Nexus 3000 Model Comparison & Licensing Options

The Nexus 3000 switches are part of the Cisco Unified Fabric architecture; they offer high performance and high density at ultra low latency.

Get top-of-rack, Layer 2 and 3 switching

The Cisco Nexus 3000 Series offers low-latency, highly programmable, high-density switches. These compact fixed switches are excellent for general-purpose deployments, high-performance computing (HPC), high-frequency trading (HFT), massively scalable data center (MSDC), and cloud networks.

This product family consists of multiple switch models: the Nexus 3000 Series, Nexus 3100 Series, 3100V Series, 3200 Series and Nexus 3500 switches.

Series Models	Features
3000 Series	Suited for big data, cloud, and virtualization Wire-speed Layer 2 and 3 switching 10/100/1000 Mbps and 1/10-Gbps connectivity
3100 Series	Highly programmable switches Suited for 1/10/40-Gbps densities at line rate 1/10/40-Gbps connectivity
3100V Series	VXLAN routing and enhanced 16-MB buffer space High performance and scalability Suited for large apps, SP hosting, HPC, and cloud
3200 Series	High density and 42-MB buffer MACsec capable and telemetry for top notch security Highly programmable with comprehensive features 10/25/40/50/100-Gbps connectivity
3500 Series	Lowest latency in the industry Comprehensive features, including AlgoBoost Suited for HFT and HPC deployments 1/10/40-Gbps connectivity

Nexus 3000 Model

	Cisco Nexus 3048
VXLAN Capability	No
Openflow Support	Yes
Rack unit (RU)	1
Switching capacity	176 Gbps
Interface Type	48 RJ-45 and 4 SFP+
Maximum 1 GE ports	Up to 48
Maximum 10 GE ports	4
Maximum 40 GE ports	0
Switch latency	2.7 to 7.2 microseconds
Line-rate traffic throughput (both Layer 2 and 3) on all ports	Yes
Redundant and hot-swappable power supply and fans	Yes
Air flow	Front-back and back-front

Compare Nexus 3100 Models

	Cisco Nexus 3132Q/3132Q-X	Cisco Nexus 3164Q	Cisco Nexus 3172PQ	Cisco Nexus 3172TQ	Cisco Nexus 31128PQ
First version of support	7.0(3)I3(1) and later		In 7.0 train, 7.0(3)I2(1) onwards In 6.0 train, 6.0(2)U2(4) onwards	In 7.0 train, 7.0(3)I2(1) onwards In 6.0 train, 6.0(2)U3(1) onwards	7.0(3)I2(1) and later
Virtual extensible LAN (VXLAN) capable	Bridging	Bridging	Bridging	Bridging	Bridging
Openflow support	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Rack unit (RU)	1	2	1	1	2
Switching capacity	2.56 Tbps	5.12 Tbps	1.44 Tbps	1.44 Tbps	2.56 Tbps
Interface-type	32 QSFP+	64 QSFP+	48 SFP+ and 6 QSFP+	48 RJ-45 and 6 Quad Small Form-Factor Pluggable Plus (QSFP+)	96 Small Form Factor Pluggable+ and 8 Quad SFP+ transceivers
Maximum 1 Gigabit Ethernet (GE) ports	29	None	48	48	96
Maximum 10 GE ports	104	256	72	72	96
Maximum 40 GE ports	32	64	6	6

Compare 3100V Models

	Cisco Nexus 31108PC-V	Cisco Nexus 31108TC-V	Cisco Nexus 3132Q-V
First version of support	Cisco NX-OS Release 7.0(3)I4(1) and later	Cisco NX-OS Release 7.0(3)I4(1) and later	Cisco NX-OS Release 7.0(3)I4(1) and later
Virtual extensible LAN (VXLAN) capable	Bridging and Routing	Bridging and Routing	Bridging and Routing
Shared Buffer Space	16 MB	16 MB	16 MB
Openflow support	Yes	Yes	Yes
Rack unit (RU)	1	1	1
Switching capacity	2.16 Tbps	2.16 Tbps	2.56 Tbps
Interface-type	48 SFP 6 QSFP/QSFP28	48 RJ-45 6 QSFP/QSFP28	32 QSFP
Maximum 1 Gigabit Ethernet (GE) ports	48	48	29
Maximum 10 GE ports	72	72	104
Maximum 40 GE ports	6	6	32
Maximum 100 GE ports	6	6	0

Compare Nexus 3200 Models

	Cisco Nexus 3232C	Cisco Nexus 3264Q	Cisco Nexus 3264C-E
First version of support	Cisco NX-OS Release 7.0(3)IX1(2) and 7.0(3)I3(1) and later	Cisco NX-OS Release 7.0(3)IX1(2) and 7.0(3)I3(1) and later	Cisco NX-OS Release 7.0(3)IM7(2)
VXLAN Capability	Bridging	Bridging	Bridging
Openflow Support	Yes	Yes	Yes
Rack unit (RU)	1	2	2
Switching capacity	6.4-Tbps	5.12 Tbps	12.8 Tbps
Interface Type	32 QSFP28	64 QSFP+	64 QSFP28
Maximum 10 GE ports	128	128	128
Maximum 25 GE ports	128	n/a	128
Maximum 40 GE ports	32	64	64
Maximum 50 GE ports	64	n/a	128
Maximum 100 GE ports	32	n/a	64
Switch latency	450ns	515-700ns	450ns
Line-rate traffic throughput (both Layer 2 and 3) on all ports	Yes*	Yes*	Yes*
Redundant and hot-swappable power supply and fans	Yes	Yes	Yes
Air flow	Port-side intake or port-side exhaust	Port-side intake or port-side exhaust	Port-side intake or port-side exhaust

*Packets greater than 250 Bytes

Compare Nexus 3500 Models

	Cisco Nexus 3524-X/XL	Cisco Nexus 3548-X/XL
First version of support	In 6.0 train, 6.0(2)A6(1) and later releases. In 7.0 train, 7.0(3)I7(2) and later releases	7.0(3)I7(3)
Algo Boost-capable (NAT, Active Buffer Monitoring)	Yes	Yes
VXLAN Capable	No	No
Multicast NAT	Yes	Yes
Latency Monitoring	Yes	Yes
System Memory	4 GB for X 16 GB for XL	4 GB for X 16 GB for XL
Openflow support	Yes	Yes
Rack unit (RU)	1	1
Switching capacity	480 Gbps	960 Gbps
Interface-type	24 SFP+	48 SFP+
Maximum 1 GE ports	24 enabled (48 max)	48
Maximum 10 GE ports	24 10G SFP+ ports. Additional 24 ports via license	48
Maximum 40 GE ports	6	12
Switch latency	Sub-250ns	Sub-250ns
Line-rate traffic throughput (both Layer 2 and 3) on all ports	Yes	Yes
Redundant and hot-swappable power supply and fans	Yes	Yes
Air flow	Front-back and back-front	Front-back and back-front

Get the Best Prices on Nexus 3000 Models

Feature-Based Licenses for the Cisco Nexus 3000 Series & 3500 Series Switches

The following table lists the feature-based license packages for the Cisco Nexus 3500 Series switches.

Feature-Based Licenses for the Cisco Nexus 3500 Series Switches

Feature License

Product ID

Features

24 Port License Package

24P_LIC_PKG

N3548-24P-LIC

24-port license for the Cisco Nexus 3548 Series switch.

24 Port Upgrade License Package

24P_UPG_PKG

N3548-24P-UPG

24-port upgrade license for the Cisco Nexus 3548 Series switch.

Layer 3 Base Services Package

LAN_BASE_SERVICES_PKG

N3548-BAS1K9

Layer 3 Base Services Package

EIGRP stub
OSPFv2 (limited routes)
PIMv2 (sparse mode)

Cisco Nexus 3500 Algo Boost License

ALGO_BOOST_SERVICES_PKG

N3548-ALGK9

Cisco Nexus 3500 Algo Boost License

Warp Mode
Warp SPAN
Static NAT

Layer 3 Enterprise Services Package

LAN1K9_ENT_SERVICES_PKG

N3524-LAN1K9

Layer 3 Enterprise Services Package

BGP and VRF-Lite (IP-VPN)

Note

Applies only to the Cisco Nexus 3500 Series switches with 24P_LIC_PKG installed.
Requires Base Services Package.

Layer 3 Enterprise Services Package

LAN_ENTERPRISE_SERVICES_PKG

N3548-LAN1K9

Layer 3 Enterprise Services Package

BGP and VRF-Lite (IP-VPN)

Note

Applies only to the Cisco Nexus 3500 Series switches without 24P_LIC_PKG installed.
Requires Base Services Package.

The following table lists the feature-based license packages for the Cisco Nexus 3000 Series.

Feature-Based Licenses for the Cisco Nexus 3000 Series

Feature License

Product ID

Features

16 Port License Upgrade Package

16P_UPG_PKG

N3K-16T-UPG

16-port upgrade license for Cisco Nexus 3172TQ switches. This is the upgrade license to enable 16 ports, and it can only be applied to N3K-C3172TQ-32T.

32 Port License Package

32P_LIC_PKG

N3K-32X-LIC

Default 32-port license for the Cisco Nexus 3172TQ switches.

16 Port License Upgrade Package

16P_UPG_PKG

N3064T-16T-UPG

16-port upgrade license for Cisco Nexus 3164T switch.

32 Port License Package

32P_LIC_PKG

N3064T-32T-LIC

32-port license for Cisco Nexus 3164T switch.

Layer 3 Base Services Package

LAN_BASE_SERVICES_PKG

N3K-BAS1K9

EIGRP stub
OSPFv2 (limited routes)
PIMv2 (sparse mode)

Note

The Cisco Nexus 3164Q, 31128PQ, 3232C, and 3264Q switches and the Cisco Nexus 3100 Series switches in N9K mode run Cisco Nexus 9000 Series software and follow the Cisco Nexus 9000 license model. Therefore, these switches require the Layer 3 Enterprise Services Package (rather than the Layer 3 Base Services Package) to support routing protocols.

Layer 3 Enterprise Services Package

LAN_ENTERPRISE_SERVICES_PKG

N3K-LAN1K9

BGP
Policy-Based Routing (not supported on the Cisco Nexus 3232C and 3264Q switches)
Generic routing encapsulation (GRE) tunnels

Note

The Layer 3 Base Services Package license is a prerequisite for the Layer 3 Enterprise Services Package license on Cisco Nexus 3000 and 3100 Series switches, except the Cisco Nexus 3164Q, 31128PQ, 3232C, and 3264Q switches and the Cisco Nexus 3100-V Series switches.