Cisco Nexus N3K-C31128PQ-10GE Switch

Product overview

The Cisco Nexus 31128PQ Switch is a dense, high-performance Layer 2 and 3, 10- and 40-Gbps switch that is a member of the Cisco Nexus 3100 switches. The Nexus 3100 switches are the second-generation Cisco Nexus 3000 series switches and offer improved port density, scalability, and features compared to the first-generation switches. The Cisco Nexus 31128PQ comes in a compact two-rack-unit (2RU) form factor and runs the industry-leading Cisco NX-OS Software operating system, providing customers comprehensive features and functions that are widely deployed. It supports both forward and reverse (port side exhaust and port side intake) airflow schemes with AC and DC power inputs. The Cisco Nexus 31128PQ is well suited for data centers that require a cost-effective, power-efficient line-rate Layer 2 and 3 access or leaf switch.

The Cisco Nexus 31128PQ (Figure 1) is a 10-Gbps Enhanced Small Form-Factor Pluggable (SFP+) and 40-Gbps Quad Small Form-Factor Pluggable (QSFP+) based switch with 96 SFP+ ports and 8 QSFP+ ports.

Cisco Nexus 31128PQ Switch

Main benefits

The Cisco Nexus 31128PQ provides the following main benefits:

●      Wire-rate Layer 2 and 3 switching on all ports ^[1]

◦    Layer 2 and 3 switching of up to 2.5 Terabits per second (Tbps) and up to 1.4 Billion packets per second (bpps) is provided in a compact 2RU form-factor switch.

●      High availability

◦    Virtual PortChannel (vPC) technology provides Layer 2 multipathing through the elimination of Spanning Tree Protocol and enables fully utilized bisectional bandwidth and simplified Layer 2 logical topologies without the need to change the existing management and deployment models.

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

◦    Hot swappable Power-Supply Units (PSUs) and fans.

●      High Performance

◦    The Cisco Nexus 31128PQ delivers low nominal latency, which enables customers to implement high-performance infrastructure for High-Frequency Trading (HFT) and High-Performance Computing (HPC) workloads.

●      Purpose-built Cisco NX-OS operating system with comprehensive, proven innovations

◦    PowerOn 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.

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

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

◦    Precision Time Protocol (PTP; IEEE 1588) provides accurate clock synchronization and improved data correlation with network captures and system events.

◦    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).

Configuration

The Cisco Nexus 31128PQ has the following configuration:

●      96 fixed 10 Gigabit Ethernet SFP+ ports

●      8 fixed 40 Gigabit Ethernet QSFP+ ports

●      Locator, Status and Environment LEDs

●      Dual redundant power supplies

●      Redundant (1+1) fans (2 rotors per fan)

●      One 10/100/1000-Mbps management port

●      One RS-232 serial console port

●      Two USB ports

Both forward (port-side exhaust) and reversed (port-side intake) airflow schemes are supported.

Transceiver and cabling options

The Cisco Nexus 31128PQ has 8 QSFP+ ports. QSFP+ technology allows a smooth transition from 10 to 40 Gigabit Ethernet infrastructures in data centers. This switch supports both fiber and copper cabling solutions for these two modes. For low-cost cabling, copper-based 40-Gbps Twinax cables can be used, and for longer cable reaches, short-reach optical transceivers are excellent.

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

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

Cisco NX-OS Software Overview

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

Focused on the requirements of the data center, Cisco 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 (CLI) like that of Cisco IOS Software, Cisco NX-OS provides state-of-the-art implementations of relevant networking standards as well as a variety of true data center-class Cisco innovations.

Cisco NX-OS Software Benefits

Table 1 summarizes that benefits that Cisco NX-OS offers.

Table 1.        Benefits of Cisco NX-OS Software

Cisco NX-OS Software Packages for Cisco Nexus 31128PQ

The Cisco NX-OS Software packages available with the Cisco Nexus 31128PQ offer flexibility and a comprehensive feature set as well as consistency with Cisco Nexus access switches. The default system software has a comprehensive Layer 2 feature set with robust security and management features. To enable Layer 3 IP unicast and multicast routing functions, additional licenses need to be installed. Table 2 summarizes the software packages. See Table 4 later in this document for a complete list of software features.

Table 2.        Cisco NX-OS Software Packages Available for Cisco Nexus 31128PQ

Cisco Data Center Network Manager

The Cisco Nexus 31128PQ is supported in Cisco DCNM. Cisco DCNM is designed for hardware platforms enabled for Cisco NX-OS, which consist of the Cisco Nexus Family of products. Cisco DCNM is a Cisco management solution that increases overall data center infrastructure uptime and reliability, hence improving business continuity. Focused on the management requirements of the data center network, Cisco DCNM provides a robust framework and comprehensive feature set that meets the routing, switching, and storage administration needs of present and future data centers. In particular, Cisco DCNM automates the provisioning process, proactively monitors the LAN by detecting performance degradation, secures the network, and streamlines the diagnosis of dysfunctional network elements.

Product specifications

Table 3 lists the specifications for the Cisco Nexus 31128PQ, Table 4 lists software features, and Table 5 lists management standards and support.

Table 3.        Specifications

Table 4.        Software features

Table 5.        Management and Standards Support

Software requirements

Cisco Nexus 3100 Series Switches are supported by Cisco NX-OS Software Release 7.0(3)I2(1) and later. Cisco NX-OS interoperates with any networking OS, including Cisco IOS Software, that conforms to the networking standards mentioned in this data sheet.

Regulatory standards compliance

Table 6 summarizes regulatory standards compliance for the Cisco Nexus 3100 Series.

Table 6.        Regulatory Standards Compliance: Safety and EMC

Ordering information

Table 7 provides ordering information for the Cisco Nexus 31128PQ.

Table 7.        Ordering information

For more information

For more information, please visit https://www.cisco.com/go/nexus3000.