Cisco Nexus N9164E-NS4-O Switch

The Cisco N9164E-NS4-O switch is a high-performance, fixed-configuration networking solution designed to meet the rigorous demands of modern data centers. As artificial intelligence and machine learning workloads continue to grow, there is an increasing need for infrastructure that offers low latency, advanced congestion management, and deep telemetry. This switch is specifically engineered to support high-density 800G fabrics, providing the reliability and flexibility required by large-scale cloud and data center environments.

By integrating seamlessly into existing IT infrastructures, this device helps teams manage, troubleshoot, and analyze their networks more effectively. It is built to support the next generation of AI networking architectures, ensuring that organizations can maintain high-performance fabrics while benefiting from robust security, automation, and visibility features.

Product overview

The Cisco N9164E-NS4-O is a 2-Rack-Unit (2RU) switch featuring 64 ports of 800G OSFP connectivity. It is powered by the NVIDIA Spectrum-4 ASIC, which enables it to handle the complex requirements of AI/ML networking. Beyond its native 800G capacity, the switch is versatile enough to support various lower port speeds, including 400, 200, and 100 Gbps, making it adaptable to diverse network designs.

Operating on the Cisco NX-OS software and supporting the Cisco Nexus Hyperfabric, the switch is designed for programmable, automated environments. It allows teams to utilize DevOps tools and the Cisco Nexus Dashboard to simplify the deployment and operation of AI fabrics. With 102.4 Tbps of total bandwidth and 160MB of on-die packet buffer, the N9164E-NS4-O ensures consistent, low-latency performance, even under heavy traffic loads.

Features and benefits

• Architectural Flexibility: Utilizes the modular Cisco NX-OS for fault isolation and supports standards-based VXLAN EVPN fabrics and three-tier BGP architectures for scalable IPv6 network fabrics.
• Extensive Programmability: Offers Day-0 automation through Power on Auto Provisioning (POAP) and integrates with DevOps tools like Red Hat Ansible, while supporting RESTCONF/NETCONF/gNMI for model-driven telemetry.
• AI/ML Optimization: Features advanced congestion management, including Adaptive Routing, Priority Flow Control (PFC), and Explicit Congestion Notification (ECN) to prevent packet drops and optimize performance.
• Lossless Transport: Supports Remote Direct Memory Access (RDMA) over Converged Ethernet (RoCE) and Data-Center-Bridging (DCB) protocols to ensure efficient data flow in AI environments.
• Intelligent Buffer Management: Capable of distinguishing between different traffic types (mice and elephant flows) to apply specific queue-management schemes during link congestion.
• High Availability: Includes Virtual Port-Channel (vPC) technology, In-Service Software Upgrades (ISSU) for zero-downtime maintenance, and N+1 redundant, hot-swappable power supplies and fans.
• Cisco Nexus Dashboard: Provides a unified platform for automation, visibility, and analytics, included with tiered subscription licenses to simplify cloud-network operations.