Cisco Nexus 2000 Series Fabric Extenders Product Overview The Cisco Nexus 2000 Series Fabric Extenders are a new category of data center products that provide a universal server-access platform that scales across a range of Gigabit Ethernet, 10 Gigabit Ethernet, unified fabric, rack, and blade server environments. The Cisco Nexus 2000 Series Fabric Extenders are designed to simplify data center architecture and operations by meeting the business and application needs of a data center. Working in conjunction with Cisco Nexus switches, the Cisco Nexus 2000 Series Fabric Extenders offer a cost-effective and efficient way to support today s Gigabit Ethernet environments while allowing transparent migration to 10 Gigabit Ethernet, virtual machine-aware unified fabric technologies (Figure 1). Figure 1. Cisco Nexus 2000 Series Fabric Extenders Extend the Capabilities of Cisco Nexus Switches to Gigabit Ethernet, 10 Gigabit Ethernet, and Unified Fabric Environments Data center server deployment is rapidly changing from a server-at-a-time to a rack-at-a-time or point of delivery (PoD)-at-a-time model, where preconfigured server racks are put into service within hours from the time they arrive at the loading dock. Note: A PoD is a module or group of network, compute, 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. The Cisco Nexus 2000 Series Fabric Extenders facilitate the rack-and-roll" deployment paradigm, virtualizing the access layer of the network while reducing total cost of ownership (TCO) by providing the following benefits: Infrastructure flexibility and scalability Common, scalable, and adaptive architecture across data center racks and PoDs that supports various server options and networking topologies 2009 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. This document is Cisco Public Information. Page 1 of 11
Transparent and cost-effective transition path from Gigabit Ethernet to 10 Gigabit Ethernet on the servers, from rack to blade servers and physical to virtual servers Investment protection Capability to add functions without the need for a major equipment upgrade of server-attached infrastructure; that is, data centers can continue to add support for Layer 2, 3, and 4 through 7 functions over time with the same infrastructure Optimal rack-level or PoD-level cabling strategy based on short copper cable runs within racks and horizontal runs over copper and fiber without increased management complexity Simplified operations Ease of commissioning and decommissioning server racks through zero-touch installation and automatic configuration of fabric extenders Optimal horizontal cabling requiring little disruption during provisioning Single point of management and policy enforcement using Cisco Nexus switches Cisco Nexus 2148T Fabric Extender The first product in the Cisco Nexus 2000 Series is the Cisco Nexus 2148T Fabric Extender. The Cisco Nexus 2148T provides 48 Gigabit Ethernet (1000BASE-T) server ports and four 10 Gigabit Ethernet uplink ports in a compact onerack-unit (1RU) form factor. Designed with architecture to provide the benefits of both top-of-rack and end-of-row configurations, the Cisco Nexus 2148T offers front-to-back cooling compatible with data center hot-aisle and coldaisle 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 (Figure 2). Figure 2. Cisco Nexus 2148T Fabric Extender Provides 48 Gigabit Ethernet (1000BASE-T) Server Ports in a Compact 1RU Chassis The Cisco Nexus 2148T forwards all traffic to parent Cisco Nexus 5000 Series Switches over 10 Gigabit Ethernet uplinks. Depending on the number of server ports and uplinks used, the Cisco Nexus 2148T can support oversubscription ratios ranging from 1:1 to 4.8:1. Passing all traffic to the parent switch allows all traffic to be shaped according to policies established on the Cisco Nexus 5000 Series Switch with a single point of management. The Cisco Nexus 2148T design is aligned with that of the Cisco Nexus 5000 Series Switches: front-to-back cooling, redundant power, hot-swappable fan trays, switch ports at the rear of the unit for close proximity to the servers they support, and a compact 1RU form factor. The Cisco Nexus 2148T provides 48 Gigabit Ethernet ports supporting 1GBASE-T through RJ-45 connectors. It provides four 10 Gigabit Ethernet uplinks through Small Form-Factor Pluggable Plus (SFP+) ports using short-range fiber or low-cost, low-latency Twinax (CX1 direct attach) cables. The Cisco Nexus 2000 Series supports a remarkably straightforward switching and cabling strategy that simplifies network operations and prepares for future networking technologies while supporting an architecture based on single racks or multirack PoDs: Short intrarack runs of copper cable connect servers to top-of-rack Cisco Nexus 2000 Series Fabric Extenders. This model allows server racks and PoDs to be preconfigured by server vendors so they can be rolled into place and put into service upon arrival. 2009 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. This document is Cisco Public Information. Page 2 of 11
Longer horizontal runs of fiber or shorter horizontal runs of 10 Gigabit Ethernet SFP+ Twinax cables (CX1 direct attach) connect Cisco Nexus 2000 Series Fabric Extenders in each rack to access-layer Cisco Nexus 5000 Series Switches that are placed at the end or middle of the row. Choosing fiber as the interconnect mechanism of choice gives data centers the utmost in flexibility and investment protection: fiber can carry both Gigabit Ethernet and 10 Gigabit Ethernet as well as native Fibre Channel, giving data centers the flexibility to roll any rack into any rack position that is served with multiple fiber connections. Fiber protects investments into the future as it will support upcoming Ethernet standards, including 40 and 100 Gigabit Ethernet. Figure 3 shows the physical architecture for a set of racks equipped with Cisco Nexus 2000 Series Fabric Extenders. Two Cisco Nexus 2000 Series Fabric Extenders are installed in each rack for redundancy, with one to four connections from each Cisco Nexus 2000 Series Fabric Extender to a parent Cisco Nexus 5000 Series Switch. Figure 3. Physical Architecture: Cisco Nexus 2000 Series Fabric Extenders at the Top of Each Rack, with Cisco Nexus 5000 Series Switches Providing Access-Layer Switching Logically, this combination of models appears as shown in Figure 4, with a single pair of Cisco Nexus 5000 Series Switches and Cisco Nexus 2000 Series Fabric Extenders acting as remote I/O modules that are transparently integrated into the switch management model. No changes are needed to the typical three-tier data center switching hierarchy. The remote I/O module design allows the parent Cisco Nexus 5000 Series Switch to download the software image and configuration to the Cisco Nexus 2000 Series Fabric Extender as if it were a line card in the same chassis. 2009 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. This document is Cisco Public Information. Page 3 of 11
Because the switch and fabric extender software are always produced and loaded onto the switch as a single unit, there is no risk of inconsistent software revision levels between the devices. Figure 4. Logical Architecture: A Single Pair of Cisco Nexus 5000 Series Switches with Remote I/O Modules and No Changes to Three-Tier Network Designs or Management Models The Cisco Nexus 2000 Series Fabric Extenders integrate with the parent switch, allowing zero-touch provisioning as well as automatic configuration and software upgrade when a rack is connected to the parent switch. This integration allows large numbers of servers to be supported with the same feature set as the parent Cisco Nexus 5000 Series Switch, along with specific configuration parameters including security and quality of service (QoS). The fabric extender does not run Spanning Tree Protocol even when multiple links are connected to the parent switch, thus giving customers loop-free, active-active connectivity between the fabric extender and the parent switches. Massive Scalability at the 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 scalability of the access layer to accommodate both sets of demands without increasing management points within the network. A deployment of Cisco Nexus 2148T Fabric Extenders connected to a Cisco Nexus 5000 switch can support up to 576 Gigabit Ethernet servers per switch (12 fabric extenders and 48 ports per fabric extender). For virtual PortChannel (vpc) configurations, only 480 server ports out of 576 ports could be used. Features and Benefits The Cisco Nexus 2148T provides the following benefits: The combination of the Cisco Nexus 2148T and Cisco Nexus 5000 Series offers a highly cost-effective access-layer strategy for Gigabit Ethernet and mixed Gigabit Ethernet and 10 Gigabit Ethernet server environments. The Cisco Nexus 2148T provides immense scalability, supporting Gigabit Ethernet environments with flexible control over oversubscription. Basing the access layer on Cisco Nexus 5000 Series Switches protects investment into the future, providing an easy migration path to low-latency 10 Gigabit Ethernet and a unified network fabric that supports LAN, SAN, and high-performance computing (HPC) networks, all over a single access-layer connection. Standardizing on the Cisco Nexus 5000 Series allows data centers to support the same switch features across the entire access layer with a single point of management. 2009 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. This document is Cisco Public Information. Page 4 of 11
Built to coexist with servers, the Cisco Nexus 2148T Fabric Extender s physical design features include frontto-back cooling, network ports on the rear in close proximity to servers, and all user-serviceable components accessible from the front panel. The Cisco Nexus 2148T is built for nonstop operation, with redundant and hot-swappable power supplies and fan module. Its compact 1RU form factor uses relatively little space and power, making it easy to incorporate into rack designs. Locator beacons on the front and rear of the chassis help reduce errors when the equipment is serviced. The Cisco Nexus 2148T acts a remote I/O module on the parent Cisco Nexus 5000 Series Switch. All device configurations are managed on the Cisco Nexus 5000 Series Switch, and configuration information is downloaded using in-band communication to the Cisco Nexus 2148T. Software maintenance and compatibility problems are eliminated because the Cisco Nexus 2148T Fabric Extender s software is created and delivered along with the Cisco Nexus 5000 Series Switch software. The fabric extender downloads the software image from the Cisco Nexus 5000 Series Switch in the same way that a line card would download from the supervisor engine in a modular chassis. The number of management points is significantly less than when discrete switches are used at the top of the rack. A traditional 10-rack design using a discrete, redundant pair of Gigabit Ethernet switches at the top of each rack has 20 management points. The equivalent architecture using Cisco Nexus 2148T has only 2: a tenfold reduction in management complexity. The Cisco Nexus 2148T is managed through the parent Cisco Nexus 5000 Series Switch using Cisco Data Center Network Manager (DCNM) and standard Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) and Extensible Markup Language (XML) interfaces. Switch feature consistency is easily supported across a large number of servers. The Cisco Nexus 2148T allows a single switch, and thus a single set of switch features, to be supported across up to 2496 servers (using a Cisco Nexus 5020 as the parent switch). Moreover, Spanning Tree Protocol is not required between the fabric extender and the parent switch, thus enabling a large, multipath, loop-free topology. Supporting a large server domain under one management entity allows policy to be enforced more efficiently. The Cisco Nexus 2148T supports a combined top-of-rack and end- or middle-of-row deployment model. Placing the fabric extender at the top of the rack allows the use of short cables from the rack to servers, reducing cable cost, complexity, and opportunities for error. Its low cost allows it to be installed in every rack. The only interrack cabling required is for uplinks from the fabric extender to the parent switch. Placing the parent Cisco Nexus 5000 Series Switch at the end or middle of a row of racks makes efficient use of powerful switching resources, and having Cisco Nexus 5000 Series Switches at the end of the row allows their lowlatency, line-rate switch ports to be connected directly to servers that require full 10 Gigabit Ethernet bandwidth. The fabric extender architecture provides optimal cabling at the server-access layer. With the Cisco Nexus 2148T, intrarack cables connecting to Gigabit Ethernet servers can be Cat5e, Cat6, or Cat6A. Interrack cabling can be SFP+ Twinax cables if the distance to the Cisco Nexus 5000 Series Switch is less than 5 meters; for longer reach, SFP+ Short-Reach (SR) optics over OM2 or OM3 cables can be used. Today s data center servers are either singly or dually homed to the network. However, network designs almost always involve redundant deployment. Through the vpc feature support on the Cisco Nexus 5000 Series, a server can be dually connected to a pair of fabric extenders, or each fabric extender can be connected to a pair of Cisco Nexus 5000 Series Switches, thus giving customers both server and fabric extender connectivity redundancy, providing active-active connectivity and redundancy. Network interface card (NIC) teaming can also provide active-standby connectivity to the servers without vpc on the Cisco Nexus 5000 Series Switches. The static pinning mode in the Cisco Nexus 2148T helps ensure 10 Gigabit Ethernet bandwidth across 12 ports; through PortChannel mode, all traffic can be granularly hashed to uplink ports. 2009 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. This document is Cisco Public Information. Page 5 of 11
Cisco Nexus 2148T and Cisco Nexus 5000 Series Applications The Cisco Nexus 2148T can be used in the following deployment scenarios: Rack servers with single or dual Gigabit Ethernet NICs bundled together through NIC teaming or each working separately; the Cisco Nexus 2148T can be physically located at the top of the rack, and the Cisco Nexus 5000 Series Switch can reside in the middle or at the end of the row Mixed Gigabit Ethernet and 10 Gigabit Ethernet environments in which rack servers are running at both speeds within the same rack or separate racks 10 Gigabit Ethernet servers with Gigabit Ethernet management and integrated lights-out (ilo) interfaces Gigabit Ethernet blade servers with pass-through blades Product Specifications Performance Hardware forwarding at 176 Gbps or 131 million packets per second (mpps) Layer 2 Features Layer 2 VLAN trunks IEEE 802.1Q VLAN encapsulation Support for up to 512 VLANs Spanning Tree PortFast and PortFast Guard Spanning Tree Bridge Assurance Internet Group Management Protocol (IGMP) Versions 1, 2, and 3 snooping Cisco EtherChannel technology (only on uplinks) Advanced PortChannel hashing Jumbo frames on all ports (up to 9216 bytes) Pause frames (Priority Flow Control [PFC] and IEEE 802.3x) Private VLANs (promiscuous only on uplinks) Autonegotiation to 1000BASE-T; full duplex on host interfaces QoS Layer 2 IEEE 802.1p (class of service [CoS]) 4 hardware queues per port Per-port QoS configuration CoS trust Modular QoS command-line interface (CLI) (MQC) compliance CoS-based egress queuing Egress strict-priority queuing Egress port-based scheduling: Weighted Round Robin (WRR) Delayed drop (future) 2009 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. This document is Cisco Public Information. Page 6 of 11
Security Ingress access control lists (ACLs): standard and extended Standard and extended Layer 2 ACLs: MAC addresses, protocol type, and so on Standard and extended Layer 3 and 4 ACLs: IPv4 and v6, Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP), TCP, User Datagram Protocol (UDP), and so on VLAN-based ACLs (VACLs) Named ACLs ACL logging (future) ACL statistics IEEE 802.1X (future) Port security (future) High-Availability Features Hot-swappable field-replaceable power supplies and fan modules 1:1 power redundancy Uplink traffic management through Cisco EtherChannel hashing or static port pinning vpcs for dual-homed active-active connectivity across two Cisco Nexus 5000 Series Switches vpcs for dual-homed straight-through NIC connectivity across two Cisco Nexus 2000 Series Fabric Extenders Management Fabric extender management using in-band management Locator and beacon LEDs on front and back of chassis Per-port locator and beacon LEDs Syslog SNMP v1, v2, and v3 Enhanced SNMP MIB support XML (NETCONF) support Remote monitoring (RMON) Cisco Discovery Protocol Versions 1 and 2 Switched Port Analyzer (SPAN) on server ports; VLAN Enhanced Remote SPAN (ERSPAN; future) Ingress and egress packet counters per interface Power-on self-test (POST) Cisco Generic Online Diagnostics (GOLD): Ethernet Comprehensive bootup diagnostic tests Call Home Smart Call Home Cisco DCNM 2009 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. This document is Cisco Public Information. Page 7 of 11
SNMP MIBs Configuration MIBs ENTITY-MIB IF-MIB FABRIC-EXTENDER MIB CISCO-ENTITY-EXT-MIB CISCO-ENTITY-FRU-CONTROL-MIB CISCO-ENTITY-SENSOR-MIB CISCO-ETHERNET-FABRIC-EXTENDER-MIB Monitoring MIBs RMON-MIB Industry Standards IEEE 802.1p: CoS prioritization IEEE 802.1Q: VLAN tagging IEEE 802.3: Ethernet IEEE 802.3ae: 10 Gigabit Ethernet SFF 8431 SFP+ support RMON Physical Specifications SFP+ Optics Cisco Nexus 5000 Series products support 10 Gigabit Ethernet SFP+ copper Twinax (CX1 direct attach) cables for short distances and SFP+ optics for longer distances. SFP+ has several advantages compared to other 10 Gigabit Ethernet connectivity options: Smallest 10 Gigabit Ethernet form factor Optical interoperability with XENPAK, X2, and XFP interface types Lowest power consumption Hot-swappable device AC Power Supply Typical operating power: 165W Maximum power: 200W Input voltage: 90 to 264 VAC Frequency: 50 to 60 Hz Efficiency: 84 percent at typical power draw RoHS compliant: RoHS-5 compliant Hot swappable: Yes Heat dissipation: 670 BTU/hr 2009 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. This document is Cisco Public Information. Page 8 of 11
Environment Physical (height x width x depth): 1.72 x 17.3 x 20.0 in. (4.37 x 43.94 x 50.8 cm) Operating temperature: 32 to 104 F (0 to 40 C) Nonoperating temperature: -40 to 158 F (-40 to 70 C) Humidity: 5 to 95 percent (noncondensing) Altitude: 0 to 10,000 ft (0 to 3000m) Weight Table 1 lists the weights of the Cisco Nexus 2148T components. Table 1. Cisco Nexus 2148T Component Weights Component Cisco Nexus 2148T with 1 power supply and fan module Cisco Nexus 2148T AC power supply Cisco Nexus 2148T fan module Cisco Nexus 2148T fully loaded with 2 power supplies and fan module) Weight 16.5 lb (7.5 kg) 1.5 lb (0.7 kg) 0.5 lb (0.2 kg) 18 lb (8.2 kg) Software Requirements Cisco Nexus 2000 Series Fabric Extenders are supported on Cisco NX-OS Software Release 4.0(1A)N2(1) and later for Cisco Nexus 5000 Series Switches. Cisco NX-OS Software Release 4.1(3)N1(1) or later is required for vpc support. Cisco Nexus 5010 and 5020 Switches both support the Cisco Nexus 2148T from its introduction. Cisco NX- OS interoperates with any standards-based networking OS, including Cisco IOS Software, that conforms to the networking standards mentioned in the data sheet. For the latest software release information and recommendations, see the product bulletin at http://www.cisco.com/go/nexus5000. Regulatory Standards Compliance Table 2 presents regulatory compliance information for the Cisco Nexus 2148T. Table 2. Specification Cisco Nexus 2148T Compliance Information Description Regulatory compliance Products should comply with CE Markings according to directives 2004/108/EC and 2006/95/EC. Safety UL 60950-1 CAN/CSA-C22.2 No. 60950-1 EN 60950-1 IEC 60950-1 AS/NZS 60950-1 GB4943 EMC: Emissions 47CFR Part 15 (CFR 47) Class A AS/NZS CISPR22 Class A CISPR22 Class A EN55022 Class A ICES003 Class A VCCI Class A EN61000-3-2 EN61000-3-3 KN22 Class A CNS13438 Class A 2009 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. This document is Cisco Public Information. Page 9 of 11
Specification EMC: Immunity RoHS Description EN50082-1 EN61000-6-1 EN55024 CISPR24 EN300386 KN 61000-4 series The product is RoHS 5 compliant. Cisco Nexus 2000 Series Ordering Information Table 3 provides ordering information for the Cisco Nexus 2000 Series Fabric Extenders. Table 3. Part Number Ordering Information Description Chassis N2K-C2148T-1GE Cisco Nexus 2000 Series 1GE Fabric Extender, 1PS, 1 Fan Module, 48x1G-BaseT + 4x10GE (req SFP+) Fan Modules N2K-C2148T-FAN= Cisco Nexus 2000 FEX 1GE Fan Module, spare Power Supplies N2K-PAC-200W(=) N2K-P1-BLNK= Cisco Nexus 2000 FEX 1GE 200W Power supply Cisco Nexus 2000 FEX 1GE Power supply Blank, spare Transceivers and Cables SFP-10G-SR(=) SFP-10G-LR(=) SFP-H10GB-CU1M(=) SFP-H10GB-CU3M(=) SFP-H10GB-CU5M(=) 10GBASE-SR SFP+ Module 10GBASE-LR SFP+ Module 10GBASE-CU SFP+ Cable 1 Meter 10GBASE-CU SFP+ Cable 3 Meter 10GBASE-CU SFP+ Cable 5 Meter Accessory Kit N2K-C2148T-ACC= Cisco Nexus 2000 FEX 1GE Accessory Kit, spare Power Cords CAB-N5K6A-NA(=) CAB-AC-250V/13A(=) Power Cord, 210/220V 30A North America Power Cord for North America, 125VAC/13A CAB-C13-C14-JMPR(=) Recessed receptacle AC power cord 27 CAB-C13-C14-2M(=) CAB-9K12A-NA(=) CAB-C13-CBN(=) SFS-250V-10A-AR(=) CAB-9K10A-AU(=) SFS-250V-10A-CN(=) CAB-9K10A-EU(=) SFS-250V-10A-ID(=) CAB-IND-10A(=) SFS-250V-10A-IS(=) CAB-9K10A-IT(=) CAB-9K10A-SW(=) CAB-9K10A-UK(=) Power Cord Jumper, C13-C14 Connectors, 2 Meter Length Power Cord, 125VAC 15A NEMA 5-15 Plug, North America Cabinet Jumper Power Cord, 250 VAC 16A, C14-C13 Connectors SFS Power Cord - 250V, 10A - Argentina Power Cord, 250VAC 10A 3112 Plug, Australia SFS Power Cord - 250V, 10A - PRC Power Cord, 250VAC 10A CEE 7/7 Plug, EU SFS Power Cord - 250V, 10A - South Africa, UAE, India 10A Power cable for India SFS Power Cord - 250V, 10A - Israel Power Cord, 250VAC 10A CEI 23-16/VII Plug, Italy Power Cord, 250VAC 10A MP232 Plug, Switzerland Power Cord, 250VAC 13A BS1363 Plug (13 A fuse), UK 2009 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. This document is Cisco Public Information. Page 10 of 11
Warranty The Cisco Nexus 2148T Fabric Extender has a 1-year limited hardware warranty. The warranty includes hardware replacement with a 10-day turnaround from receipt of a return materials authorization (RMA). Service and Support Cisco offers a wide range of services to help accelerate your success in deploying and optimizing the Cisco Nexus 5000 Series Switches and Cisco Nexus 2000 Series Fabric Extenders in your data center. The innovative Cisco Services 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 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 Smart Call Home service capability, which offers proactive diagnostics and real-time alerts on your Cisco Nexus 5000 Series Switches and Cisco Nexus 2000 Series Fabric Extenders. Spanning the entire network lifecycle, Cisco Services help increase investment protection, optimize network operations, support migration operations, and strengthen your IT expertise. For more information about Cisco Nexus services, visit http://www.cisco.com/go/nexusservices. For More Information Cisco Nexus 2000 Series Fabric Extenders: http://www.cisco.com/go/nexus2000. Cisco Nexus 5000 Series Switches: http://www.cisco.com/go/nexus5000. Cisco NX-OS Software: http://www.cisco.com/go/nxos. Printed in USA C78-507093-04 09/09 2009 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. This document is Cisco Public Information. Page 11 of 11