The Cisco Nexus^® 3636C-R switch is a high-speed, high-density 10-, 25-, 40-, or 100-Gigabit Ethernet (GE) switch designed for the data center spine. The large buffers and routing table sizes of the 3636C-R also make this switch an alternative for a wide range of applications, such as IP storage, demilitarized zone (DMZ), big data, and edge routing. The switch comes in a compact 1-Rack-Unit (1RU) form factor and provides extensive Layer 2 and Layer 3 functions. It is part of the R-Series family and runs industry-leading Cisco^® NX-OS Software.

The comprehensive programmability features enable organizations to run today’s applications while also preparing them for demanding and changing application needs. The Cisco Nexus 3636C-R switch supports both forward and reverse (port-side exhaust and port-side intake) airflow schemes with AC and DC power inputs.

The 3636C-R (Figure 1) is a Quad Small Form-Factor Pluggable (QSFP) switch with 36 QSFP28 ports. Each QSFP28 can operate at 100 or 40 Gigabit Ethernet or in a breakout cable configuration.

Figure 1.   

Cisco Nexus 3636C-R switch

Main benefits

The Cisco Nexus 3636C-R switch provides:

• Wire-rate Layer 2 and 3 switching on all ports^*with up to 7.2 Terabits per second (Tbps) and up to 3.34 billion packets per second (bpps).
• Programmabilitywith support for the Cisco NX-API, Linux containers, XML, and JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) APIs, the OpenStack plug-in, Python, and Puppet and Chef configuration and automation tools.
• High performance and scalabilitywith an 8-core CPU, 32 GB of DRAM, and 16 GB of dynamic buffer allocation, making the switch excellent for massively scalable data centers and big-data applications.
• MACSec capability*
• Higher TCAM capability
• Flexibility:

◦     Fiber cabling solutions are available for 10-, 25-, 40-, 50-, and 100-Gbps connectivity, including Active Optical Cable (AOC) and Direct-Attached Cable (DAC).

◦     Configurable QSFP28 Uplinks to work as 4 x 25-Gbps or 4 x 10-Gbps port.

• High availability:

◦     Virtual Port Channel (VPC) technology provides Layer 2 multipathing by eliminating the Spanning Tree Protocol. It also enables fully used bisectional bandwidth and simplified Layer 2 logical topologies without the need to change the existing management and deployment models.

◦     Advanced maintenance capabilities include hot and cold patching and Graceful Insertion and Removal (GIR) mode.

◦     The switch uses hot-swappable Power-Supply Units (PSUs) and fans.

• NX-OS operating system with comprehensive, proven innovations:

◦     Power-On Auto Provisioning (POAP) enables touchless bootup and configuration of the switch, drastically reducing provisioning time.

◦     Cisco Embedded Event Manager (EEM) and Python scripting enable automation and remote operations in the data center.

◦     EtherAnalyzer is a built-in packet analyzer for monitoring and troubleshooting control-plane traffic that is based on the popular Wireshark open-source network protocol analyzer.

◦     Complete Layer 3 unicast and multicast routing protocol suites are supported, including Border Gateway Protocol (BGP), Open Shortest Path First (OSPF), Enhanced Interior Gateway Routing Protocol (EIGRP), Routing Information Protocol Version 2 (RIPv2), Protocol Independent Multicast Sparse Mode (PIM-SM), Source-Specific Multicast (SSM), and Multicast Source Discovery Protocol (MSDP).

* Please check release notes for NX-OS support

Configuration

The Cisco Nexus 3636C-R has the following configuration:

• 36 QSFP28 ports operating at 40 or 100 Gigabit Ethernet
• 8 ports that can be used for MACSec
• Locator LED
• Environment LED
• Status LED
• Dual redundant power supplies
• 3 redundant fans
• One 10-, 100-, or 1000-Mbps management port (copper or fiber)
• One RS-232 serial console port
• One USB port

Transceiver and cabling options

The Cisco Nexus 3636C-R has 36 QSFP28 ports that support a wide range of speed, from 10- or 25- Gbps with breakout cable.

The Cisco Nexus 3636C-R QSFP28 technology allows a smooth transition from 40- to 100-Gigabit Ethernet infrastructure in data centers. Each of the switch’s QSFP28 ports can operate in native 100- or 40-Gigabit Ethernet mode or 4 x 10 or 4 x 25 Gigabit Ethernet mode.

Please refer to the latest compatibility matrix for information on all supported optics:

• 100-Gigabit Ethernet compatibility matrix: https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/interfaces_modules/transceiver_modules/compatibility/matrix/100GE_Tx_Matrix.html.
• 40-Gigabit Ethernet compatibility matrix: https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/interfaces_modules/transceiver_modules/compatibility/matrix/40GE_Tx_Matrix.html.
• 25-Gigabit Ethernet compatibility matrix: https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/interfaces_modules/transceiver_modules/compatibility/matrix/25GE_Tx_Matrix.html.
• 10-Gigabit Ethernet compatibility matrix: https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/interfaces_modules/transceiver_modules/compatibility/matrix/10GE_Tx_Matrix.html.

For more information about the transceiver types, visit: https://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/hw/modules/ps5455/prod_module_series_home.html.

Cisco NX-OS software benefits

Cisco NX-OS Software is a data center-class operating system built with modularity, resiliency, and serviceability at its foundation. It helps ensure continuous availability and sets the standard for mission-critical data center environments. The self-healing and highly modular design of NX-OS makes zero-impact operations a reality and enables exceptional operation flexibility.

Focused on the requirements of the data center, NX-OS provides a robust and comprehensive feature set that meets the networking requirements of present and future data centers. With an XML interface and a command-line interface like that of the Cisco IOS^® Software solution, NX-OS provides state-of-the-art implementations of relevant networking standards as well as a variety of true data center-class Cisco innovations.

Table 1 summarizes the benefits that NX-OS offers, and Table 2 lists the NX-OS packages available for the Cisco Nexus 3636C-R switch.

Table 1.  Benefits of Cisco NX-OS Software

Table 2.  Cisco NX-OS Software packages available for Cisco Nexus 3636C-R^*

^* Cisco Nexus 3636C-R uses the Cisco Nexus 9000 licensing scheme. For more information please refer tohttps://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/switches/datacenter/sw/nx-os/licensing/guide/b_Cisco_NX-OS_Licensing_Guide/b_Cisco_NX-OS_Licensing_Guide_chapter_01.html.

Product specifications

Table 3 lists the specifications for the Cisco Nexus 3636C-R.

Table 3.  Specifications

^* Denotes Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) capabilities; please refer to Cisco Nexus 3000 Series Verified Scalability Guide documentation for exact scalability numbers validated for specific software releases:https://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/ps11541/products_installation_and_configuration_guides_list.html.

Software features

Please refer to the latest release notes for a list of software features supported by the Cisco Nexus 3000 platform: https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/support/switches/nexus-3000-series-switches/products-release-notes-list.html.

Standards

Table 4 lists management standards supported by the Cisco Nexus 3000 platform.

Table 4.    Management and standards support

Regulatory standards compliance

Table 5 summarizes regulatory standards compliance for the Cisco Nexus 3000 platform.

Table 5.  Regulatory standards compliance: Safety and electromagnetic compatibility (EMC)

Ordering information

Table 6 provides ordering information for the Cisco Nexus 3636C-R.

Table 6.  Ordering information

 Nexus 3636C-S switch, 36p QSFP28 MACSEC # N3K-C3636C-R