Built on the latest Cisco^®Cloud Scale technology, the Cisco Nexus^® 9200 platform consists of industry-leading ultra-high-density fixed-configuration data center switches with line-rate Layer 2 and 3 features that support enterprise and commercial applications, service provider hosting, and cloud computing environments. These switches support a wide range of port speeds with flexible combinations of 1/10/25/40/50/100-Gbps connectivity in compact form factors. Using the widely deployed industry-leading Cisco NX-OS Software operating system, the Cisco Nexus 9200 platform is designed for programmable fabric, which offers flexibility, mobility, and scale for service providers and Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) and cloud providers. It is also designed for the programmable network, which automates configuration and management for customers who want to take advantage of the DevOps operation model and tool sets.

Models

Table 1 summarizes the Cisco Nexus 9200 platform switch models.

Table 1.     Cisco Nexus 9200 platform switches

^* Check support and port config uration details in Table 2.

The Cisco Nexus 92348GC-X Switch (see Figure 1) is a 1RU switch based on Cisco Cloud Scale technology and supports 0.696 Tbps of bandwidth and over 517 mpps. The 48 1GBASE-T downlink ports on the 9248GC-X can be configured to work as 100-Mbps, 1-Gbps ports. The 4 ports of SFP28 can be configured as 1/10/25-Gbps and the 2 ports of QSFP28 can be configured as 40- and 100-Gbps ports. The Cisco Nexus 92348GC-X is ideal for big data customers that require a Gigabit Ethernet ToR switch with local switching and for management switch use cases.¹

Figure 1.       

Cisco Nexus 92348GC-X Switch

The Cisco Nexus 92160YC-X Switch (Figure 2) is a 1-Rack-Unit (1RU) switch that supports 3.2 Terabits per second (Tbps) of bandwidth andover 2.5 billion packets per second (bpps). The 48-port downlink ports on the 92160YC-X can be configured to work as either 1/10/25-Gbps ports, offering deployment flexibility and investment protection. The uplink can support up to four 100-Gbps OR up to six 40-Gbps ports, or a combination of 10-, 25-, 40-, and 100-Gbps connectivity, offering flexible migration options. The switch has FC-FEC enabled for 25Gbps, and supports up to 3m in DAC connectivity. Please check Cisco Optics Matrix for the most updated support.

The Cisco Nexus 92348GC-X and the 92160YC-X can collect comprehensive Cisco Tetration Analytics^™ telemetry information at line rateacross all ports without adding any latency to the packets or negatively affecting switch performance. This telemetry information is exportedevery 100 milliseconds (ms) by default directly from the switch’s Application- Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC). This information consists of three types of data:

• Flow information:This information contains information about endpoints, protocols, ports, when the flow started, how long the flow was active, etc.
• Interpacket variation:This information captures any interpacket variations within the flow. Examples include variation in Time To Live (TTL), IP and TCP flags, payload length, etc.
• Context details:Context information is derived outside the packet header, including variation in buffer utilization, packet drops within a flow, association with tunnel endpoints, etc.

The Cisco Tetration Analytics platform consumes this telemetry data, and by using unsupervised machine learning and behavior analysis it can provide outstanding pervasive visibility across everything in your data center in real time. By using algorithmic approaches, the Cisco Tetration Analytics platform provides deep insights into applications and interactions, enabling dramatically simplified operations, a zero-trust model, and migration of applications to any programmable infrastructure. To learn more, go to https://www.cisco.com/go/tetration.

Figure 2.       

Cisco Nexus 92160YC-X Switch

The Cisco Nexus 9272Q Switch (Figure 3) is an ultra-high-density 2RU switch that supports 5.76 Tbps of bandwidth and over 4.5 bpps across 72 fixed 40-Gbps QSFP+ ports. Up to 35 ports on the 9272Q can be converted into a total of 140 x 10-Gbps ports.

Figure 3.       

Cisco Nexus 9272Q Switch

The Cisco Nexus 92304QC Switch (Figure 4) is an ultra-high-density 2RU switch that supports 6.1 Tbps of bandwidth and over 4.8 bpps across 56 x 40-Gbps QSFP+ ports and 8 x 40/100-Gbps QSFP28 ports. Up to 16 ports on the 92304QC can be converted into a total of 64 x 10-Gbps ports.

Figure 4.       

Cisco Nexus 92304QC Switch

The Cisco Nexus 9236C Switch (Figure 5) is a 1RU switch that supports 7.2 Tbps of bandwidth and over 5.3 bpps across 36 100-Gbps QSFP28 ports. Each of the ports on the 9236C can be individually configured into 1x100Gbps, 1 x 40 Gbps, 4 x 10/25 Gbps, 2 x 50 Gbps or 1 x 1/10 Gbps using QSA adapter. It provides industry’s best density and flexibility needed for data center spine or aggregation connectivity, in a compact form factor.

Figure 5.       

Cisco Nexus 9236C Switch

The Cisco Nexus 92300YC Switch (Figure 6) is a top-of-rack switch that supports 6.0 Tbps of bandwidth and over 4.75 bpps across 48 x 1/10/25-Gbps SFP28 and 18 x 40/100-Gbps QSFP28 ports. It is ideal for 25G sever access and 1:1 subscription networks, in a compact form factor. Customers can protect their investments by having high-density 25-Gbps and 100-Gbps speeds with flexible topology design. The switch has FC-FEC enabled for 25Gbps, and supports up to 3m in DAC connectivity. Please check Cisco Optics Matrix for the most updated support.

Figure 6.       

Cisco Nexus 92300YC Switch

Features and benefits

The Cisco Nexus 9200 platform provides the following features and benefits:

• High performance and scalability

◦    The platform provides wire-rate Layer 2 and 3 switching on all ports, with up to 7.2 Tbps and up to 5.35 bpps of bandwidth.

◦    With up to 40 MB of shared buffer, the platform is an excellent choice for scalable data centers and big data applications. The ability to fine tune buffer allocation for non-drop queues makes the Nexus 9200 an ideal platform for IP storage designs.

• Virtual Extensible LAN (VXLAN)

◦    The platform offers native line-rate VXLAN routing.

◦    The Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) Ethernet Virtual Private Network (EVPN) control plane provides scalable multitenancy and host mobility (refer to VXLAN Network with MP-BGP EVPN Control Plane for more information).

• Hardware and software highavailability

◦    The 64-way Equal-Cost Multipath (ECMP) routing enables the use of Layer 3 fat-tree designs. This feature helps organizations prevent network bottlenecks, increase resiliency, and add capacity with little network disruption.

◦    Patching ensures undisruptive upgrade in most cases.

◦    The switches use hot-swappable Power-Supply Units (PSUs) and fans with N+1 redundancy.

• Purpose-built NX-OS operatingsystem with comprehensive, proven innovations

◦    Open programmability supports built-in DevOps automation tools such as Puppet, Chef, and Ansible.

◦    Cisco NX-API supports a common programmatic approach across Cisco Nexus switches.

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

◦    The onboard Python scripting engine enables automation and remote operations in the data center.

◦    Advanced buffer monitoring reports real-time buffer utilization per port and per queue, which allows organizations to monitor traffic bursts and application traffic patterns.

◦    Complete Layer 3 unicast and multicast routing protocol suites are supported, including 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).

◦    Segment routing allows the network to forward Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) packets and perform traffic engineering without Resource Reservation Protocol (RSVP) Traffic Engineering (TE). It provides a control-plane alternative for increased network scalability and virtualization.

The Cisco Nexus 9200 platform offers industry-leading density and performance with flexible port configurations that can support existing fiber cabling (Table 2).

Table 2.        Cisco Nexus 9200 platform switches’ characteristics

^* T ypical and m a ximum p o w er values are based on input dr a wn from the p o w er circuit. The p o w er s upp ly value (for e xample, 6 50W AC p o wer s upp l y: NX A -PA C-650W -PI) is bas ed on the out put rating to the inside of the s witc h.

Cisco NX-OS software overview

NX-OS is a purpose-built data center operating system designed for performance, resiliency, scalability, manageability, and programmability at its foundation. It provides a robust and comprehensive feature set that meets the demanding requirements of virtualization and automation in present and future data centers.

The Cisco Nexus 9000 Series uses an enhanced version of NX-OS with a single binary image that supports every switch in the series, simplifying image management. The operating system is modular, with a dedicated process for each routing protocol, a design that isolates faults while increasing availability. In the event of a process failure, the process can be restarted without loss of state. The operating system supports hot and cold patching and online diagnostics.

Main features include the following:

• POAP automates the process of upgrading software images and installing configuration files on Cisco Nexus switches that are being deployed in the network for the first time.
• NX-APIprovides operators with a way to manage the switch through Remote Procedure Calls (RPCs; JavaScript Object Notation [JSON] or XML) over HTTP/HTTPS infrastructure.
• Support for customer applications through Python scripting, Bash shell, and Linux containers.
• Patching allows NX-OS to be upgraded and patched without any interruption in switch operations.
• Line-rate overlay support provides VXLAN bridging and routing at full line rate, facilitating and accelerating communication between virtual and physical servers as well as between multiple data centers in a campus environment.
• Network traffic monitoring with Cisco Nexus Data Broker builds simple, scalable, and cost-effective network Test Access Points (TAPs) or Cisco Switched Port Analyzer (SPAN) aggregation for network traffic monitoring and analysis.

Cisco NX-OS features and benefits

The software packaging for the Cisco Nexus 9000 Series offers flexibility and a comprehensive feature set while being consistent with Cisco Nexus access switches. The default system software has a comprehensive Layer 2 security and management feature set. To enable additional functions including Layer 3 IP unicast and IP multicast routing and Cisco Nexus Data Broker, you must install additional licenses. The licensing guide illustrates the software packaging and licensing available to enable advanced features. For a complete list of supported features, refer to Cisco Feature Navigator.

Software requirements

The Cisco Nexus 9200 platform supports the NX-OS operating system.

For the latest software release information and recommendations, please refer to the product featuring Cisco NX-OS Solution.

Specifications

Table 3 lists the performance and scalability specifications for the Cisco Nexus 9200 platform switches. (Please check the software release notes for feature support information.)

Table 3.        Performance and scalability specifications^*

(Shipping: Support in initial software release)

^* More templates and scale numbers are on the roadmap. Please refer to Cisco Nexus 9000 Series Verified Scalability Guide documentation for the latest and exact scalability numbers validated for specific software.

Environmental properties

Table 4 lists the environmental properties, and Table 5 lists the weight for the Cisco Nexus 9200 platform switches.

Table 4.        Environmental properties

Table 5.        Weight

Regulatory standards compliance

Table 6 summarizes regulatory standards compliance for the Cisco Nexus 9200 platform switches.

Table 6.        Regulatory standards compliance: Safety and EMC

Supported optics modules

For details about the optics modules available and the minimum software release required for each supported module, visit https://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/hw/modules/ps5455/products_device_support_tables_list.html.

Ordering information

Table 7 presents ordering information for the Cisco Nexus 9200 platform switches.

Table 7.        Ordering information

 Cisco ONE Nexus 9K Fixed with 36p 100G QSFP28 # C1-N9K-C9236C