Nexus 3000 Model Comparison & Licensing Options The Nexus 3000 switches are part of the Cisco Unified Fabric architecture; they offer high performance and high density at ultra low latency. Get top-of-rack, Layer 2 and 3 switching

The Cisco Nexus 3000 Series offers low-latency, highly programmable, high-density switches. These compact fixed switches are excellent for general-purpose deployments, high-performance computing (HPC), high-frequency trading (HFT), massively scalable data center (MSDC), and cloud networks. This product family consists of multiple switch models: the Nexus 3000 Series, Nexus 3100 Series, 3100V Series, 3200 Series and Nexus 3500 switches. Series Models 3000 Series

3100 Series

3100V Series

3200 Series

3500 Series

Features • Suited for big data, cloud, and virtualization • Wire-speed Layer 2 and 3 switching • 10/100/1000 Mbps and 1/10-Gbps connectivity • Highly programmable switches • Suited for 1/10/40-Gbps densities at line rate • 1/10/40-Gbps connectivity • VXLAN routing and enhanced 16-MB buffer space • High performance and scalability • Suited for large apps, SP hosting, HPC, and cloud • High density and 42-MB buffer • MACsec capable and telemetry for top notch security • Highly programmable with comprehensive features • 10/25/40/50/100-Gbps connectivity • Lowest latency in the industry • Comprehensive features, including AlgoBoost • Suited for HFT and HPC deployments • 1/10/40-Gbps connectivity

Nexus 3000 Model Cisco Nexus 3048 VXLAN Capability

No

Openflow

Yes

Cisco Nexus 3048 Rack unit (RU)

1

Switching capacity

176 Gbps

Interface Type

48 RJ-45 and 4 SFP+

Maximum 1 GE ports

Up to 48

Maximum 10 GE ports

4

Maximum 40 GE ports

0

Switch latency

2.7 to 7.2 microseconds

Line-rate traffic throughput (both Layer 2 and 3) on all ports

Yes

Redundant and hot-swappable power supply and fans

Yes

Air flow

Front-back and back-front

Compare Nexus 3100 Models Cisco Nexus 3132Q/3132Q-X

Cisco Nexus 3164Q

Cisco Nexus 3172PQ

Cisco Nexus 3172TQ

Cisco Nexus 31128PQ

In 7.0 train, 7.0(3)I2(1) onwards In 6.0 train, 6.0(2)U2(4) onwards

In 7.0 train, 7.0(3)I2(1) onwards In 6.0 train, 6.0(2)U3(1) onwards

7.0(3)I2(1) and later

First version of

7.0(3)I3(1) and later

Virtual extensible LAN (VXLAN) capable

Bridging

Bridging

Bridging

Bridging

Bridging

Openflow

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Rack unit (RU)

1

2

1

1

2

Switching capacity

2.56 Tbps

5.12 Tbps

1.44 Tbps

1.44 Tbps

2.56 Tbps

Interface-type

32 QSFP+

64 QSFP+

48 SFP+ and 6 QSFP+

48 RJ-45 and 6 Quad Small Form-Factor Pluggable Plus (QSFP+)

96 Small Form Factor Pluggable+ and 8 Quad SFP+ transceivers

Maximum 1 Gigabit Ethernet (GE) ports

29

None

48

48

96

Maximum 10 GE ports

104

256

72

72

96

Maximum 40 GE ports

32

64

6

6

Compare 3100V Models Cisco Nexus 31108PC-V

Cisco Nexus 31108TC-V

Cisco Nexus 3132Q-V

First version of

Cisco NX-OS Release 7.0(3)I4(1) and later

Cisco NX-OS Release 7.0(3)I4(1) and later

Cisco NX-OS Release 7.0(3)I4(1) and later

Virtual extensible LAN (VXLAN) capable

Bridging and Routing

Bridging and Routing

Bridging and Routing

Shared Buffer Space

16 MB

16 MB

16 MB

Openflow

Yes

Yes

Yes

Rack unit (RU)

1

1

1

Switching capacity

2.16 Tbps

2.16 Tbps

2.56 Tbps

Interface-type

48 SFP 6 QSFP/QSFP28

48 RJ-45 6 QSFP/QSFP28

32 QSFP

Maximum 1 Gigabit Ethernet (GE) ports

48

48

29

Maximum 10 GE ports

72

72

104

Maximum 40 GE ports

6

6

32

Maximum 100 GE ports

6

6

0

Compare Nexus 3200 Models Cisco Nexus 3232C

Cisco Nexus 3264Q

Cisco Nexus 3264C-E

First version of

Cisco NX-OS Release 7.0(3)IX1(2) and 7.0(3)I3(1) and later

Cisco NX-OS Release 7.0(3)IX1(2) and 7.0(3)I3(1) and later

Cisco NX-OS Release 7.0(3)IM7(2)

VXLAN Capability

Bridging

Bridging

Bridging

Openflow

Yes

Yes

Yes

Cisco Nexus 3232C

Cisco Nexus 3264Q

Cisco Nexus 3264C-E

Rack unit (RU)

1

2

2

Switching capacity

6.4-Tbps

5.12 Tbps

12.8 Tbps

Interface Type

32 QSFP28

64 QSFP+

64 QSFP28

Maximum 10 GE ports

128

128

128

Maximum 25 GE ports

128

n/a

128

Maximum 40 GE ports

32

64

64

Maximum 50 GE ports

64

n/a

128

Maximum 100 GE ports

32

n/a

64

Switch latency

450ns

515-700ns

450ns

Line-rate traffic throughput (both Layer 2 and 3) on all ports

Yes*

Yes*

Yes*

Redundant and hot-swappable power supply and fans

Yes

Yes

Yes

Air flow

Port-side intake or port-side exhaust

Port-side intake or port-side exhaust

Port-side intake or port-side exhaust

*Packets greater than 250 Bytes Compare Nexus 3500 Models Cisco Nexus 3524-X/XL

Cisco Nexus 3548-X/XL

First version of

In 6.0 train, 6.0(2)A6(1) and later releases. In 7.0 train, 7.0(3)I7(2) and later releases

7.0(3)I7(3)

Algo Boost-capable (NAT, Active Buffer Monitoring)

Yes

Yes

VXLAN Capable

No

No

Multicast NAT

Yes

Yes

Latency Monitoring

Yes

Yes

System Memory

4 GB for X 16 GB for XL

4 GB for X 16 GB for XL

Openflow

Yes

Yes

Rack unit (RU)

1

1

Switching capacity

480 Gbps

960 Gbps

Interface-type

24 SFP+

48 SFP+

Maximum 1 GE ports

24 enabled (48 max)

48

Maximum 10 GE ports

24 10G SFP+ ports. Additional 24 ports via license

48

Maximum 40 GE ports

6

12

Switch latency

Sub-250ns

Sub-250ns

Line-rate traffic throughput (both Layer 2 and 3) on all ports

Yes

Yes

Redundant and hot-swappable power supply and fans

Yes

Yes

Air flow

Front-back and back-front

Front-back and back-front

Get the Best Prices on Nexus 3000 Models Feature-Based Licenses for the Cisco Nexus 3000 Series & 3500 Series Switches The following table lists the feature-based license packages for the Cisco Nexus 3500 Series switches. Feature-Based Licenses for the Cisco Nexus 3500 Series Switches Feature License

Product ID

Features

24 Port License Package 24P_LIC_PKG

N3548-24P-LIC

24-port license for the Cisco Nexus 3548 Series switch.

24 Port Upgrade License Package 24P_UPG_PKG

N3548-24P-UPG

24-port upgrade license for the Cisco Nexus 3548 Series switch.

Feature License

Product ID

Features

Layer 3 Base Services Package LAN_BASE_SERVICES_PKG

N3548-BAS1K9

Layer 3 Base Services Package • EIGRP stub • OSPFv2 (limited routes) • PIMv2 (sparse mode)

Cisco Nexus 3500 Algo Boost License ALGO_BOOST_SERVICES_PKG

N3548-ALGK9

Cisco Nexus 3500 Algo Boost License • Warp Mode • Warp SPAN • Static NAT Layer 3 Enterprise Services Package • BGP and VRF-Lite (IP-VPN)

Layer 3 Enterprise Services Package LAN1K9_ENT_SERVICES_PKG

N3524-LAN1K9

• Applies only to the Cisco Nexus 3500 Series switches with 24P_LIC_PKG installed. • Requires Base Services Package.

Note

Layer 3 Enterprise Services Package • BGP and VRF-Lite (IP-VPN) Layer 3 Enterprise Services Package LAN_ENTERPRISE_SERVICES_PKG

N3548-LAN1K9

• Applies only to the Cisco Nexus 3500 Series switches without 24P_LIC_PKG installed. • Requires Base Services Package.

Note

The following table lists the feature-based license packages for the Cisco Nexus 3000 Series. Feature-Based Licenses for the Cisco Nexus 3000 Series Feature License

Product ID

Features

16 Port License Upgrade Package 16P_UPG_PKG

N3K-16T-UPG

16-port upgrade license for Cisco Nexus 3172TQ switches. This is the upgrade license to enable 16 ports, and it can only be applied to N3KC3172TQ-32T.

32 Port License Package 32P_LIC_PKG

N3K-32X-LIC

Default 32-port license for the Cisco Nexus 3172TQ switches.

16 Port License Upgrade Package 16P_UPG_PKG

N3064T-16T-UPG

16-port upgrade license for Cisco Nexus 3164T switch.

32 Port License Package 32P_LIC_PKG

N3064T-32T-LIC

32-port license for Cisco Nexus 3164T switch. • EIGRP stub • OSPFv2 (limited routes) • PIMv2 (sparse mode)

Layer 3 Base Services Package LAN_BASE_SERVICES_PKG

N3K-BAS1K9 Note

The Cisco Nexus 3164Q, 31128PQ, 3232C, and 3264Q switches and the Cisco Nexus 3100 Series switches in N9K mode run Cisco Nexus 9000 Series software and follow the Cisco Nexus 9000 license model. Therefore, these switches require the Layer 3 Enterprise Services Package (rather than the Layer 3 Base Services Package) to routing protocols.

• BGP • Policy-Based Routing (not ed on the Cisco Nexus 3232C and 3264Q switches) • Generic routing encapsulation (GRE) tunnels Layer 3 Enterprise Services Package LAN_ENTERPRISE_SERVICES_PKG

N3K-LAN1K9 Note

End-of-Sale Models Cisco Nexus 3548 Switch Cisco Nexus 3524 Switch Cisco Nexus 3132Q Switch Cisco Nexus 3064 Switch

The Layer 3 Base Services Package license is a prerequisite for the Layer 3 Enterprise Services Package license on Cisco Nexus 3000 and 3100 Series switches, except the Cisco Nexus 3164Q, 31128PQ, 3232C, and 3264Q switches and the Cisco Nexus 3100-V Series switches.

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