Cisco Nexus 5500 and Nexus 5600-Model Features

The Cisco Nexus 5000 product family is a Layer 2 and Layer 3 1G/10G Ethernet with unified ports.
Cisco Nexus 5000 family includes Cisco Nexus 5500 and Cisco Nexus 5600 platforms.

Table 1-13 shows the comparison between different models.

Table 1-13 Nexus 5500 and Nexus 5600 Product Specification

	Cisco Nexus 5548P	Cisco Nexus 5548UP	Cisco Nexus 5596UP	Cisco Nexus 5596T	Cisco Nexus 5672UP	Cisco Nexus 56128P
Rack Unit (RU)	1	1	2	2	1	2
Switching Capacity	960 Gbps	960 Gbps	1.92 Tbps	1.92 Tbps	1.44 Tbps	2.56 Tbps
Expansion Slots	1	1	3	3	None	2
Fixed, Built-in Ports	32	32	48	48	48	48
1/10GE, 10Gbps FCoE Port Density	Up to 48	Up to 48	Up to 96	Up to 96	Up to 72	Up to 128
1/10G BASE-T	None	None	None	Up to 68	None	None
40GE Uplinks	Up to 4 (through Expansion module)	Up to 4 (through expansion module)	Up to 4 (through expansion module)	Up to 4 (through expansion module)	6	Up to 8 (through expansion module)
Fibre Channel Port Density (8/4/2/1 Gbps)	Up to 16 (through expansion module)	Up to 48	Up to 96	Up to 64	16	Up to 48 (through expansion modules only)
160Gbps Layer 3 Routing Engine	Daughter card	Daughter card	Expansion module	Expansion module	Native line rate L3	Native line rate L3
Fabric Extender Support	Yes, up to 24	Yes, up to 24	Yes, up to 24	Yes, up to 24	Yes, up to 24 (L2, L3)	Yes, up to 24 (L2, L3)
Hot Swappable Power Supplies and Fan Trays	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Air Flow	Front-back (port side exhaust)	Front-back (port side exhaust) and backfront (port side inlet)	Front-back (port side exhaust) and backfront (port side inlet)	Front-back (port side exhaust) and backfront (port side inlet)	Front-back (port side exhaust) and backfront (port side inlet)	Front-back (port side exhaust) and backfront (port side inlet)
VXLAN	N	N	N	N	Y	Y

NOTE: The Nexus 5010 and 5020 switches are considered end-of-sale products, so they are not covered in this book.

Cisco Nexus 5548P and 5548UP Switches’ Features

The Nexus 5548P and the Nexus 5548UP are 1/10Gbps switches with one expansion module. The Nexus 5548P has all the 32 ports as 1/10Gbps Ethernet only. The Nexus 5548UP has the 32 ports as unified ports, meaning that the ports can run 1/10 Gbps or they can run 8/4/2/1 Gbps native FC or a mix between both. Figure 1-37 shows the layout for them.
Figure 1-37Nexus 5548P and Nexus 5548UP Switches

Cisco Nexus 5596UP and 5596T Switches’ Features
The Nexus 5596T shown in Figure 1-38 is a 2RU 1/10Gbps Ethernet, native Fibre Channel, and FCoE switch. It has 32 fixed ports of 10G BASE-T and 16 fixed ports of SFP+. The switch has three expansion modules; the switch supports unified ports on all SFP+ ports; the 10G BASE-T ports support FCoE up to 30m with Category 6a and Category 7 cables.
Figure 1-38Nexus 5596UP and Nexus 5596T Switches

Cisco Nexus 5500 Products’ Expansion Modules
You can have additional Ethernet and FCoE ports or native Fibre Channel ports with the Nexus 5500 products by adding expansion modules. The Nexus 5548P/5548UP has one expansion module, and the Nexus 5596UP/5596T has three.

The Cisco N55-M16P module shown in Figure 1-39 has 16 ports, 1/10Gbps Ethernet, and FCoE using SFP+ interfaces.
Figure 1-39Cisco N55-M16P Expansion Module

The Cisco N55-M8P8FP module shown in Figure 1-40 is a 16-port module. It has eight ports, 1/10Gbps Ethernet, and FCoE using SFP+ interfaces, and eight 8/4/2/1Gbps Native Fibre Channel ports using SFP+ and SFP interfaces.
Figure 1-40Cisco N55-M8P8FP Expansion Module

The Cisco N55-M16UP shown in Figure 1-41 is a 16 unified ports module. It has 16 ports, 1/10Gbps Ethernet, and FCoE using SFP+ interfaces, or up to 16 8/4/2/1-Gbps Native Fibre Channel ports using SFP+ and SFP interfaces.
Figure 1-41Cisco N55-M16UP Expansion Module

The Cisco N55-M4Q shown in Figure 1-42 is a 4-port 40Gbps Ethernet module. Each QSFP 40GE port can only work in 4×10G mode and supports DCB and FCoE.
Figure 1-42Cisco N55-M4Q Expansion Module

The Cisco N55-M12T, shown in Figure 1-43, is an 11-port 10Gbps BASE-T module; it supports FCoE up to 30m on category 6a and category 7 cables. This module is supported only in the Nexus 5596T.
Figure 1-43Cisco N55-M12T Expansion Module

The Cisco 5500 Layer 3 daughter card shown in Figure 1-44 is used to enable Layer 3 on the Nexus 5548P and 5548UP, which can be ordered with the system, or it is field upgradable as a spare. This daughter card provides 160 Gbps of Layer 3 forwarding (240 million packets per second, or mpps), which is shared among all 48 ports.
Figure 1-44Cisco Nexus 5548P and 5548UP Layer 3 Daughter Card

To install the Layer 3 module, you must replace the Layer 2 I/O module, power off the switch, and follow the steps as shown in Figure 1-45. There is no need to remove the switch from the rack.
Figure 1-45Cisco Nexus 5548P and 5548UP Layer 3 Daughter Card Upgrade Procedure

To enable Layer 3 on the Nexus 5596P and 5596UP, you must have a Layer 3 expansion module, which can be ordered with the system or as a spare. This daughter card provides 160Gbps of Layer 3 forwarding (240 million packets per second, [mpps]), which is shared among all 48 ports.
Figure 1-46 shows the Layer 3 expansion module; currently, you can have only one Layer 3 expansion module per Nexus 5596P and 5596UP.
Figure 1-46Cisco Nexus 5596UP Layer 3 Daughter Card Upgrade Procedure

Enabling Layer 3 affects the scalability limits for the Nexus 5500. For example, the maximum FEXs per Cisco Nexus 5500 Series switches is 24 with Layer 2 only. Enabling Layer 3 makes the supported number per Nexus 5500 to be 16. Verify the scalability limits based on the NX-OS you will be using before creating a design.

Cisco Nexus 5600 Product Family
The Nexus 5600 is the new generation of the Nexus 5000 switches.
The Nexus 5600 has two models: Nexus 5672UP and Nexus 56128P. Both models bring integrated L2 and L3, 1-microsecond port-to-port latency with all frame sizes, true 40Gbps flow, 40Gbps FCoE, cut-through switching for 10/40Gbps, and 25MB buffer per port ASIC.
Table 1-14 shows the summary of the features.

Table 1-14 Nexus 5600 Product Switches Feature

	Nexus 5600-72UP	Nexus 5600-128P
Switch Fabric Throughput	1.44 Tbps	2.56 Tbps
Port-to-Port Latency	~ 1.0 microsecond	~ 1.0 microsecond
Layer 3 Capability	Integrated line rate	Integrated line rate
Switch Footprint	1RU	2RU
10 Gigabit Ethernet Port Density	72	128
40 Gigabit Ethernet Port Density	6	8
40 Gigabit Ethernet Port Density	True 40G	True 40G
Unified Ports	Yes	Yes
1 Gigabit Ethernet FEX Port Scalability	1152	1152
10 Gigabit Ethernet FEX Port Scalability	1152	1152
Packet Buffer	25 MB per 3 × 40G (or 12 × 10G)	25 MB per 3 × 40 G (or 12 × 10 G)

Cisco Nexus 5672UP Switch Features
The Nexus 5672UP shown in Figure 1-47 has 48 fixed 1/10Gbps SFP+ ports, of which 16 ports are unified, meaning that the ports can run 8/4/2Gbps Fibre Channel as well as 10 Gigabit Ethernet and FCoE connectivity options. True 40Gbps ports use QSFP+ for Ethernet/FCOE. The switch has two redundant power supplies and three fan modules. The switch supports both port-side exhaust and port-side intake.
Figure 1-47Cisco Nexus 5672UP

Cisco Nexus 56128P Switch Features
The Cisco Nexus 56128P shown in Figure 1-48 is a 2RU switch. It has 48 fixed 1/10Gbps Ethernet SFP+ ports and four 40Gbps QSFP+ ports. The 48 fixed SFP+ ports and four 40Gbps QSFP+ ports support FCOE as well. The Cisco Nexus 56128P has two expansion modules that support 24 unified ports.
Figure 1-48Cisco Nexus 56128P

The 24 unified ports provide 8/4/2Gbps Fibre Channel as well as 10 Gigabit Ethernet and FCoE connectivity options, plus two 40Gbps ports. It has four N+N redundant, hot-swappable power supplies; four N+1 redundant, hot-swappable independent fans; and a management and console interface on the fan side of the switch.

Cisco Nexus 5600 Expansion Modules
Expansion modules enable the Cisco Nexus 5600 switches to support unified ports with native Fibre Channel connectivity. The Nexus 56128P currently supports one expansion module—the N56-M24UP2Q expansion module, as shown in Figure 1-49. That module provides 24 ports, 10G Ethernet/FCoE or 2/4/8G Fibre Channel, and two 40 Gigabit QSFP+ Ethernet/FCoE ports.
Figure 1-49Cisco Nexus 56128P Unified Port Expansion Module