Verified Scalability for Cisco Nexus 5500 Series NX-OS Release 7.3(0)N1(1)

This chapter contains the following sections:

Overview of Verified Scalability

This document lists the Cisco verified scalability limits.

In the following tables, the Verified Topology column lists the verified scaling capabilities with all listed features enabled at the same time. The numbers listed here exceed those used by most customers in their topologies. The scale numbers listed here are not the maximum verified values if each feature is viewed in isolation.

The Verified Maximum column lists the maximum scale capability tested for the corresponding feature individually. This number is the absolute maximum currently supported by the Cisco NX-OS Release software for the corresponding feature. If the hardware is capable of a higher scale, future software releases may increase this verified maximum limit.

Verified Scalability for a Layer 2 Switching Deployment

This table lists the verified scalability for a Layer 2 switching deployment.

Table 1. Verified Scalability for a Layer 2 Switching Deployment

Feature

Verified Topology

Verified Maximum

Active VLANs/VSANs per switch

4000

4013 (31 are reserved for VSANs and the remaining are for VLANs)

VLAN/VSAN ID Space

4013 Unreserved space

4013 Unreserved space

Logical Interfaces

1

48,000

2

48,000

VLAN ACLs (VACLs)

128 (10 unique VACLs)

1024 (512 unique VACLs with up to 1,024 ACE entries across all VACLs )

QoS enabled interfaces

960

960

Maximum Interfaces per EtherChannel

16

16

IGMP Snooping Groups

4000 (in FEX deployments)

8000 (in non-FEX deployments)

4000 (in FEX deployments)

8000 (in non-FEX deployments)

Maximum FEXs per Cisco Nexus 5500 Series Switch

24

48

Maximum FEXs Dual-homed to a vPC Cisco Nexus 5500 Series Switch Pair

24

24

MAC Table Size (Entries)

25,000 Unicast

4000 Multicast

25,000 Unicast

4000 Multicast

Number of Switchport EtherChannels

48 for the Cisco Nexus 5548 or Nexus 5548UP Switch

48 for the Cisco Nexus 5548 or Nexus 5548UP Switch

96 for the Cisco Nexus 5596 Switch

Number of FEX Port Channels/vPCs (across the maximum number of FEXs)

576

1152

SVIs

2

256

FabricPath VLANs

40003

4000

SPAN Sessions

4 active sessions

32 source VLANs as a RX source

4 active sessions

32 source VLANs as a RX source

FabricPath Switch IDs

500

500

FabricPath Multicast Trees

2

2

Number of FabricPath Topologies

2

2

Number of FabricPath Core Port-Channels

4 core links with 4 ports each

16

FEX Host Interface Storm Control

1152 4

1152

ACL Accounting

32

32

1 Logical interfaces are a product of the number of VLANs times the number of ports. This parameter reflects the load of handling port programming, and is not dependent on the spanning-tree mode or configuration.
2 For the Cisco Nexus 5548 switch, there are no non-edge restrictions.
3 FabricPath VLANs are verified in the unified fabric topology
4 This is the target maximum number that HIF-SC can support. Beyond this number, NIF-SC is recommended for deployment.

Verified Scalability for a Layer 2 Switching and Layer 3 Routing Deployment

This table contains the verified scalability for a Layer 2 switching and Layer 3 routing deployment.


Note
The currently tested values do not provide an indication for the maximum scalability of the control plane. These numbers vary based on the load of the system in terms of routing protocols, timers settings, and other values. Proof of concept testing should be used to determine the scalability of a given feature for your environment.
Table 2. Verified Scalability for a Layer 2 Switching and Layer 3 Routing Deployment

Feature

Verified Topology

Maximum Limits

Active VLANs/VSANs per Switch

1000

4013 (31 are reserved for VSANs)

VLAN/VSAN ID Space

4013 Unreserved space

4013 Unreserved space

STP Instances

16,000

16,000

Maximum Interfaces per EtherChannel

16

16

IGMP Snooping Groups

4000 (in FEX deployments)

8000 (in non-FEX deployments)

4000 (in FEX deployments)

8000 (in non-FEX deployments)

Maximum FEXs per Cisco Nexus 5500 Series Switch

5

16

16

Maximum FEXs Dual-homed to a vPC Switch Pair

6

16

16

MAC Table Size (Entries)

23,400 Unicast entries and 4,000 Multicast entries

23,400 Unicast entries and 4,000 Multicast entries

Number of FEX Port-Channels/vPCs (across the maximum number of FEXs)

470

768

SPAN Sessions

2 active sessions

32 source VLANs as a RX source

4 active sessions

32 source VLANs as a RX source

SVIs

256

256

Dynamic IPv4 Routes

7

7200

8

  • 7200 for the Cisco Nexus 5548 Layer 3 Daughter Card (N55-D160L3(=))

  • 14,400 for the Cisco Nexus 5548 Layer 3 Daughter Card, version 2 (N55-D160L3-V2(=))

Dynamic IPv6 Routes

9

3600

10

  • 3600 for the Cisco Nexus 5548 Layer 3 Daughter Card (N55-D160L3(=))

  • 7200 for the Cisco Nexus 5548 Layer 3 Daughter Card, version 2 (N55-D160L3-V2(=))

Multicast IPv4 Routes

1112

  • 1000 for the Cisco Nexus 5548 Layer 3 Daughter Card (N55-D160L3(=))

  • 2000 for the Cisco Nexus 5548 Layer 3 Daughter Card, version 2 (N55-D160L3-V2(=))

13

  • 4000 for the Cisco Nexus 5548 Layer 3 Daughter Card (N55-D160L3(=))

  • 8000 for the Cisco Nexus 5548 Layer 3 Daughter Card, version 2 (N55-D160L3-V2(=))

ARPs (IPv4 Hosts)

1415

  • 6500 for the Cisco Nexus 5548 Layer 3 Daughter Card (N55-D160L3(=))

  • 6500 for the Cisco Nexus 5548 Layer 3 Daughter Card, version 2 (N55-D160L3-V2(=))

16

  • 8000 for the Cisco Nexus 5548 Layer 3 Daughter Card (N55-D160L3(=))

  • 16,000 for the Cisco Nexus 5548 Layer 3 Daughter Card, version 2 (N55-D160L3-V2(=))

IPv6 Hosts

17

1600

18

  • 4000 for the Cisco Nexus 5548 Layer 3 Daughter Card (N55-D160L3(=))

  • 8000 for the Cisco Nexus 5548 Layer 3 Daughter Card, version 2 (N55-D160L3-V2(=))

VRFs

25

1000

RACLs

62 Ingess RACLs with up to 1,664 ACE entries across all of the RACLs

62 Ingess RACLs with up to 1,664 ACE entries across all of the RACLs

HSRP Groups

254

256

VRRP Groups

254

256

BFD Sessions over L3-intf for CE Mode

8 sessions (250 ms intvl, 750 ms dead-intvl)

32 sessions (250 ms intvl, 750 ms dead-intvl)

BFD Sessions over SVI for FabricPath mode

64 sessions (250 ms intvl, 750 ms dead-intvl)

64 sessions (250 ms intvl, 750 ms dead-intvl)

PBR IPv4

15

15

PBR IPv6

15

15

5 FEXs are verified in the Layer 2 topology.
6 FEXs are verified in the Layer 2 topology.
7 The maximum number of entries that can be supported is 8000. This table is shared between IPv4 and IPv6. An IPv4 route takes up one entry in the table and an IPv6 route takes up two entries.
8 Entries shared between IPv4, IPv6 network routes .
9 The maximum number of entries that can be supported is 8000. This table is shared between IPv4 and IPv6. An IPv4 route takes up one entry in the table and an IPv6 route takes up two entries.
10 Entries shared between IPv4, IPv6 network routes .
11 All numbers are for individual feature scalability.
12 This includes (*,G) entries, (S,G) entries, and the entries required for vPC with bind-vrf configured. When bind-vrf is configured, each (*,G) and (S,G) entry is replicated.
13 Entries shared between IPv4 multicast, IPv4, IPv6 host routes .
14 All numbers are for individual feature scalability.
15 The maximum number of entries the table can support is the sum of LPM entries plus ARP entries plus SVI route entries.
16 Entries shared between IPv4 multicast, IPv4, IPv6 host routes .
17 All numbers are for individual feature scalability.
18 Entries shared between IPv4 multicast, IPv4, IPv6 host routes .

Verified Scalability for Multicast Routing

This table lists the verified scalability for multicast routing.

Table 3. Verified Scalability for Multicast Routing

Feature

Parameter

Verified Maximum

Protocol Independent Multicast (PIM)

Number of neighbors

500

Number of neighbors/total routes per system with aggressive hello timers (5 seconds)

16/4,000

Multicast Source Discovery Protocol (MSDP)

Number of MSDP Source-Active (SA) cache entries

6,000


Note

  • In vPC setup, TCAM exhaustion failure will lead to some routes not getting programmed in the hardware. Hence, there might exist a condition where mrib will show the route exists but mfib may not have it programmed.

  • In bind-vrf configuration, for every mroute, additional mroute is programmed in the hardware and this could lead to TCAM exhaustion. Hence, ensure that the mroute count does not exceed ((max-limit/2) - 4) default routes.

    For example: If the hardware profile multicast max-limit is 8000, then mroute count should not exceed ((8000/2)-4) default routes.

Verified Scalability for Unicast Routing

Guidelines and Limitations for Unicast Routing

  • You can have up to four instances of OSPFv2.

  • You can have up to four instances of OSPFv3.

This table lists the verified scalability for unicast routing.

Table 4. Verified Scalability for Unicast Routing

Feature

Parameter

Verified Maximum

OSPFv2

Number of active interfaces

256

Number of passive interfaces

256

Number of neighbors/total routes with aggressive timers (1 sec/ 3 sec)

16/6,000

OSPFv3

Number of active interfaces

256

Number of passive interfaces

256

EIGRP

Number of active interfaces

50

BGP

Number of peers (iBGP and eBGP, active)

256

Number of AS path entries

512

Number of prefix-list entries in a single prefix-list

10,000

HSRP

Number of groups with aggressive timers (1 sec/3 sec)

500

L3 ISIS

Number of adjacencies

100

Unicast Adjacencies

Number of regular/ECMP adjacencies

8192

Verified Scalability for a Layer 2 Switching and Virtualization (Adapter-FEX or VM-FEX) Deployment

This table lists the verified scalability for a Layer 2 switching and virtualization (Adapter-FEX or VM-FEX) deployment.

Table 5. Scalability Limits for a Layer 2 Switching and Virtualization (Adapter-FEX or VM-FEX) Deployment

Feature

Verified Topology

Verified Maximum

Number of VFCs over Virtual Ethernet Interfaces

40

40

Number of Port Profiles

1,000

1,000

Number of Virtual Machines (VMs) Concurrently not VMotioned

5 VMs with 10 vNICs each

5 VMs with 10 vNICs each

Number of Virtual Ethernet Interfaces Enabled with vNIC Shaping

2,000

2,000

Number of Virtual Ethernet Interfaces Enabled with Untagged CoS

2,000

2,000

Server - Number of Adapters per Server

1

1

Server - Number of vNICs per Server

50

96