Introduction

In the world of computer networks, upgrading from old to new technology is like getting a shiny new tool to make things better. Imagine you have an old, reliable car, but it's starting to show it's age. You hear about a newer model that's faster, safer, and more efficient. Cisco is a well-known company that offers efficient networking devices. That's what it's like when considering moving from Cisco Nexus 7000 to Nexus 9000 switches. This article is all about helping you understand why this upgrade might be a good idea. We'll explore what makes these newer switches different, why they're better, and how you can smoothly make the switch without causing chaos in your network. So, buckle up as we embark on this journey from the old to the new in the world of networking!

Differences between Cisco Catalyst and Cisco Nexus

Cisco Catalyst and Cisco Nexus are two prominent product lines within Cisco's networking portfolio, each catering to distinct use cases and requirements.

Cisco Catalyst

Primarily designed for campus and branch networks, Cisco Catalyst switches offer high performance, reliability, and scalability for traditional Ethernet-based deployments. They are well-suited for environments where simplicity, ease of management, and cost efficiency are paramount.

Cisco Nexus

On the other hand, Cisco Nexus switches are tailored for data center and cloud environments, delivering advanced features such as high-density 10/25/40/100 Gigabit Ethernet connectivity, low-latency switching, and support for virtualization and software-defined networking (SDN) technologies. They are optimized for demanding workloads and critical applications that require exceptional performance, flexibility, and scalability.

Overview of Nexus 7000 and Nexus 9000

Nexus 7000

The Cisco Nexus 7000 series switches represent a robust and scalable solution for data center networking. Known for their reliability and performance, Nexus 7000 switches offer high-density 10 Gigabit Ethernet and 40 Gigabit Ethernet ports, along with features such as Virtual Device Context (VDC) support and FabricPath technology for improved scalability and flexibility.

Nexus 9000

Building upon the success of its predecessor, the Cisco Nexus 9000 series switches introduce innovations in networking technology, including support for Cisco's Application Centric Infrastructure (ACI) and programmable ASICs for enhanced automation and agility. With features such as VXLAN encapsulation, network virtualization, and seamless integration with cloud platforms, Nexus 9000 switches empower organizations to build scalable and resilient data center networks that adapt to evolving business needs.

Understanding the Need for Migration

Advancements in Networking Technology

With the rapid evolution of networking technology, newer hardware often offers improved performance, enhanced features, and better support for modern applications and workloads.

End-of-Life and End-of-Support

As hardware reaches its end-of-life (EOL) and end-of-support (EOS) stages, enterprises face risks associated with security vulnerabilities, a lack of updates, and diminishing compatibility with newer software.

Key features of Nexus 7000 switches

Table 1 lists some key features of the Nexus 7000 switches below:

Feature	Description
High-Density Ports	Nexus 7000 switches offer high-density 10 Gigabit Ethernet and 40 Gigabit Ethernet ports, providing ample connectivity for data center environments.
Virtual Device Context (VDC)	VDC allows the segmentation of a single physical Nexus 7000 switch into multiple logical devices, enabling isolation and resource allocation for different applications or tenants.
FabricPath Technology	FabricPath is a scalable and resilient Layer 2 multipath Ethernet technology, designed to provide increased scalability, flexibility, and operational simplicity in data center networks.
Data Center Interconnect (DCI)	Nexus 7000 switches support DCI solutions, enabling seamless connectivity and workload mobility between data centers for disaster recovery, load balancing, and business continuity.
High Availability	Nexus 7000 switches feature redundant components, including power supplies, fans, and supervisor modules, to ensure high availability and minimize downtime in mission-critical environments.
Advanced Security Features	With features such as access control lists (ACLs), Virtual Routing and Forwarding (VRF), and port security, Nexus 7000 switches provide robust security capabilities to protect sensitive data and applications.
Scalability	Nexus 7000 switches are designed to scale seamlessly to meet the growing demands of modern data center environments, supporting thousands of ports and millions of forwarding entries.
Virtual Port Channel (vPC)	vPC technology allows the aggregation of multiple physical links between Nexus 7000 switches and downstream devices, providing increased bandwidth, redundancy, and load balancing.
Unified Fabric	Nexus 7000 switches support a unified fabric architecture, enabling convergence of storage, data, and management traffic over a single Ethernet-based infrastructure, simplifying network design and operations.

Key Features of Nexus 9000 Switch

Table 2 summarizes the key features that make Nexus 9000 switches a preferred choice for modern data center networking environments.

Feature	Description
High Port Density	Offers high-density 10/25/40/100 Gigabit Ethernet ports for increased scalability and bandwidth.
Advanced ASIC Technology	Utilizes programmable ASICs (Application-Specific Integrated Circuits) for enhanced performance, flexibility, and programmability.
Application Centric Infrastructure (ACI) Support	Provides seamless integration with Cisco's ACI architecture for policy-driven automation, management, and orchestration of network resources.
VXLAN Support	Supports Virtual Extensible LAN (VXLAN) encapsulation for network virtualization and overlay deployment, enabling efficient workload mobility and scalability.
Cloud Integration	Facilitates integration with leading cloud platforms such as AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud for seamless hybrid cloud deployments and workload mobility.
Enhanced Security	Offers advanced security features, including TrustSec, MACsec, and role-based access control (RBAC), to safeguard network assets and data.
Automation and Orchestration	Enables automation of provisioning, configuration, and management tasks through APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) and integration with orchestration platforms such as Ansible and Puppet.
Modular Architecture	Adopts a modular architecture with options for fixed and modular chassis designs, allowing flexibility in deployment and scalability.
Scalability	Provides scalable solutions for small to large-scale data center deployments, accommodating evolving business needs and growth.
Telemetry and Analytics	Offers built-in telemetry and analytics capabilities for real-time monitoring, troubleshooting, and optimization of network performance and resource utilization.

Key Differences Between Nexus 7000 and 9000

To facilitate an informed migration decision, let's delve into the primary variances between the Nexus 7000 and Nexus 9000 series switches:

Architecture

Feature	Nexus 7000	Nexus 9000
Switch Fabric	Fabric-1 and Fabric-2 Modules	Unified Fabric Module (NFM-P or NFM-T)
ASIC	M-series and F-series ASICs	Broadcom Trident and Tomahawk ASICs
Operating System	Cisco NX-OS	Cisco NX-OS or Cisco ACI (Application Centric

Specifications Comparison

Table 3 provides a quick overview of the key specifications of two models of Nexus 9000 switches: N9K-C93180YC-EX and N9K-C9372PX.

Specification	Nexus 9000 (N9K-C93180YC-EX)	Nexus 9000 (N9K-C9372PX)
Ports	48 x 10/25-Gbps SFP+	48 x 1/10-Gbps SFP+
	6 x 40/100-Gbps QSFP28	6 x 40/100-Gbps QSFP+
Switching Capacity	3.6 Tbps	1.44 Tbps
Forwarding Rate	2.68 Bpps	1.44 Bpps
Packet Buffer	16 MB	9 MB
Latency	450 ns (10 Gbps)	500 ns (10 Gbps)
	950 ns (40 Gbps)	1.5 µs (40 Gbps)
	1.5 µs (100 Gbps)	2.3 µs (100 Gbps)
Form Factor	1 RU	1 RU
Power Supply	Dual redundant, hot-swappable	Dual redundant, hot-swappable
Maximum Power	500W	720W
Operating System	Cisco NX-OS or Cisco ACI	Cisco NX-OS or Cisco ACI
Software Features	VXLAN, EVPN, MPLS	VXLAN, EVPN, MPLS
	BGP, OSPF, ISIS	BGP, OSPF, ISIS
	ACL, QoS	ACL, QoS

Software Capabilities

Table 4 outlines the software capabilities of the Nexus 7000 and Nexus 9000 switches:

Software Capability	Nexus 7000	Nexus 9000
Operating System	Cisco NX-OS	Cisco NX-OS or Cisco ACI (Application Centric Infrastructure)
Virtualization Support	Virtual Device Context (VDC) support	VXLAN encapsulation
Automation	Limited automation features	Enhanced automation capabilities
Programmability	Limited programmability	Support for programmable ASICs
SDN Support	Limited support for software-defined networking (SDN)	Extensive support for SDN and Cisco ACI
Management	Cisco Prime Data Center Network Manager	Cisco Data Center Network Manager (DCNM)
Security Features	TrustSec, MACsec	Enhanced security features such as TrustSec and MACsec
Scalability	Scalable architecture with FabricPath technology	Improved scalability with support for ACI and VXLAN
Cloud Integration	Limited integration with cloud platforms	Seamless integration with cloud platforms

Performance

Table 5 provides a brief summary of the performance characteristics of the Nexus 7000 and Nexus 9000 switches, including switching capacity, port density, latency, packet buffer memory, VLAN and VXLAN support, fabric modules, and ASIC options.

Performance Feature	Nexus 7000	Nexus 9000
Switching Capacity	Up to 15 Tbps	Up to 50 Tbps
Maximum Ports	Up to 768 10 Gigabit Ethernet (GE) ports	Up to 2304 10 GE or 576 40 GE ports
Latency	Sub-microsecond	Sub-microsecond
Packet Buffer Memory	Up to 144 GB	Up to 144 GB
Maximum VLANs	Up to 4096	Up to 4096
Support for VXLAN	Limited support	Full support
Fabric Modules	Fabric-1, Fabric-2	NFM-P, NFM-T, NFM-O, NFM-E
ASIC	M-series, F-series	Trident, Tomahawk, Cloudscale, Innovium, and Jericho

Port Density

Table 6 outlines the highest port density between Nexus 700 and Nexus 9000:

Switch Model	Maximum Port Density
Nexus 7000	Up to 768 10 Gigabit Ethernet ports or 192 40 Gigabit Ethernet ports
Nexus 9000	Up to 2304 10/25 Gigabit Ethernet ports or 576 40/100 Gigabit Ethernet ports

Explanation of Higher Port Density

The Nexus 9000 series switches offer significantly higher port density compared to their predecessor, the Nexus 7000 series. This increase in port density is primarily attributed to advancements in networking technology and hardware architecture.

One key factor contributing to the higher port density in Nexus 9000 switches is the utilization of more compact and power-efficient ASICs (Application-Specific Integrated Circuits). These specialized chips are designed to handle the processing and forwarding of network traffic more efficiently, allowing for a greater number of ports to be accommodated within the switch chassis.

Furthermore, innovations in switch design and component integration have enabled Cisco to optimize the physical layout of Nexus 9000 switches, maximizing the available space for port interfaces while minimizing the overall footprint of the device. This streamlined design approach enhances scalability and flexibility, making Nexus 9000 switches ideal for high-density deployments in modern data center environments.

Bandwidth Specifications

Table 7 lists the bandwidth specifications of the Nexus 7000 and Nexus 9000 series switches:

Switch Model	Maximum Bandwidth per Slot (Gbps)	Maximum System Bandwidth (Tbps)	Fabric Module
Nexus 7000	Up to 550	Up to 17.6	Fabric-1, Fabric-2
Nexus 9000	Up to 3,840	Up to 60 (Nexus 9500)	NFM-P, NFM-T

Protocols

Table 8 provides a comparison of the common protocols supported by both Nexus 7k and Nexus 9k series switches. It's important to note that specific protocol support may vary depending on the software version and configuration of the switches.

Protocol	Nexus 7000	Nexus 9000
BGP (Border Gateway Protocol)	Supported	Supported
OSPF (Open Shortest Path First)	Supported	Supported
EIGRP (Enhanced Interior Gateway Routing Protocol)	Supported	Supported
ISIS (Intermediate System to Intermediate System)	Supported	Supported
RIP (Routing Information Protocol)	Supported	Supported
MPLS (Multiprotocol Label Switching)	Supported	Supported
VXLAN (Virtual Extensible LAN)	Supported	Supported
FabricPath	Supported	Not Supported
FCoE (Fibre Channel over Ethernet)	Supported	Supported
VRRP (Virtual Router Redundancy Protocol)	Supported	Supported
HSRP (Hot Standby Router Protocol)	Supported	Supported
GLBP (Gateway Load Balancing Protocol)