Ready to Upgrade Your Network Switches? Let's Compare Cisco's Best
Ready to Upgrade Your Network Switches? Let's Compare Cisco's Best
When it comes to core switching in large environments, the right switch can make all the difference. But with so many options on the market, how do you choose? Today, we'll be taking a closer look at four of Cisco's top contenders: the Nexus 9500, Nexus 7700, Nexus 7000, and Catalyst 6800.
Now, we know what you're thinking - why compare Nexus with Catalyst? While it's true that they're not an apples-to-apples comparison, we've seen Nexus devices used more and more frequently in campus settings as a core device. So, let's dive into the feature differences and capabilities of each and see which one might be the right fit for your organization.
 |
| Fig 1.1- Cisco Catalyst and Nexus Devices |
Cisco Nexus 9500: This powerhouse switch offers up to 1728 50-Gbps or 288 100-Gbps line-rate Layer 2 and Layer 3 Ethernet ports. It also boasts high density, low latency, and the ability to handle massive amounts of traffic with ease. If your organization requires a switch that can handle extreme workloads, the Nexus 9500 is definitely worth considering.
Cisco Nexus 7700: Another top contender, the Nexus 7700 offers up to 768 40-Gbps or 384 100-Gbps ports. It's designed with a modular architecture, making it easy to upgrade and scale as your organization grows. Plus, it offers advanced security features like network segmentation and policy-based security. If security is a top priority, the Nexus 7700 is a great choice.
Cisco Nexus 7000: The Nexus 7000 offers up to 768 10-Gbps or 192 40-Gbps ports. It's built with a high-speed fabric that enables the switch to handle large data flows with ease. It's also designed with a virtualization-friendly architecture, making it a great choice for organizations that rely heavily on virtualization technologies.
Cisco Catalyst 6800: The Catalyst 6800 is a reliable and versatile switch that offers up to 880 10-Gbps or 440 40-Gbps ports. It's designed with a modular architecture that allows for easy upgrades and maintenance. Plus, it offers advanced features like intelligent traffic management and application visibility and control. If you're looking for a switch that's both reliable and flexible, the Catalyst 6800 is a great choice.
It's worth noting that some of these switches, like the Catalyst 6500, have reached their End of Life. And even the Catalyst 6800 is on the verge of retiring after a successful run. So, if you're in the market for a new switch, it's important to choose one that can handle the demands of today's networks - and tomorrow's, too.
Here is the detailed comparison on these devices
|
Component/Feature |
Catalyst 6800 |
Nexus 7000 |
Nexus 7700 |
Nexus 9500 |
|
Slot Numbers |
7 |
4,9,10,18 |
2,6,10,18 |
4,8,16 |
|
Max System Capacity |
6.16 Tbps |
17.6 Tbps |
42 Tbps |
60 Tbps |
|
Per Slot Capacity |
220-880G |
230-550G |
1.32T |
3.84T |
|
Max 1G Density |
246 (48P x 5 + 6) |
768 |
768 |
2304 |
|
Line Rate 1G Density |
246 (48P x 5 + 6) |
768 |
768 |
2304 |
|
Max 10G Density |
164 (32P x 5 + 4) |
768 (48p * 16) |
768 (48p * 16) |
2304 |
|
Line Rate 10G Density |
84 (16P x 5 + 4) |
768 (48p * 16) |
768 (48p * 16) |
2304 |
|
Max 40G Density |
40 (8P x 5) |
192 |
384 |
576 |
|
Line Rate 40G Density |
20 (4P x 5) |
192 |
384 |
576 |
|
Max 100G Density |
CC** |
96 |
192 |
128 |
|
Line Rate 100G Density |
CC** |
96 |
192 |
128 |
|
Air Flow |
S2S (X) |
S2B, S2S, F2B |
F2B |
F2B |
|
Power Supply |
3KW AC |
3,6,7.5KW AC/DC |
3KW AC/DC |
3KW AC |
|
PS Redundancy |
N+1 (up to 4) |
N+1, Grid |
N+1, Grid |
N+1 (up to 10) |
|
Controller Type |
Sup2T |
Sup1, Sup2, Sup2E |
Sup2E |
Sup-A, Sup-B |
|
CPU Speed & Type |
Sup2T: 1.5Ghz PPC |
Sup2: 2.1Ghz Intel |
Sup2E: 2 x 2.1Ghz Intel |
SUP-A: 4 x 1.8GHz Intel |
|
Sup6T (EC): 2.5Ghz Intel |
Sup2E: 2 x 2.1Ghz Intel |
|
SUP-B: 6 x 2.4GHz Intel |
|
|
DRAM Size & Type |
Sup2T: 4GB DDR2 |
Sup2: 12GB DDR2 |
Sup2E: 32GB DDR2 |
SUP-A: 16GB |
|
Sup6T: 8GB DDR3 |
Sup2E : 32GB DDR2 |
|
SUP-B: 32GB |
|
|
MAC Table |
128K |
64K (F) , 128K (M) |
64K (F) |
96K |
|
L3 Table (IPv4) |
1M / 256K |
64K (F) , 1M (M) |
64K (F) |
128K IPv4 LPM + 120K IPv4 hosts |
|
L3 Table (IPv6) |
512K / 128K |
32K (F) , 350K (M) |
32K (F) |
30K |
|
L3 Table (MPLS) |
1M / 256K |
64K (F) , 700K (M) |
64K (F) |
Static MPLS |
|
L3 Table (Multicast) |
128K / 64K |
32K |
32K |
32K |
|
Adjacency Table |
1M |
64K (F) , 1M (M) |
64K |
48K |
|
Security ACL Table |
128K / 64K |
16K (F) , 128K (M) |
16K |
60K egress + 8K ingress |
|
QoS ACL Table |
128K / 64K |
16K (F) , 128K (M) |
16K |
60K egress +8K ingress |
|
NetFlow Table |
1M / 128K (per) |
512K (M) , Sampled |
Sampled |
Sampled Flow (256 ports) |
|
Fabric Modules |
up to 2 (integrated) |
up to 5 (rear) |
up to 6 (rear) |
up to 6 (rear) |
|
10/100/1000 TX Cards |
6748-GETX, 6848-TX |
N7K-M148GT-11L |
None |
N9K-X9564TX |
|
6904-40G (CVR-4SFP) |
N7K-F248XT-25E |
|
N9K-X9464TX |
|
|
6800-32P-10G* |
|
|
|
|
|
1G SFP Cards |
6748-SFP, 6848-SFP |
N7K-M148GS-11L |
N77-F248XP-23E |
N9K-X9564PX |
|
6904-40G (CVR-4SFP) |
N7K-F248XP-25 |
N77-F348XP-23 |
N9K-X9464PX |
|
|
6800-32P-10G* |
N7K-F248XP-25E |
|
|
|
|
|
N7K-F348XP-25 |
|
|
|
|
10G SFP Cards |
6704-10G, 6908-10G, 6904-40G (CVR-4SFP) |
N7K-M108X2-12L (X2) |
N77-F248XP-23E |
N9K-X9564PX |
|
6800-32P-10G* |
N7K-M132XP-12L |
N77-F348XP-23 |
N9K-X9464PX |
|
|
|
N7K-M224XP-23L |
|
|
|
|
|
N7K-F248XP-25 |
|
|
|
|
|
N7K-F248XP-25E |
|
|
|
|
|
N7K-F348XP-25 |
|
|
|
|
40G Cards |
6904-40G (CFP-40G) |
N7K-M206FQ-23L |
N77-F324FQ-25 |
N9K-X9636PQ |
|
6800-32P-10G* |
N7K-F312FQ-25 |
|
N9K-X9536PQ |
|
|
(4SFP-QSFP) |
|
|
N9K-X9432PQ |
|
|
100G Cards |
CC** |
N7K-M202CF-22L |
N77-F312CK-26 |
X9408PC-CFP2 |
|
|
N7K-F306CK-25 |
|
|
|
|
Network Analysis |
NAM2, NAM3 |
NAM module, RISE with NAM |
NAM module, RISE with NAM |
None |
|
Wireless Services |
WISM, WISM2 |
None |
None |
None |
|
Firewall / VPN Services |
FWSM, ASA-SM |
None |
None |
None |
|
Load Balance Services |
ACE20, ACE30 |
RISE with Citrix & ITD |
RISE with CItrix & ITD |
ITD |
|
Hardware MAC learning |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
MAC based ACL |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Static MAC Entry |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
PVST (Virtual Ports) |
16K |
Yes (PVST Coexistence) |
Yes (PVST Coexistence) |
Yes |
|
Rapid PVST+ |
16K |
16K |
16K |
22K |
|
MST (Virtual Ports) |
128K |
150K |
150K |
85K |
|
STP Root Primary |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
802.1q Trunking |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
L2 Port Channels |
8 ports |
16/32 ports |
16/32 ports |
32 |
|
PAGP EtherChannel |
512/128 |
No |
No |
No |
|
LACP EtherChannel |
512/128 |
744 |
744 |
280 |
|
Port-Channel LB Hash |
8 bits |
8 bits |
8 bits |
32 bits |
|
IPv4 FIB TCAM |
1M / 256K |
1M (M) / 64K (F) |
64K (F) |
128K |
|
IPv6 FIB TCAM |
512K / 128K |
350K (M) / 32K (F) |
32K (F) |
20K |
|
Dual Stack |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
IPv4 ARP |
100K |
128K / 64K |
64K |
60K |
|
IPv6 ND |
50K |
64K / 32K |
32K |
30K |
|
HSRP (IPv4, IPv6) |
1K |
4K |
4K |
490 |
|
VRRP (IPv4, IPv6) |
1K |
4K |
4K |
250 |
|
GLBP (IPv4, IPv6) |
1K |
1K |
1K |
No |
|
NAT / PAT |
512K / 128K |
No |
No |
NAT support (1023) |
|
ECMP (IPv4, IPv6) |
16 Way |
32 (F) / 16 (M) |
32 |
64 |
|
L3 Interfaces (SVI, Routed, Sub.Int) |
8K |
4K |
4K |
490 |
|
RIPv2 - prefixes / peers |
50K / 250 |
Scale not verified |
Scale not verified |
Scale not verified |
|
RIPng - prefixes / peers |
30K / 250 |
No |
No |
Scale not verified |
|
EIGRP - prefixes / peers |
50K / 300 |
100K / 2K |
100K / 2K |
20k/512 |
|
EIGRPv6 - prefixes / peers |
30K / 250 |
100K / 2K |
100K / 2K |
Scale not verified |
|
OSPFv2 - prefixes / peers |
50K / 300 |
100K / 1K |
100K / 1K |
100K/1K |
|
OSPFv3 - prefixes / peers |
30K / 250 |
50K / 300 |
50K / 300 |
50K/300 |
|
ISIS - prefixes / peers |
50K / 250 |
30K / 300 |
30K / 300 |
10k/255 |
|
ISISv6 - prefixes / peers |
30K / 250 |
30K / 300 |
30K / 300 |
Scale not verified |
|
BGPv4 - prefixes / peers |
1M / 2K |
900K / 2K |
64K / 2K |
28k/2K |
|
BGPv6 - prefixes / peers |
512K / 2K |
350K / 2K |
32K / 2K |
Scale not verified |
|
Static Routes (prefixes) |
512K |
4K |
4K |
1k |
|
IGMPv2 Snooping |
32K |
Yes |
Yes |
32K |
|
IGMPv3 Snooping |
32K |
Yes |
Yes |
32K |
|
PIM Snooping |
32K |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
IPv4 PIM Dense Mode |
30K (250) |
No |
No |
No |
|
IPv4 PIM Sparse Mode |
60K (500) |
32K (1000) |
32K (1000) |
32K |
|
IPv6 PIM Sparse Mode |
30K (500) |
2K (200) |
2K (200) |
Yes in early CY16 |
|
Auto-RP |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
# OIF per Mroute |
250 |
1000 |
1000 |
Scale not verified |
|
Static Mroutes |
32K |
32K |
32K |
Scale not verified |
|
MQC QoS |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
QoS ACL TCAM |
128K / 64K |
128K (M) / 16K (F) |
16K (F) |
3K |
|
Classify – L2, QinQ |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
L2 |
|
Classify – IPv4, IPv6 |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Classify – TCP, UDP, RTP |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Classify – MPLS, VPLS |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Static MPLS |
|
Packet Length, TTL |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Marking – COS, QinQ |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
COS |
|
Marking – DSCP, IPP |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Marking – MPLS EXP |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Static MPLS |
|
COS Mutation |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Access Control |
Hardware |
Hardware |
Hardware |
Hardware |
|
Security ACL TCAM |
192K / 48K |
128K (M) / 16K (F) |
16K (F) |
3K |
|
Router ACL |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
VLAN ACL |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Port ACL |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
3K |
|
User Authentication |
TACACS, RADIUS |
TACACS, RADIUS |
TACACS, RADIUS |
TACACS, RADIUS |
|
User Authorization |
TACACS, RADIUS |
TACACS, RADIUS |
TACACS, RADIUS |
TACACS, RADIUS |
|
User Accounting |
AAA |
AAA |
AAA |
AAA |
|
Router Authentication |
MD5 |
MD5 |
MD5 |
MD5 |
|
802.1x Support |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
|
Port Security |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes in early CY16 |
|
VRF |
4K |
4K |
4K |
1K |
|
VRF Lite |
32 |
4K |
4K |
Yes |
|
IP SLA |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
MPLS |
1M / 256K |
700K / 64K |
64K |
4k |
|
VRF-Aware Services |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
GRE |
1K |
1500 |
1500 |
Yes |
|
GRE ECMP |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Hardware NetFlow |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
sFlow |
|
NetFlow TCAM |
1M / 512K (DFC) |
1M (M) |
None – Sampled only |
N/A |
|
NetFlow Version 5 |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
N/A |
|
NetFlow Version 9 |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
N/A |
|
Console Logging |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Syslogs |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Debugs |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Interface (Port) Statistics |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Internal ASIC Statistics |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
SNMP |
v1,v2,v3 |
v1,v2,v3 |
v1,v2,v3 |
v1,v2,v3 |
|
RMON |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Neighbor Discovery |
CDP,LLDP |
CDP,LLDP |
CDP,LLDP |
CDP,LLDP |
|
SPAN |
16 Tx-only + 2 bidirectional |
12 Uni-directional + 2 Bidirectional |
16 Uni-directional |
Up to 32 |
|
RSPAN / ERSPAN |
Yes |
ERSPAN |
ERSPAN |
ERSPAN |
|
Redundant Controllers |
2 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
|
Redundant Modules |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Redundant Power Supplies |
4 |
3 (7018, 7010 & 7009) 4 (7004) |
4 (7706) , 8 ( 7710), 16 ( 7718) |
10 |
|
Redundant Fans |
1 Tray (4 Fans) |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Midplane/Backplane |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
No (Cooler and lower Power Consumption) |
|
System Controller to offload Tasks |
No |
No |
No |
Yes |
|
OIR Modules |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
OIR Power Supplies |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
OIR Fan-Tray / Fans |
Yes (fantray) |
Yes (fantray) |
Yes (fantray) |
Yes |
|
L2 Forwarding Redundancy |
SSO |
SSO |
SSO |
SSO |
|
L3 Forwarding Redundancy |
NSF, NSR |
NSF, NSR |
NSF, NSR |
NSF, NSR |
|
L2 Multipath |
MEC, FlexLinks |
vPC, FabricPath |
vPC, FabricPath |
vPC, VXLAN |
|
L3 Multipath |
MEC, ECMP |
ECMP |
ECMP |
ECMP |
|
Policy Based Forwarding |
4K |
128K / 16K |
16K |
Yes |
|
VLAN Translation |
1K |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
QinQ VLAN |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
BPDU Guard |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
RootGuard |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
LoopGuard |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
FlexLinks |
Yes |
No |
No |
No |
|
Uni-Direction Link Detection |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Aggressive UDLD |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
VLAN Trunk Protocol (VTP) |
v1,v2,v3 |
v1,v2 (v3 roadmap) |
v1,v2 (v3 roadmap) |
v1, v2 (v3 future) |
|
MRP/MVRP |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
|
Private VLANs |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
L2 Traceroute |
Yes |
Yes (PONG) |
Yes (PONG) |
Yes |
|
IPv4 PBR |
4K |
128K / 16K |
16K |
Yes |
|
IPv6 PBR |
1K |
128K / 16K |
16K |
No |
|
NAT64 |
ASA-SM |
No |
No |
Yes with QinQ |
|
VRF Aware NAT |
Yes |
No |
No |
No |
|
IPv4 WCCP |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
ITD |
|
IPv6 WCCP |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
ITD |
|
TCP Intercept |
Yes |
No |
No |
No |
|
BFD - Sub-Second (# of sessions per system) |
120 |
2000 |
2000 |
Yes |
|
BFD for SVI |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
BFD for Port-channel |
Yes (single session) |
Yes (single and per-link sessions) |
Yes (single and per-link sessions) |
Yes |
|
BFD for Static Route |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
BGP 4-Byte ASN |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
EIGRP Wide Metrics |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
DHCP, DHCP Relay (clients) |
12K |
50K Relay Yes, Server No |
50K Relay Yes, Server No |
Yes |
|
ARP , DAI Snooping |
8K |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
IP Source Guard |
8K |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
IPv4 PIM SSM (routes / peers) |
60K / 500 |
32K / 500 |
32K / 500 |
Yes |
|
IPv6 PIM SSM (routes / peers) |
30K / 500 |
2K / 200 |
2K / 200 |
Yes in early CY16 |
|
IPv4 Bidirectional PIM (routes / peers) |
30K / 500 |
32K / 500 |
32K / 500 |
2500 |
|
IPv4 Multicast SSO |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
IPv6 Multicast SSO |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
|
Multicast Load-Splitting (*,G) |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Multicast Load-Splitting (S,G) |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
FHRP-Aware PIM |
Yes |
No |
No |
No |
|
PIM BFD |
Yes* |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
PIM Register in Hardware |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
PIM SPT Switchover (Dual-RPF) in Hardware |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Multicast Call Admission Control (CAC) |
Yes |
No |
No |
Yes |
|
Multicast QoS – Ingress, Egress |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Multicast ACL – Ingress, Egress |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
|
Hierarchical QoS |
Yes |
No |
No |
No |
|
Per Queue Traffic Shaping |
2 Level |
Yes (SRR) |
Yes (SRR) |
Yes |
|
Per Port Traffic Shaping |
2 Level |
No |
No |
No |
|
Aggregate Policing - Ingress |
6K |
Yes |
Yes |
Ingress policing |
|
Aggregate Policing - Egress |
6K |
Yes |
Yes |
Egress Policing on Uplink only T2 |
|
Packet Based Policing |
Yes |
No |
No |
Yes |
|
Byte Based Policing |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
QoS Metadata |
Yes |
No |
No |
No |
|
Backplane Queuing |
DSCP/PFC |
CoS |
CoS |
System QoS/PFC |
|
Buffering Capability |
Per Port |
Per Port and / or per port-group |
Per Port and / or per port-group |
4K ingress, 1K egress per T2 |
|
Buffering Capacity - Ingress |
1.2MB per 10G Port |
Varies |
Varies |
N/A |
|
Buffering Capacity - Egress |
24MB per 10G Port |
Varies |
Varies |
12MB on T2, 40MB on NS, 25 MB on Donner (shared) |
|
Queues Per Port - Ingress |
8 Queues |
4 (F) / 8 (M) |
4 |
QoS Support for 8q Mode |
|
Queues Per Port - Egress |
8 Queues |
4 (F) / 8 (M) |
8 |
8 or 4 |
|
Buffer Reallocation |
Performance Mode |
Shared Buffer (6.2.10) |
Shared Buffer (6.2.10) |
Dynamic |
|
Strict Priority Queuing |
1p7q4t |
Yes (structure varies) |
Yes (structure varies) |
1 |
|
Dual Strict Priority Queuing |
2p6q4t |
Yes (F cards, structure varies) |
Yes (F cards, structure varies) |
Up to 3 |
|
Microflow DSCP Queuing |
Yes |
No |
No |
No |
|
Ingress Tail-Drop, WRED Thresholds |
Yes |
Yes (M) |
No |
No |
|
Egress Tail-Drop, WRED Thresholds |
Yes |
Yes (M) |
No |
Yes |
|
MAC ACL |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
ACL Hitless Update |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
DoS Protection |
CoPP |
CoPP |
CoPP |
CoPP |
|
Hardware Rate-Limiters |
L3: 31, L2: 26 |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Per Protocol Drop |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
DHCP Snooping |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Cisco Trust Security (CTS) |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
|
Security Group Tagging |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
|
SGACL (RBACL) |
32K |
128K / 16K |
16K |
No, EPG |
|
L3 SGT Transport (L3TF) |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
No, EPG |
|
SGT Exchange (SXP) |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
|
MACSEC Encryption |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes in Q4CY16 |
|
IPSEC Encryption |
ASA-SM |
No |
No |
No |
|
LISP – L3 |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
|
LISP – L2 |
ASM* |
No |
No |
No |
|
OTV (L2 over L3) |
No! |
Yes |
Yes |
No (using VXLAN for DCI) |
|
VXLAN (L2 over L3) |
No! |
Roadmap – Q4CY14 |
Roadmap – Q4CY14 |
Yes |
|
TRILL (L2 only) |
No! |
No! |
No! |
VXLAN |
|
Fabric Path (L2 only) |
No! |
Yes |
Yes |
VXLAN |
|
MSDP (Anycast) |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Chassis Virtualization |
VSS |
vPC |
vPC |
vPC |
|
L2 Multi-Chassis Link Aggregation |
L2 MEC |
vPC |
vPC |
vPC |
|
L3 Multi-Chassis Link Aggregation |
L3 MEC |
L3 over vPC roadmap (Q4 CY14) |
L3 over vPC roadmap (Q4 CY14) |
vPC |
|
Fabric Extension (FEX) |
Instant Access |
FEX |
FEX |
FEX |
|
FEX Client Scale |
42* |
64 |
64 |
32 |
|
FEX Host Port Scale |
2000* |
3000 |
3000 |
1536 |
|
FEX Stacking |
5* |
No |
No |
No |
|
FEX L2 Ports |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
VDC |
No |
Yes (8) |
Yes (8) |
Roadmap |
|
AutoConfig/Config-Sync |
No |
No |
No |
Yes |
|
HTTP/HTTPS Interface |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
XML/Netconf Interface |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
SDN – OpenFlow |
OF 1.3* |
OF 1.0 & OF 1.3 |
OF 1.0 & OF 1.3 |
OF 1.0 & OF 1.3 |
|
SDN - ONEpk |
Yes* |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
SDN - APIC |
APIC-EM* |
No |
No |
ACI |
|
Embedded Automation |
EEM 4.0 |
EEM |
EEM |
EEM |
|
Scripting Support |
TCL |
TCL, Python |
TCL, Python |
NX-API, Python, TCL, Broadcom Shell |
|
Event Logging |
SEA, OBFL |
OBFL |
OBFL |
Yes |
|
Health Monitoring |
GOLD |
GOLD |
GOLD |
GOLD, HealthScore |
|
Automated Support |
Call Home |
Call Home |
Call Home |
Yes |
|
NX-API |
No |
Yes (roadmap – Q3 CY14) |
Yes (roadmap – Q3 CY14) |
Yes |
|
Configuration Automation |
Macros, Intf Template |
Macros, Port-profile |
Macros, Port-profile |
Macros, ACI |
|
Configuration Rollback |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Onboard Scheduling |
EEM |
EEM, Scheduler |
EEM, Scheduler |
EEM |
|
Object Tracking |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Enhanced Object Tracking |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
AutoQoS |
Yes |
No |
No |
No |
|
Wireshark |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Cisco GUI ACS |
ISE |
ISE |
ISE |
DCNM, Prime |
|
Cross-Chassis Redundancy |
VSS |
vPC |
vPC |
vPC |
|
Cross + Single-Chassis Redundancy |
Quad Sup |
Dual Sup + vPC |
Dual Sup + vPC |
Dual Sup + vPC |
|
L2 Multi-Chassis |
L2 MEC |
vPC |
vPC |
vPC |
|
L3 Multi-Chassis Aggregation |
L3 MEC |
L3 over vPC (7.1 – Q4 CY14) |
L3 over vPC (7.1 – Q4 CY14) |
vPC |
|
Software Upgrade |
ISSU (EFSU) |
ISSU |
ISSU |
ISSU |
|
Hitless (< 200ms) ISSU |
VSS achieves < 200 msec |
0ms |
0ms |
ISSU |
|
Cross-Chassis ISSU |
VSS |
N/A |
N/A |
NA |
|
Remote Chassis ISSU |
FEX |
FEX |
FEX |
FEX |
|
Process Patching |
No |
No |
No |
Yes |
|
Process Restart |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Kernel Stack |
No |
No |
No |
Yes |
|
RPM Package Management/Patching |
No |
No |
No |
Yes |
|
ONIE/PXE Support |
No |
No |
No |
Yes |
|
GuestShell 2.0 |
No |
No |
No |
Yes |
|
Native Puppet/Chef Agents (both in host OS and Guest-Shell) |
No |
No |
No |
Yes |
|
GuestShell 2.0 |
No |
No |
No |
Yes |
|
Segment Routing |
No |
No |
No |
Yes |
|
ITD |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
FCoE NPV |
No |
Yes (F cards) |
Yes (F cards) |
Yes (for X9432, 9464, 9536, 9564, 9636 Line cards) |
