Cisco Nexus 3016 Switch Data Sheet

 

Product overview

The Cisco Nexus^® 3016 Switch (Figure 1) is a 40 Gigabit Ethernet switch platform. It is a high-performance, ultra‑low-latency Ethernet switch providing line-rate Layer 2 and 3 switching in a compact one-Rack-Unit (1RU) form factor. The switch runs the industry-leading Cisco^® NX-OS Software operating system, providing customers with robust features and functions that are widely deployed globally.

The line-rate Layer 2 and 3 switching at ultra-low latencies along with the serialization benefits of 40 Gigabit Ethernet switching make the Cisco Nexus 3016 an ideal switch platform for financial co-locations. This switch supports both forward and reversed airflow schemes with AC and DC power inputs.

Cisco Nexus 3016 Switch

Main benefits

The Cisco Nexus 3016 provides the following main benefits:

●      Ultra-low latency

◦    The Cisco Nexus 3016 delivers ultra-low nominal latency that enables customers to implement high-performance infrastructures for high-frequency trading workloads. Customers can also achieve faster application performance because of the serialization savings from switching at 40 Gigabit Ethernet speeds.

●      Wire-rate Layer 2 and 3 switching on all ports

◦    Layer 2 and 3 switching of up to 1.2 Terabits per second (Tbps) and more than 950 million packets per second (mpps) is provided in a compact 1RU form-factor switch.

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

◦    Virtual PortChannel (vPC) 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.

◦    Power On 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 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.

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

◦    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.

◦    Full 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).

●      Network traffic monitoring with Cisco Nexus Data Broker

◦    Build simple, scalable and cost-effective network tap or Cisco Switched Port Analyzer (SPAN) aggregation for network traffic monitoring and analysis.

Configuration

●      16 fixed 40 Gigabit Ethernet Enhanced Quad Small Form-Factor Pluggable (QSFP+) ports (each QSFP+ port can handle four 10 Gigabit Ethernet connections)

●      Locator LED

●      Dual redundant power supplies

●      Fan tray with redundant fans

●      Two 10/100/1000-Mbps management ports

●      One RS-232 serial console port

●      One USB port

●      Locator LED and button

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

Transceiver and cabling options

The Cisco Nexus 3016 has 16 QSFP+ ports. QSFP+ technology allows smooth transition from 10 to 40 Gigabit Ethernet infrastructure in data centers. Each of the Cisco Nexus 3016 Switch’s QSFP+ ports can operate in either native 40 Gigabit Ethernet mode or 4 x 10 Gigabit Ethernet mode. 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. Connectivity can be established from the QSFP ports to 10 Gigabit Ethernet switches or hosts using a splitter cable that has a QSFP transceiver on one end and four SFP+ transceivers on the other end. Similar capability can be achieved on the fiber solution by using QSFP+ SR4 transceivers on both ends and procuring third-party fiber splitter MPO-to-LC cables. Table 1 lists the QSFP transceiver types supported.

Table 1.        Cisco Nexus 3016 QSFP Transceiver Support Matrix

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 2 summarizes that benefits that Cisco NX-OS offers.

Table 2.        Benefits of Cisco NX-OS Software

Cisco NX-OS Software Packages for Cisco Nexus 3016

The Cisco NX-OS Software packages available with the Cisco Nexus 3016 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 3 summarizes the software packages.

Table 3.        Cisco NX-OS Software Packages Available for Cisco Nexus 3016

Cisco Data Center Network Manager

The Cisco Nexus 3016 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.

Cisco Nexus Data Broker

The Cisco Nexus 3016 Switch with Cisco Nexus Data Broker can be used to build a scalable and cost-effective traffic monitoring infrastructure using network taps and SPAN. This approach replaces the traditional purpose-built matrix switches with one or more OpenFlow-enabled Cisco Nexus switches. You can interconnect these switches to build a scalable tap or SPAN aggregation infrastructure. You also can combine tap and SPAN sources to bring the copy of the production traffic to this tap or SPAN aggregation infrastructure. In addition, you can distribute these sources and traffic monitoring and analysis tools across multiple Cisco Nexus switches. For more details, visit https://www.cisco.com/go/nexusdatabroker.

Product specifications

Table 4 lists the specifications for the Cisco Nexus 3016, Table 5 lists software features, and Table 6 lists management standards and support.

Table 4.        Specifications

Table 5.        Software features

Table 6.        Management and Standards Support

Software requirements

Cisco Nexus 3000 Series Switches are supported by Cisco NX-OS Software Release 5.0 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 7 summarizes regulatory standards compliance for the Cisco Nexus 3000 Series.

Table 7.        Regulatory standards compliance: Safety and EMC

Ordering information

Table 8 provides ordering information for the Cisco Nexus 3016.

Table 8.        Ordering information

Service and Support

Cisco offers a wide range of services to help accelerate your success in deploying and optimizing the Cisco Nexus 3000 Series in your data center. The innovative Cisco Services offerings are delivered through a unique combination of people, processes, tools, and partners and are focused on helping you increase operation efficiency and improve your data center network. Cisco Advanced Services uses an architecture-led approach to help you align your data center infrastructure with your business goals and achieve long-term value. Cisco SMARTnet^® Service helps you resolve mission-critical problems with direct access at any time to Cisco network experts and award-winning resources. With this service, you can take advantage of the Cisco Smart Call Home service capability, which offers proactive diagnostics and real-time alerts on your Cisco Nexus 3000 Series Switches. Spanning the entire network lifecycle, Cisco Services helps increase investment protection, optimize network operations, support migration operations, and strengthen your IT expertise.

Cisco environmental sustainability

Information about Cisco’s environmental sustainability policies and initiatives for our products, solutions, operations, and extended operations or supply chain is provided in the “Environment Sustainability” section of Cisco’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Report.

Reference links to information about key environmental sustainability topics (mentioned in the “Environment Sustainability” section of the CSR Report) are provided in the following table:

Cisco makes the packaging data available for informational purposes only. It may not reflect the most current legal developments, and Cisco does not represent, warrant, or guarantee that it is complete, accurate, or up to date. This information is subject to change without notice.

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For more information

For more information, please visit https://www.cisco.com/go/nexus3000. For information about Cisco Nexus Data Broker, please visit https://www.cisco.com/go/nexusdatabroker.