Cisco Nexus 9000 Series Switches

Build an Application Centric Infrastructure

The Cisco Nexus 9000 Series provide the foundation of the Cisco Application Centric Infrastructure (ACI). The switches deliver high scalability and performance, and exceptional energy efficiency in compact form factor. These switches are ideal for aggregation- and access-layer deployments in enterprise, service provider, and cloud networks.

Features and Capabilities

The 9000 Series Switches offer both modular and fixed 10/40/100 Gigabit Ethernet switch configurations and are designed to operate in one of two modes:

• Cisco NX-OS mode for backward compatibility and consistency with the current Cisco Nexus portfolio
• ACI mode to take full advantage of the policy-driven services and infrastructure automation features of the ACI application

ACI Support

• Designed to support the Cisco next-generation data center based on an application-centric strategy
• Designed to help enable application deployment, simplicity, agility, and flexibility

Programmability

• Intelligent API to manage the switch through remote-procedure calls (JavaScript Object Notation or XML) over HTTP or HTTPS
• Linux shell access and container environment to customize management and monitoring

Scalability

• Up to 30 Tbps of nonblocking performance with less than five-microsecond latency
• Up to 1152 10 Gbps or 288 40 Gbps nonblocking Layer 2 and Layer 3 Ethernet ports
• Wire speed VXLAN gateway, bridging, and routing support

High Availability

• Full Cisco In-Service Software Upgrade (ISSU) and patching without any interruption in operation
• Mix of third-party and Cisco application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) for improved reliability and performance

Energy Efficiency

• Chassis design without a midplane to optimize airflow and reduce energy requirements
• Optimized design with fewer ASICs, resulting in lower energy use
• Efficient power supplies that are rated at 80 Plus Platinum

Investment Protection

• Cisco 40 Gb bidirectional transceiver for reuse of existing 10 Gigabit Ethernet cabling plant for 40 Gigabit Ethernet
• Switches designed to support future ASIC generations
• Support for Cisco Nexus 2000 Series Fabric Extenders in both NX-OS and ACI mode

Additional Resources