Cisco Nexus 3636C-R Switch Data Sheet

Product overview

The Cisco Nexus^® 3636C-R switch is a high-speed, high-density 10-, 25-, 40-, or 100-Gigabit Ethernet (GE) switch designed for the data center spine. The large buffers and routing table sizes of the 3636C-R also make this switch an alternative for a wide range of applications, such as IP storage, demilitarized zone (DMZ), big data, and edge routing. The switch comes in a compact 1-Rack-Unit (1RU) form factor and provides extensive Layer 2 and Layer 3 functions. It is part of the R-Series family and runs industry-leading Cisco^® NX-OS Software.

The comprehensive programmability features enable organizations to run today’s applications while also preparing them for demanding and changing application needs. The Cisco Nexus 3636C-R switch supports both forward and reverse (port-side exhaust and port-side intake) airflow schemes with AC and DC power inputs.

The 3636C-R (Figure 1) is a Quad Small Form-Factor Pluggable (QSFP) switch with 36 QSFP28 ports. Each QSFP28 can operate at 100 or 40 Gigabit Ethernet or in a breakout cable configuration.

Cisco Nexus 3636C-R switch

Main benefits

The Cisco Nexus 3636C-R switch provides:

●     Wire-rate Layer 2 and 3 switching on all ports^* with up to 7.2 Terabits per second (Tbps) and up to 3.34 billion packets per second (bpps).

●     Programmability with support for the Cisco NX-API, Linux containers, XML, and JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) APIs, the OpenStack plug-in, Python, and Puppet and Chef configuration and automation tools.

●     High performance and scalability with an 8-core CPU, 32 GB of DRAM, and 16 GB of dynamic buffer allocation, making the switch excellent for massively scalable data centers and big-data applications.

●     MACSec capability*

●     Higher TCAM capability

●     Flexibility:

◦     Fiber cabling solutions are available for 10-, 25-, 40-, 50-, and 100-Gbps connectivity, including Active Optical Cable (AOC) and Direct-Attached Cable (DAC).

◦     Configurable QSFP28 Uplinks to work as 4 x 25-Gbps or 4 x 10-Gbps port.

●     High availability:

◦     Virtual Port Channel (VPC) technology provides Layer 2 multipathing by eliminating the Spanning Tree Protocol. It also enables fully used bisectional bandwidth and simplified Layer 2 logical topologies without the need to change the existing management and deployment models.

◦     Advanced maintenance capabilities include hot and cold patching and Graceful Insertion and Removal (GIR) mode.

◦     The switch uses hot-swappable Power-Supply Units (PSUs) and fans.

●     NX-OS operating system with comprehensive, proven innovations:

◦     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 the data center.

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

◦     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 3636C-R has the following configuration:

●     36 QSFP28 ports operating at 40 or 100 Gigabit Ethernet

●     8 ports that can be used for MACSec

●     Locator LED

●     Environment LED

●     Status LED

●     Dual redundant power supplies

●     3 redundant fans

●     One 10-, 100-, or 1000-Mbps management port (copper or fiber)

●     One RS-232 serial console port

●     One USB port

Transceiver and cabling options

The Cisco Nexus 3636C-R has 36 QSFP28 ports that support a wide range of speed, from 10- or 25- Gbps with breakout cable.

The Cisco Nexus 3636C-R QSFP28 technology allows a smooth transition from 40- to 100-Gigabit Ethernet infrastructure in data centers. Each of the switch’s QSFP28 ports can operate in native 100- or 40-Gigabit Ethernet mode or 4 x 10 or 4 x 25 Gigabit Ethernet mode.

Please refer to the latest compatibility matrix for information on all supported optics:

●     100-Gigabit Ethernet compatibility matrix: https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/interfaces_modules/transceiver_modules/compatibility/matrix/100GE_Tx_Matrix.html.

●     40-Gigabit Ethernet compatibility matrix: https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/interfaces_modules/transceiver_modules/compatibility/matrix/40GE_Tx_Matrix.html.

●     25-Gigabit Ethernet compatibility matrix: https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/interfaces_modules/transceiver_modules/compatibility/matrix/25GE_Tx_Matrix.html.

●     10-Gigabit Ethernet compatibility matrix: https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/interfaces_modules/transceiver_modules/compatibility/matrix/10GE_Tx_Matrix.html.

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

Cisco NX-OS software benefits

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

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

Table 1 summarizes the benefits that NX-OS offers, and Table 2 lists the NX-OS packages available for the Cisco Nexus 3636C-R switch.

Table 1.        Benefits of Cisco NX-OS Software

Table 2.        Cisco NX-OS Software packages available for Cisco Nexus 3636C-R^*

Product specifications

Table 3 lists the specifications for the Cisco Nexus 3636C-R.

Table 3.        Specifications

Software features

Please refer to the latest release notes for a list of software features supported by the Cisco Nexus 3000 platform: https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/support/switches/nexus-3000-series-switches/products-release-notes-list.html.

Standards

Table 4 lists management standards supported by the Cisco Nexus 3000 platform.

Table 4.           Management and standards support

Regulatory standards compliance

Table 5 summarizes regulatory standards compliance for the Cisco Nexus 3000 platform.

Table 5.        Regulatory standards compliance: Safety and electromagnetic compatibility (EMC)

Ordering information

Table 6 provides ordering information for the Cisco Nexus 3636C-R.

Table 6.        Ordering information

Services and support

Cisco offers a wide range of services to help accelerate your success in deploying and optimizing the Cisco Nexus 3600 platform switches in your data center. The innovative Cisco Services offerings are delivered through a unique combination of people, processes, tools, and partners, and they focus on helping you increase operation efficiency and improve your data center network. Cisco Advanced Services use 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 3600 platform switches. Spanning the entire network lifecycle, Cisco Services help increase investment protection, optimize network operations, support migration operations, and strengthen your IT expertise.

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For more information

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