Cisco Nexus 2248PQ User Manual

Data Sheet

Cisco Nexus 2000 Series Fabric Extenders

Product Overview

The Cisco Nexus

2000 Series Fabric Extenders comprise a category of data center products designed to simplify

data center access architecture and operations. The Cisco Nexus 2000 Series uses the Cisco

fabric extender

architecture to provide a highly scalable unified server-access platform across a range of 100 Megabit Ethernet, 1

and 10 Gigabit Ethernet, unified fabric, copper and fiber connectivity, and rack and blade server environments. The

platform is well suited to support today’s traditional 1 Gigabit Ethernet environments while allowing transparent

migration to 10 Gigabit Ethernet, virtual machine-aware unified fabric technologies.

The Cisco Nexus 2000 Series Fabric Extenders behave like remote line cards for a parent Cisco Nexus switch.

The fabric extenders are essentially extensions of the parent Cisco Nexus switch fabric, with the fabric extenders

and the parent switch together forming a distributed modular system. This architecture enables physical topologies

with the flexibility and benefits of both top-of-rack (ToR) and end-of-row (EoR) deployments (Figure 1).

Figure 1. Cisco Nexus 2000 Series Fabric Extenders Provide Highly Scalable Unified Server-Access Connectivity

The Cisco Nexus 2000 Series architecture provides the following benefits:

●

Architecture flexibility: A common, scalable, and adaptive architecture across data center racks and points

of delivery (PoDs)

supports various server options, connectivity options, physical topologies, and evolving

needs.

●

Highly scalable server access: 1 and 10 Gigabit Ethernet server access is scalable, with no reliance on

Spanning Tree Protocol.

●

Simplified operations: One single point of management and policy enforcement using upstream Cisco

Nexus switches eases the commissioning and decommissioning of server racks through zero-touch

installation and automatic configuration of fabric extenders.

●

Increased business benefits: Consolidation, cabling reduction, rack-space reduction, reduced power and

cooling, investment protection through feature inheritance from the parent switch, and the capability to add

functions without the need for a major equipment upgrade of server-attached infrastructure all contribute to

reduced operating expenses (OpEx) and capital expenditures (CapEx).

The Cisco Nexus 2000 Series design aligns with that of servers. It offers front-to-back cooling, compatible with data

center hot-aisle and cold-aisle designs, all switch ports at the rear of the unit in close proximity to server ports, and

all user-serviceable components accessible from the front panel. It also offers back-to-front cooling, with switch

ports in front of the chassis, aligned with the cold aisle, for optimized cabling in network racks. The Cisco Nexus

2000 Series is built for nonstop operation, with redundant hot-swappable power supplies and a hot-swappable fan

tray with redundant fans. Its compact 1-rack-unit (1RU) form factor takes up relatively little space, making it easy to

incorporate into rack designs. The fabric extenders are available in several models to provide speed, connectivity,

and port-density options (Figure 2).

Figure 2. Cisco Nexus 2000 Series Fabric Extenders from Bottom Right to Top Left: Cisco Nexus 2224TP GE, 2248TP GE,

2248TP-E GE, 2232TM 10GE, 2232TM-E 10GE, 2232PP 10GE, and 2248PQ 10GE; Cost-Effective Fabric Extender

Transceivers for Cisco Nexus 2000 Series and Cisco Nexus Parent Switch Interconnect Are in Front of the Fabric

Extenders

The Cisco Nexus 2000 Series provides two types of ports: ports for end-host attachment (host interfaces) and

uplink ports (fabric interfaces). Fabric interfaces, differentiated with a yellow color, are for connectivity to the

upstream parent Cisco Nexus switch.

A PoD is a module or group of network, computing, storage, and application components that work together to deliver a network

service. The PoD is a repeatable pattern, and its components increase the modularity, scalability, and manageability of data

centers.

Table 1 lists the Cisco Nexus 2000 Series Fabric Extenders. Fabric extenders can be mixed and matched to a

parent switch to provide connectivity options.

Table 1. Cisco Nexus 2000 Series Fabric Extenders

Fabric Extender

Description

Cisco Nexus 2148T

48t 1000BASE-T host interfaces and 4 x 10 Gigabit Ethernet fabric interfaces (Enhanced Small Form-Factor

Pluggable [SFP+])

Cisco Nexus 2224TP GE

24 x 100/1000BASE-T host interfaces and 2 x10 Gigabit Ethernet fabric interfaces (Enhanced Small Form-

Factor Pluggable [SFP+])

Cisco Nexus 2248TP GE

48 x 100/1000BASE-T host interfaces and 4 x 10 Gigabit Ethernet fabric interfaces (SFP+)

Cisco Nexus 2248TP-E

48 x 100/1000BASE-T host interfaces and 4 x 10 Gigabit Ethernet fabric interfaces (SFP+)

Cisco Nexus 2232PP 10GE

32 x 1/10 Gigabit Ethernet and Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) host interfaces (SFP+) and 8 x 10 Gigabit

Ethernet and FCoE fabric interfaces (SFP+)

Cisco Nexus 2248PQ 10GE

48 x 1/10 Gigabit Ethernet and FCoE host interfaces (SFP+) and 4 Quad SFP+ (QSFP+) Gigabit Ethernet and

FCoE fabric interfaces (QSFP+)

Cisco Nexus 2232TM 10GE

32 x 1/10GBASE-T host interfaces and uplink modules (8 x 10 Gigabit Ethernet fabric interfaces [SFP+])

Cisco Nexus 2232TM-E 10GE

32 x 1/10GBASE-T host interfaces and uplink modules (8 x 10 Gigabit Ethernet fabric interfaces [SFP+]); FCoE

support up to 30m with Category 6a and 7 cables

The Cisco Nexus 2248TP-E (Figure 3) is a general-purpose 1 Gigabit Ethernet fabric extender with enhancements

that target workloads such as large-volume databases, distributed storage, and video editing. Like the Cisco Nexus

2248TP, the Cisco Nexus 2248TP-E supports 48 x 100/1000BASE-T host-facing ports and four 10 Gigabit

Ethernet fabric interfaces. It also supports 32-MB shared buffers.

Figure 3. Cisco Nexus N2248TP-E

The Cisco Nexus 2248PQ 10 Gigabit Ethernet fabric extender (Figure 4) is the newest member of the Cisco Nexus

fabric extenders. It supports high-density 10 Gigabit Ethernet environments and has 48 x 1 and 10 Gigabit Ethernet

SFP+ host ports and 4 QSFP+ fabric ports (16 x 10 Gigabit Ethernet fabric ports). QSFP+ connectivity simplifies

cabling while lowering power and solution cost. The Cisco Nexus 2248PQ 10GE Fabric Extender supports FCoE

and a set of network technologies known collectively as Data Center Bridging (DCB) that increase the reliability,

efficiency, and scalability of Ethernet networks. These features allow support for multiple traffic classes over a

lossless Ethernet fabric, thus enabling consolidation of LAN, SAN, and cluster environments.

Figure 4. Cisco Nexus N2248PQ

The Cisco Nexus 2232PP 1 and 10 Gigabit Ethernet fabric extender (Figure 5) is an excellent platform for

migration from 1 Gigabit Ethernet to 10 Gigabit Ethernet and unified fabric environments. It supports FCoE and

DCB.

Figure 5. Cisco Nexus N2232PP

The Cisco Nexus 2232TM-E fabric extender (Figure 6) supports scalable 1/10GBASE-T environments, ease of

migration from 1GBASE-T to 10GBASE-T, and effective reuse of existing structured cabling. It comes with an

uplink module that supports eight 10 Gigabit Ethernet fabric interfaces. It is a superset of the Cisco Nexus 2232TM

with the latest generation of 10GBASE-T PHY, enabling lower power and improved bit error rate (BER). The Cisco

Nexus 2232TM-E supports DCB and LAN and SAN consolidation. FCoE support distances of up to 30 meters with

Category 6a and 7 cables from the adapter to the fabric extender.

Figure 6. Cisco Nexus N2232TM-E

Cisco Nexus 2000 Series Fabric Extenders connect to a parent Cisco Nexus switch through their fabric links using

CX1 copper cable, short-reach or long-reach optics, and the cost-effective Cisco Fabric Extender Transceivers.

Fabric Extender Transceivers are optical transceivers that provide a highly cost-effective solution for connecting

the fabric extender to its parent switch over OM3 or OM4 multimode fiber.

The fabric extenders behave like remote line cards for a parent Cisco Nexus 5000, 6000, or 7000 Series Switch.

Working in conjunction with Cisco Nexus switches, the fabric extenders extend the capabilities and benefits offered

by the parent Cisco Nexus switch while providing flexible, scalable, and cost-effective server access. Table 2

summarizes the Cisco Nexus 2000 Series parent switch support matrix.

Table 2. Cisco Nexus Fabric Extender Parent Switch Support Matrix

Cisco Nexus Parent

Switch

Cisco Nexus 5000 Series

Cisco Nexus 6000 Series

Cisco Nexus 7000 Series

Cisco Nexus 9000 Series

Cisco Nexus Fabric

Extender Models

●

Cisco Nexus 2224TP

●

Cisco Nexus 2248TP

●

Cisco Nexus 2248TP-E

●

Cisco Nexus 2232PP

●

Cisco Nexus 2248PQ

●

Cisco Nexus 2232TM

●

Cisco Nexus 2232TM-E

●

Cisco Nexus 2224TP

●

Cisco Nexus 2248TP

●

Cisco Nexus 2248TP-E

●

Cisco Nexus 2232PP

●

Cisco Nexus 2248PQ

●

Cisco Nexus 2232TM

●

Cisco Nexus 2232TM-E

●

Cisco Nexus 2224TP

●

Cisco Nexus 2248TP

●

Cisco Nexus 2248TP-E

●

Cisco Nexus 2232PP

●

Cisco Nexus 2248PQ

●

Cisco Nexus 2232TM

●

Cisco Nexus 2232TM-E

●

Cisco Nexus 2224TP

●

Cisco Nexus 2248TP

●

Cisco Nexus 2248TP-E

●

Cisco Nexus 2232PP

●

Cisco Nexus 2248PQ

●

Cisco Nexus 2232TM

●

Cisco Nexus 2232TM-E

Cisco Nexus Parent

Model

●

Cisco Nexus 5010P or

5020P Switch

●

Cisco Nexus 5548P

Switch

●

Cisco Nexus 5548UP

Switch

●

Cisco Nexus 5596UP

Switch

●

Cisco Nexus 6001P

Switch

●

Cisco Nexus 6001T

Switch

●

Cisco Nexus 6004EF

Switch

●

Cisco Nexus 7000

Series 32-port 10

Gigabit Ethernet SFP+

I/O module

(N7K-M132XP-12)

●

Cisco Nexus 7000

Series 32-port 10

Gigabit Ethernet (XL)

SFP+ I/O module (N7K-

●

Cisco Nexus 9372PX

Switch

●

Cisco Nexus 9396PX

Switch

●

Cisco Nexus 9564PX

I/O module

●

Cisco Nexus 9464PX

I/O module

Cisco Nexus Parent

Switch

●

Cisco Nexus 5596T

Switch

●

Cisco Nexus 5672UP

Switch

●

Cisco Nexus 56128P

Switch

●

Cisco Nexus 5696Q

Switch

●

Cisco Nexus 5648Q

Switch

●

Cisco Nexus 5624Q

Switch

M132XP-12L)

●

Cisco Nexus 7000

Series line-rate 48-port

1/10 Gigabit Ethernet,

SFP/SFP+ I/O module

(N7K-F248XP-25)

●

Cisco Nexus 7000

Series 24-port 10

Gigabit Ethernet SFP+

I/O module

(N7K-M224XP-23L)

●

Cisco Nexus 7000

Series 6-port 40 Gigabit

Ethernet QSFP+ I/O

module (N7K-M206FQ-

23L)

●

Cisco Nexus 7000

Series enhanced 48-

port 1/10 Gigabit

Ethernet SFP+ I/O

module (N7K-F248XP-

25E)

●

Cisco Nexus 7700

platform 48-port 1/10

Gigabit Ethernet SFP+

I/O module

(N77-F248XP-23E)

●

Cisco Nexus 7000 F3-

Series 48-port 1/10

Gigabit Ethernet SFP+

I/O module

(N7K-F348XP-25)

●

Cisco Nexus 7000 F3-

Series 12-port 40

Gigabit Ethernet QSFP+

I/O module

(N7K-F312FQ-25)

●

Cisco Nexus 7700 F3

Series 48-port 1/10

Gigabit Ethernet SFP+

I/O module

(N77-F348XP-23)

Scalability

●

Up to 24 fabric

extenders per Cisco

Nexus 5600 platform

switch in both Layer 2

and Layer 3

configurations; up to

1152 x 1 Gigabit

Ethernet servers and

1152 x 10 Gigabit

Ethernet servers per

switch

●

Up to 24 fabric

extenders per Cisco

Nexus 5548P, 5548UP,

or 5596UP Switch (16

fabric extenders for

Layer 3 configurations);

up to 1152 x 1 Gigabit

Ethernet servers and

1152 x 10 Gigabit

Ethernet servers per

switch

●

Up to 12 fabric

extenders per Cisco

Nexus 5010P and

5020P Switch: up to 576

x 1 Gigabit Ethernet

servers and 384 x 10

Gigabit Ethernet servers

per switch

●

Up to 48 fabric

extenders in Layer 2

configurations and up to

24 fabric extenders in

Layer 3 configurations;

up to 2304 x 1 Gigabit

Ethernet servers and

2304 x 10 Gigabit

Ethernet servers per

switch

●

Up to 64 fabric

extenders per Cisco

Nexus 7000 Series

Switch with Cisco Nexus

7000 Series Supervisor

2E Module and Cisco

NX-OS Software

Release 6.2

●

Up to 15 fabric

extenders in active-

active mode per Cisco

Nexus 7000 Series

Switch with Cisco Nexus

7000 Series Supervisor

2E Module and Cisco

NX-OS Software

Release 7.2.0D1(1).

●

Up to 3072 x 1 Gigabit

Ethernet and 3072 x 10

Gigabit Ethernet servers

per Cisco Nexus 7000

Series Switch with Cisco

Nexus 7000 Series

Supervisor 2E Module

and Cisco NX-OS

Software Release 6.2

●

Up to 16 fabric

extenders per Cisco

Nexus 9300 or 9500

platform switch with

Cisco NX-OS Software

Release 7.0(3)I1(2)

2248PQ is not supported on 5010/5020

Benefits

Architecture Flexibility

●

Unified server access architecture: The Cisco Nexus 2000 Series offers a highly cost-effective access-layer

architecture for 100 Megabit Ethernet, Gigabit Ethernet, 10 Gigabit Ethernet, mixed Gigabit Ethernet, and

10 Gigabit Ethernet servers; Ethernet or unified fabrics; physical or virtual servers; and rack or blade server

environments.

●

Flexible physical topologies: The Cisco Nexus 2000 Series architecture allows the Layer 1 and 2 topologies

to be decoupled, therefore providing flexibility in physical architecture designs, including ToR, middle-of-row

(MoR), and EoR deployments, while allowing quick expansion of network capacity and remote line-card

portability across multiple parent switches. It is also space optimized for all these architectures.

Highly Scalable Access Layer

Today’s data centers must have massive scalability to manage the combination of an increasing number of servers

and a higher demand for bandwidth from each server. The Cisco Nexus 2000 Series increases the scalability of the

access layer to accommodate both sets of demands without increasing management points within the network.

●

Massive scalability: A deployment of Cisco Nexus 2000 Series Fabric Extenders connected to a Cisco

Nexus 5000, 6000, or 7000 Series Switch supports highly scalable 1 and 10 Gigabit Ethernet environments,

as shown in Table 2.

●

Layer 2 scalability: Reliance on Spanning Tree Protocol is eliminated between the fabric extender and the

parent switch, thus enabling a large, multipath, loop-free topology. Use of a single management entity to

support a large server domain allows policy to be enforced more efficiently and enhances Layer 2 data

center access scalability. Use of the virtual PortChannel (vPC) feature also allows fast convergence and

effective use of bandwidth in Layer 2 environments.

Simplified Operations

●

Single point of management: The Cisco Nexus 2000 Series Fabric Extenders are remote line cards for a

Cisco Nexus parent switch. All device configurations are managed on the parent switch, and configuration

information is downloaded to the fabric extender using in-band communication.

●

Software maintenance simplification: The Cisco Nexus 2000 Series software is embedded in the Cisco

Nexus parent switch software. The fabric extender is a ready-to-use device that automatically downloads

the software image from the parent switch in the same way that a line card downloads software from the

supervisor engine in a modular chassis. In-Service Software Upgrade (ISSU) on the fabric extenders

provides the capability to perform transparent software upgrades, reducing downtime and allowing

customers to integrate the newest features and functions with little or no negative effect on network

operation for Ethernet, storage, and converged network environments.

●

Switch feature consistency across a large number of servers: The Cisco Nexus 2000 Series forwards all

traffic to the parent Cisco Nexus switch over 10 Gigabit Ethernet fabric uplinks. Passing all traffic to the

parent switch allows traffic to be shaped according to policies established on the parent switch with a single

point of management. Standardizing on the Cisco Nexus switches allows data centers to support the same

switch features across the entire access layer with a single point of management.

●

Tenfold reduction in management points: The number of management points is significantly less than when

discrete switches are used at the top of the rack. A traditional 12-rack design using a discrete, redundant

pair of Gigabit Ethernet switches at the top of each rack has 24 management points. The equivalent

architecture using the Cisco Nexus 2000 Series has only 2 management points: a tenfold reduction in

management complexity.

Business Benefits

●

Cost-effective 10 Gigabit Ethernet solution: The Cisco Nexus 2000 Series is an excellent platform for

migration from 1 Gigabit Ethernet to 10 Gigabit Ethernet. Scalable 10 Gigabit Ethernet provides 10 times

the bandwidth for approximately twice the price of Gigabit Ethernet.

●

Consolidation: The Cisco Nexus 2000 Series protects an organization’s investment into the future,

supporting evolving data center needs by providing an easy migration path to low-latency 10 Gigabit

Ethernet, high-performance computing (HPC), virtual machine-aware networks. In addition, the combination

of the Cisco Nexus 5000 or 6000 Series and Cisco Nexus 2232PP or 2248PQ provides a unified network

fabric that supports LAN and SAN consolidation. Another benefit of the Cisco Nexus 2000 Series

architecture is the capability to collapse data center access and aggregation layers into one single layer.

●

Investment protection: The Cisco Nexus 2000 Series Fabric Extenders can be mixed and matched with a

common parent Cisco Nexus switch. New functions can be derived from upstream Cisco Nexus switches,

resulting in the capability to add new functions without the need for a major equipment upgrade.

●

Rack-space reduction: The Cisco Nexus 2000 Series consists of 1RU fabric extenders. The fabric

extenders are not physically constrained by the position of the Cisco Nexus parent switch in the physical

topology and are attached to the upstream Cisco Nexus switch through fabric links.

●

Cabling reduction with optimal intra- and inter-rack cabling options: The Cisco Nexus 2000 Series supports

ToR, EoR, and MoR deployment models. Placing the fabric extender at the top of the rack allows the use of

short cables from the rack to the servers, reducing cable costs, air dams, complexity, and opportunities for

error. The only inter-rack cabling required is for uplinks from the fabric extender to the parent switch.

Placing the parent Cisco Nexus switch at the end or middle of a row of racks makes efficient use of powerful

switching resources.

●

The Cisco Nexus 2000 Series supports an optimal cabling strategy that simplifies network operations and

prepares for future technologies:

◦ Short intra-rack runs of copper: Intra-rack cables connecting to Gigabit Ethernet servers can be Category

5e, 6, 6a, or 7 with the Cisco Nexus 2148T, 2224TP, 2248TP, and 2248TP-E fabric extenders. Category

6, 6a, or 7 can connect 10GBASE-T servers to the Cisco Nexus 2232TM and 2232TM-E. Twinax cables

connect servers to ToR Cisco Nexus 2232PP fabric extenders. This model allows server racks and PoDs

to be preconfigured by server vendors so that they can be rolled into place and put into service upon

arrival.

◦ Longer inter-rack horizontal runs of fiber: Cisco Nexus 2000 Series Fabric Extenders in each rack are

connected to parent switches that are placed at the end or middle of the row. For long reach between the

fabric extender and the parent switch, you can use Fabric Extender Transceiver, SFP+ short-reach (SR),

SFP+ long-reach (LR) optics over OM2 or OM3 cables, and QSFP+ optics for 40-Gbps connectivity.

Fiber protects investments into the future because it will support upcoming Ethernet standards, including

40 and 100 Gigabit Ethernet. If the distance to the Cisco Nexus 5000, 6000, or 7000 Series Switch is

less than 10 meters, you can use Twinax cables (CX1 direct attach). Alternatively, you can use copper

cables to reach EoR or MoR 1GBASE-T or 10GBASE-T fabric extenders.

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