying SFP-GE-T in a template or BOM is copying a part number that cannot be bought new — update the template to GLC-TE. And where a site standard formally requires NEBS-rated hardware, note that the GLC-TE’s datasheet entry does not carry the NEBS 3 ESD designation the SFP-GE-T had, so that clause needs a deliberate review against current Cisco documentation rather than a silent substitution.
What Is the Difference Between GLC-T and GLC-TE?
Temperature rating — that is the entire hardware difference. The GLC-T is rated COM (0 to 70°C) and the GLC-TE is rated EXT (-5 to 85°C); speed, cabling, distance, connector, auto-negotiation, and the absence of DOM are identical, per Cisco’s SFP datasheet. The TE suffix effectively means “the same module, qualified for hotter and colder enclosures.”
What most buyers are really asking with this query is whether an old GLC-T order can simply become a GLC-TE order. It can: Cisco’s end-of-sale notice lists the GLC-TE as the direct replacement, spare-for-spare (GLC-T= → GLC-TE=) and TAA-for-TAA (GLC-T++= → GLC-TE++=). No configuration change, no re-cabling — and no reason to hunt down remaining GLC-T stock at a premium when the successor is the one still in production.
Copper SFP Temperature Ratings from COM to NEBS 3
Cisco defines three operating ranges for these modules, and knowing which is which clears up most of the confusion in this product family — including a wrong number that circulates widely.
| Rating | Range (per Cisco) | Which copper SFP carries it |
|---|---|---|
| COM — commercial | 0 to 70°C | GLC-T |
| EXT — extended | -5 to 85°C | GLC-TE, SFP-GE-T |
| IND — industrial | -40 to 85°C | GLC-T-RGD |
From the environmental-conditions section of Cisco’s Gigabit Ethernet SFP datasheet. NEBS 3 ESD — the SFP-GE-T’s extra credential — is electrostatic-discharge hardening layered on top of the EXT range, not a temperature tier.
One correction worth making explicitly: a widely-read comparison page rates the SFP-GE-T at -40 to 85°C. Cisco’s datasheet says otherwise — the SFP-GE-T is EXT, -5 to 85°C, and the -40°C floor belongs to the industrial-rated GLC-T-RGD. The error matters in exactly the place temperature ratings matter: an unheated outdoor cabinet in a cold climate, where a module chosen off the wrong number sits 35 degrees outside its qualification. When the ambient can genuinely reach -40°C, the rugged part is the answer; when the concern is a hot enclosure rather than a frozen one, the GLC-TE’s 85°C ceiling already matches the old NEBS module.
Is the GLC-T End of Life?
Yes — and further along than most summaries suggest. Since May 31, 2022 the GLC-T is past its last date of support: no TAC entitlement, no service renewal, no new-unit path. The full milestone set from Cisco’s notice, which covers the SFP-GE-T on identical dates:
GLC-T and SFP-GE-T End-of-Sale Dates
| Milestone (per Cisco’s EOL notice) | Date |
|---|---|
| End-of-sale (last order) — GLC-T and SFP-GE-T | June 1, 2017 |
| Last ship date | August 30, 2017 |
| End of new service attachment | June 1, 2018 |
| End of service contract renewal | August 30, 2021 |
| Last date of support — product obsolete | May 31, 2022 |
One notice retires both modules, and the same table names the GLC-TE as the replacement for each. The common shorthand “phased out in 2017” understates it — since mid-2022 there is no support path at all.
For a running network the dates translate simply. Installed units are unaffected until they fail. A failed unit gets replaced by a GLC-TE rather than by secondary-market stock, because a used module with no TAC support costs almost as much as the current part. And any monitoring or BOM template still keyed to the retired PIDs is a chance to standardize on one part number before the next failure does it for you.
GLC-T-RGD, TAA, and Spare Variants Explained
Three suffix patterns account for the other copper-SFP part numbers an engineer meets in the wild. The GLC-T-RGD is a real, distinct module: the rugged 1000BASE-T SFP rated IND (-40 to 85°C) in Cisco’s datasheet, built for the industrial-switch side of the house — the part a -40°C outdoor cabinet actually calls for. The ++= suffix (GLC-T++=, GLC-TE++=) marks the TAA-compliant orderable that U.S. federal procurement requires, and Cisco’s notice maps them one-to-one across the retirement. The plain = suffix is simply the spare — the same module boxed individually rather than configured with a chassis. None of these change electrical behavior; they change who may buy it and where it may be mounted.
Which Switches and Routers Support Each Module?
Support is decided per platform, not per module family — which is exactly how two engineers in the same Cisco Community thread reached different answers, one deploying GLC-T in a Catalyst 4500-X and the other SFP-GE-T in an ASR 1001-X. Both were right for their chassis: the platform’s supported-transceiver list, not the SFP’s spec sheet, is the authority.
How to Check the Cisco Compatibility Matrix
Cisco publishes the answer in the Transceiver Module Group (TMG) Compatibility Matrix at tmgmatrix.cisco.com: filter by product family or transceiver PID and read off which platforms, line cards, and minimum software releases support it. Two habits keep the check honest — search by the exact PID you will order (GLC-TE, not “1000BASE-T”), and confirm the software column against the release your chassis actually runs, since transceiver support arrives and occasionally leaves by IOS/IOS XE version. For a legacy chassis that only ever qualified the GLC-T, the matrix is also where the GLC-TE substitution gets confirmed before it ships. Copper is not always the endgame either: where the same closet is trending toward fiber uplinks, the LX vs LH fiber module guide covers the single-mode siblings of this family.
Who Should Buy Which Copper SFP
The selection logic collapses to environment and availability, in that order. For any ordinary rack — offices, data closets, temperature-controlled rooms — the GLC-TE is the default answer: the current part, a -5 to 85°C band that covers everything the GLC-T ever did with margin, and the official successor to both retired PIDs. For genuinely harsh locations — unheated outdoor enclosures, sites that see -40°C — the industrial GLC-T-RGD is the right tool, not a NEBS-era SFP-GE-T pulled from the used market. The two retired modules remain sensible only as like-for-like spares in fleets that already run them, priced accordingly and bought with eyes open about the absent support path.
As a Cisco certified partner, Layer23-Switch stocks the brand-new original GLC-TE with a 3-year warranty and RMA support, and can check platform compatibility against your exact chassis and software release before anything ships
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the GLC-TE end of life?
No. The GLC-TE appears in Cisco’s current Gigabit Ethernet SFP datasheet with no end-of-sale announcement, and it is the module Cisco’s own notice designates as the replacement for the retired GLC-T and SFP-GE-T — the safe PID to standardize new copper-SFP orders on.
Can a GLC-T or GLC-TE run in an SFP+ port?
Often, but it is platform-dependent, not a property of the module. Many Cisco SFP+ ports accept 1G SFPs and run the port at 1 Gbps, while some platforms restrict which ports may do so — confirm your exact chassis in the TMG compatibility matrix before planning mixed 1G/10G port maps.
Do these modules support 10/100 Mbps, or only gigabit?
All three support 10/100/1000 auto-negotiation with Auto MDI/MDIX — Cisco’s SFP datasheet states it for the 1000BASE-T SFP family explicitly. A GLC-TE facing an old 100 Mbps appliance links at 100 Mbps; no separate tri-rate part is needed.
Do GLC-T, GLC-TE, or SFP-GE-T support DOM?
No — Cisco’s datasheet lists DOM as not applicable for all three, and for the GLC-T-RGD as well. Digital monitoring is a fiber-SFP feature in this family; on copper modules, interface counters are the visibility you get.
Is the SFP-GE-T still available as a spare?
Only on the secondary market. New sales ended June 1, 2017 and Cisco support ended May 31, 2022, so any unit sold today is used or refurbished stock with no TAC path. For a like-for-like spare in an existing fleet that can be acceptable; for anything else the GLC-TE is the designated replacement.
Does anything still require the SFP-GE-T specifically?
Only a site standard that formally mandates NEBS 3 ESD-rated transceivers — the one credential the GLC-TE datasheet entry does not carry. Resolve such a clause deliberately: revalidate the requirement or qualify a current alternative against Cisco’s documentation, rather than sourcing obsolete stock to satisfy paperwork.
Are third-party GLC-TE compatibles safe to buy?
They link, and they cost less — the trade is support and consistency: Cisco TAC can decline to troubleshoot links running non-Cisco optics, and mixed fleets complicate spares. For lab and non-critical ports the economics can work; for production links under support contracts, genuine modules keep the accountability chain intact, which is why Layer23-Switch supplies originals with warranty rather than compatibles.
