1. Nexus Newsletter Switzerland EditionNovember 2013 Dear Datacenter AM and SE partner, Cisco Swiss Borderless team would like to update you on the latest Nexus product family information that happened over the last months. Please let us know if you have any question related to the information provided below. Best regards Vincent Meoni & the Cisco Swiss Borderless team What is this Newsletter about ? This is the 15th Nexus interest newsletter. The Cisco Swiss Borderless team consolidates announcements and technology updates into this condensed newsletter. Its manually composed, so it contains only the information required for your benefits. Pass this newsletter to your colleagues and inform us by mail to vmeoni@cisco.com so we can add them to the mailing list. If you would like to unsubscribe, just drop a mail. Most of the links given require a CCO login (some with partners rights). Do you know Catalyst, MDS, UCS, Security and Mobility Newsletters ? They follow the same format, style and frequency than Nexus Newsletters. If not yet registered but interested in any of these Newsletters, just ask to be registered ! Application Centric Infrastructure Launch Webcast Please join Cisco Chairman and CEO John Chambers and our partners the 6th of November 2013 at 4:30PM CET for a global webcast about how Cisco is driving the next generation of unified data center infrastructure and redefining the power of IT. This technology unveiling on November 6 broadcast live from New York City will usher in a new era of agility and automation for data centers worldwide. Agenda: - Live press conference - Technical session - Media and Investor Q&A session Please register to attend. You can also join another more technical deep dive session on ACI the 7th of November 2013 at 4:00PM CET. Please register to attend. New Product introduction Introducing Nexus 7710 and Nexus 7718 and their F2E module Nexus 7710 and Nexus 7718, the latest extension to the Nexus 7000 Series, are available since of 11th of July 2013. The new Nexus 7700 switches offer the industrys highest scalability in an environmentally optimized form factor while maintaining operational, feature and architectural consistency across the entire Nexus 7000 Family. Since the ASIC and software investment is common, Cisco will continue to invest in both platforms in parallel. The F2E module for the Nexus 7700 Switches (N77-F248XP-23E), available also from 11th of July 2013, has same caracteristics as the F2E module for Nexus 7000 series switches (N7K-F248XP-25E).Nexus -7700 have the following caracteristics: Supported since NX-OS 6.2.2 Supports same features as Nexus 7000 (from NX-OS 6.2.2) Nexus 7700 is a 40/100G optimized platform built specifically for large cloud Data Center deployments with double density of 40Gb/s and 100Gb/s ports (compared to Nexus 7000 density) Nexus 7700 also have front-to-back airflows (in Nexus 7000 familiy, it is only the case of Nexus 7010) which is getting more and more requested by customers. To address both these density and airflow requirements, Cisco had to change fundamental hardware

2. ---components (airflow mechanics and backplane connectors) of the Nexus 7000 mechanical architecture. This required a new chassis and linecard architecture for the Nexus 7700. Airflow and connector density requirements make I/O Modules, Fabrics, Fan Trays and Supervisors noninterchangeable between Nexus 7000 and Nexus 7700 Support up to 6 fabric modules : o for 10Gb/s deployments, a minimum of 3 fabric modules is recommended o for 40Gb/s or 100Gb/s deployments, a minimum of 6 fabric modules is recommended Fabric modules are located on the back of the chassis behind the fan trays. There are 2 fabric modules located behind each of the fan trays. As each fan tray covers 2 of the fabric modules. At typical operating tempratures, the system can run without a fan tray for a configurable amount of time. The other fan trays in the system compensate for the missing fan tray by speeding up as needed. Supports Sup2E (special form factor Nexus 7700 version), no Sup2 support. Current M1, M2 and F1 modules will not be supported in the Nexus 7700 The Nexus 7700 modules are wider and taller to support more density and allow more airflow across the module Each Fabric2 module provides 220 Gb/s of bandwidth per slot; so all 6 fabric modules combined allows for 1.3Tb/s of switching capacity per slot. Factoring in the I/O module slot density of each chassis as well as the ability to handle full duplex operation, we have: o Nexus 7710: 21 Tb/s : (220 Gb/s per fabric) x (6 Fabric2 modules) x (8 slots) x (2 full duplex) o Nexus 7718: 42 Tb/s : (220 Gb/s per fabric) x (6 Fabric2 modules) x (16 slots) x (2 full duplex) Nexus 7718 chassis is 26 RU (Nexus 7018 is 25 RUs) Nexus 7710 chassis is 14 RUs (Nexus 7010 is 21 RUs) Use 3000W power supplies that are 90 percent efficient or greater The minimum power required with a 10 slot Nexus 7710 switch containing 2 Supervisors, 6 Fabric modules and 3 Fan trays would roughly be 3000W (Max Power, typical will be lower) or a single power supply. The minimum power required with a 18 slot Nexus 7718 switch containing 2 Supervisors, 6 Fabric modules and 3 Fan trays would roughly be 5000W (Max Power, typical will be lower) or 2 power supplies The maximum number of power supplies required for the Nexus 7700 switches containing 2 Supervisors, 3 Fabric modules (F2e only requires 3 fabric modules for line rate performance), fully populated F2e modules and 3 Fan trays is shown below: o Max number of power supplies for Nexus 7710 with F2e (N+1): 4 o Max number of power supplies for Nexus 7718 with F2e (N+1): 6 Nexus 7700 has a small price premium for the additional capabilities (higher bandwidth, higher density, and improved airflow). However, the I/O module (F2e) and Supervisor (Sup2E) are priced to match the corresponding Nexus 7000 module offerings Optional door and air filter: the addition of the air filter satisfies Network Equipment Building Standards (NEBS) requirements Supported by DCNM 6.2.2 minMore Nexus 7700 models will come in the future (Nexus 7706 planned for the next couple of months) In June 2013, Cisco also announced future F3 modules (1/10Gb/s, 40Gb/s and 100Gb/s) for Nexus 7000 and Nexus 7700 series (they will be available from December 2013 approximatively with planned support from NX-OS 6.2.6) Nexus 7700 Information and Nexus 7000 and Nexus 7700 F3 modules here Introducing NAM module for Nexus 7000 Cisco NAM module (N7K-SM-NAM-9G-K9) for Nexus 7000 is available since of August 2013. This is the first services module for Nexus 7000. Delivering deep application visibility, comprehensive performance analytics, and powerful troubleshooting, the Nexus 7000 NAM offers a compelling Cisco-on-Cisco solution for the data center. With this solution, customers can optimize resource efficiency, simplify operational manageability, and enhance the application experiencepositioning them to meet performance challenges head-on and to scale to deliver resilient and consistent servicesNAM module for Nexus 7000 has the following caracteristics: - Supported in Nexus 7004, Nexus 7009, Nexus 7010 and Nexus 7018 (not supported in Nexus 7700) - Supported with Sup1, Sup2 and Sup2E - Supports M1-XL, M2, F2 and F2E modules - Supports only one VDC at FCS (will support more in the future) - Supported since NX-OS 6.2.2 - Supports OTV, VXLAN, FabricPath, and more - Supports 32+ Gb/s - Supports up to 475 000 NetFlow records/s - Supports up to 800 000 client-server transactions concurrently - Pre-packaged with Prime NAM 6.0 - Costs 74 995 USD GPL - Promotional price of 59 995 USD GPL until 24th of January 2013 (N7K-SM-NAM-K9-P1) NAM module for Nexus 7000 DataSheet here Introducing Nexus 6004 EF Nexus 6004 EF (Extensible Fixed) is available since 30th of August 2013. Nexus 6004 EF is an enhanced version of Nexus 6004 (introduced in March 2013). Nexus 6004 EF is also more attractive with a less expensive price. 3. Nexus -6004 EF is identical to Nexus 6004 but with the following differences: Nexus 6004 EF has no fixed ports (Nexus 6004 has 48 fixed 40 Gb/s ports) Nexus 6004 EF has 8 expansion slots for LEMs (Nexus 6004 has 4 expansion slots for LEMs) Nexus 6004 EF provides more flexibility and allows customers to mix and match different LEMs in all 8 slots Customers have an option of ordering a bare chassis using the (N6K-C6004), however it is still needed to configure 2 LEMs, 4 Fans and a minimum of 4 Power Supplies The LEM from the non-EF chassis (N6K-C6004-M12Q) is not compatible with the EF chassis. The new introduced LEM (N6004-M12Q) fits in EF and non EF chassis. It has no hole on the top cover and has differences in the ejector design. Nexus 6004 EF is cheaper than Nexus 6004. N6004-B-24Q (Nexus 6004 EF chassis 24 x 40GE Ports/FCoE Bundle; 6PS, 4 FAN) costs 70 000 USD GPL.The Nexus 6004 chassis and the EF version use the same ASICs and both chassis have the same internal hardware. The only hardware difference in the chassis is additional structural changes to accommodate having no fixed LEMs. So as long as both chassis have the same NX-OS version, the feature/functionality is the same. The Fan and PSU modules are forward compatible and can be used in the Nexus 6004 EF chassis. We recommend the EF version of the Cisco Nexus 6004 chassis because of the reasons given above. Nexus 6004 information here Introducing the new 12 x 40Gb/s port LEM (N6004-M12Q) for Nexus 6004 and Nexus 6004 EFThe new 12 x 40Gb/s port LEM (N6004-M12Q) is available since 30th of August 2013. It fits in Nexus 6004 and Nexus 6004 EF. N6004-M12Q is priced 27 000 USD GPL (vs 40 000 USD GPL for N6K-C6004-M12Q that fits only in Nexus 6004 chassis) Remember that the LEM from the non-EF chassis (N6K-C6004-M12Q) is not compatible with the EF chassis. Introducing Cisco QSFP to SFP or SFP+ Adapter Module (CVR-QSFP-SFP10G) The Cisco QSFP to SFP or SFP+ Adapter (QSA) Module offers 1 Gb/s and 10 Gb/s connectivity for QSFP+ only platforms. It allows smooth and cost-effective migration to 40 Gb/s Ethernet by providing an option to use lower-speed SFP or SFP+ modules in empty QSFP+ ports or when the other end of the network is running at lower speeds. QSA DataSheet here Introducing Nexus 6001T Nexus 6001T (N6K-C6001-64T) is available since 30th of August 2013. Nexus 6001T is a copper version of Nexus 6001P (N6K-C6001-64P) introduced in April 2013.Nexus 6001T has the following characteristics: - 48 x 1/10 Gb/s Base-T ports and 4 x 40 Gb/s QSFP+ ports switch in 1 RU - 40 Gb/s ports can be split into 4 x 10 Gb/s (SFP+) ports using the breakout cables (will show four 10 Gb/s interfaces on one QSFP+ port), for a total of 64 x 10 Gb/s ports - The first 48 ports work at 1Gb/s or 10Gb/s. The ports do not work at 100Mb/s or 10Mb/s. This is true for both the N6001P and N6001T. - Nexus 6001T supports FCoE on the RJ-45 ports for up to 30M when CAT 6, 6a, or 7 cable is used - Line rate L2/L3 - Nexus 6001T latency is about 3.3us due to the 10G BASE-T PHY (vs approximately 1us for Nexus 6001P) - Supported since NX-OS 6.0(2)N2(1) - Supports vPC, FCoE (single hop and multi-hop), FabricPath - Nexus 2000 Series Fabric Extenders (FEX) supported with Cisco Nexus 6001: o Nexus 2248PQ o Nexus 2224TP o Nexus 2248TP o Nexus 2248TP-E o Nexus 2232PP o Nexus 2232TM o Nexus 2232TM-E o Nexus B22H o Nexus B22F o Nexus B22D - Up to 24 FEX supported - FEX can single or dual connect (using EvPCs) to 2 upstream Nexus 6001T - Supports ISSU in L2 mode - SPAN/ERSPAN (up to 31 line-rate) 4. -Front-to-back and back-to-front airflows The switch power supplies are capable of maintaining 90% efficiency at load conditions as low as 25% usage Supports 32 VSANs Supports Cisco Fabric Analyser Supports RBAC Supports VM-FEX and A-FEX Supports LMS, DCNM, FM (Fabric Manager) Cisco One Platform Kit (OnePK) support is planned in the near termNexus 6001 information here Introducing Nexus 3100 series Nexus 3000 series was initially designed for HPC (High Performance Computing) and HFT (High Financial Trading) specific needs (very low latency). They are also very interesting in small classical virtualized Data Center environments when FCoE and Nexus 2000 are not required since they offer a smaller amount of ports for smaller budgets (so in these cases Nexus 3000 family switches offer a good alternative to Nexus 5500). Nexus 3100 switches are the second-generation Nexus 3000 series switches and complement the current 5 available models in the Nexus 3000 family. Now Nexus 3000 family has 7 members. Nexus 3132Q (N3K-C3132Q-40GE) is available since 16th of September 2013.Nexus -3132Q has the following characteristics: 32 x 40 Gb/s QSFP+ ports + 4 x 10 Gb/s SFP+ ports, which are internally multiplexed with the first QSFP port OnePK, Openflow, Puppet & Python scripting support VXLAN for VM mobility (requires a future software upgrade) Wirespeed for L2 and L3 Very low latency of around 500ns 2.56 Tbps throughput 2 PS and 4 FANs 1 RUNexus 3132Q DataSheet here Nexus 3172PQ (N3K-C3172PQ-10GE) is available since 16th of September 2013.Nexus -3172PQ has the following characteristics: 48 x 10 Gb/s SFP+ ports + 6 x 40 Gb/s QSFP+ ports OnePK, Openflow, Puppet & Python scripting support VXLAN for VM mobility (available post-FCS, requires software upgrade) Wirespeed for L2 and L3 Very low latency of around 500ns 2 PS and 4 FANs 1 RUNexus 3172PQ DataSheet here Introducing Nexus 3524 Nexus 3524 (N3K-C3524P-10G) is available since 16th of August 2013. Nexus 3524 is a 14 000 USD GPL 24 ports activated version of the existing Nexus 3548 (N3K-C3548P-10G) that can be upgraded with a 24 ports additional license afterwards (up to 48 ports activated)Nexus -3548 caracteristics: 48 fixed 1/10 Gb/s SFP+ ports Wirespeed L2/3 (up to 480 Gb/s) Algo Boost technology (Algo Boost technology allows the Cisco Nexus 3548 to achieve exceptionally low latencies of 250 nanoseconds (ns) or less for all workloads. That includes unicast and multicast, and layer 2 and 3 switching, regardless of the features applied) Latency: 190 to 250 ns NAT SPAN and RSPAN BGP, OSPF, EIGRP, RIP, PIM-SM, PIM-SSM, MSDP DCNM supported 2 PS 4 FAN Front-to-back and Back-to-Front airflows 1 RUNexus 3524 DataSheet here Nexus 3548 DataSheet here Introducing Nexus 3064-32T Nexus 3064-32T (N3K-C3064TQ-32T) is available since 16th of August 2013. 5. Nexus 3064-32T is a 18 000 USD GPL 32 ports activated version of the existing Nexus 3064T (N3K-C3064TQ-10GT) that can be upgraded with a 16 ports additional license afterwards (up to 64 ports activated)Nexus 3064T caracteristics: - 48 fixed 1/10 Gb/s Base-T ports and 4 QSFP+ ports - Other caracteristics are common to Nexus 3064-XNexus 3064-X caracteristics: - 48 fixed 1/10 Gb/s SFP+ ports and 4 QSFP+ ports - Each SFP+ port can operate in 100Mb/s, 1Gb/s, or 10Gb/s mode, and each QSFP+ port can operate in native 40Gb/s or 4 x 10Gb/s mode. - This switch is a true phy-less switch that is optimized for low latency and low power consumption - L2/L3 wirespeed - vPC support - Latency: 190 to 250 ns - 18 MB packet buffer, 4K ACL TCAM - Large table sizes - Cisco ONE support - 2 PS - 1 FAN - Front-to-Back and Back-to-Front support Nexus 3064X, 3064T, 3064-32T DataSheet here Introducing Nexus B22 for IBM Flex System B22 (Nexus 2000 fitting in non Cisco server enclosure) are available for HP Blade System, Dell M1000e, Fujitsu Primergy and now also for IBM Flex System since 8th of October 2013 announcement by IBM (IBM planned availability is 6th of Dec 2013. The best solution being of course UCS J, still for customers willing to keep a mix of another server vendor and Cisco switching, it is now possible to take advantage of Nexus 2000 benefits will all the server vendors.Nexus B22IBM carateristics: - Sold exclusively through IBM (and its business partners) - 2 forms: o N2K-B22IBM-P (94Y5350): Nexus B22 Fabric Extender for IBM Flex System ($9,999 IBM GPL) o N2K-B22IBM-F (94Y5355): Nexus B22 Fabric Extender with FET bundle for IBM Flex System ($15,999 HP GPL) - Cisco TAC handles the majority of issues on the Nexus B22IBM, with only hardware RMAs performed by IBM - Supports Active and passive twinax (1m, 3m, 5m, 7m, 10m), 10Gbase-SR, 10Gbase-LR, 10Gbase-ER, Fabric Extender Transceiver (FET) and QSFP+ breakout cables are all supported - Cisco and IBM SFP+ and QSFP+ breakout cables are supported. - 14 internal full-duplex auto-sensing 1/10 Gb/s ports + 8 x 10 Gb/s fabric ports to the Nexus parent - Flex system supported with Integrated or mezzanine IBM Virtual Fabric adapters. - NX-OS 6.0(2)N2(1a) min for Nexus 5500 and Nexus 6000 B22 benefits (valid for all the B22): - 1/10 Gb/s down links to each server blade, supports FCoE - 10Gb/s fabric links to the Nexus parents (Nexus 5000 or Nexus 6000), supports FCoE - No additional switch to manage in the partner enclosure (Nexus 2000 is not a switch, it is a FEX) - No multiplication of OS switches to manage (HP, IBM, Dell and Fujitsu switches are not NX-OS switches) - No lack of feature parity between non Cisco blade switches and Cisco external switches - No need for an Ethernet Blade switch + and FC Blade Switch - Clear role separation between Server, LAN and SAN teams in a win/win/win model: o Server team manages servers (and not the switching part of the enclosure) o LAN/network team manages the network (including the Ethernet switching part of the enclosure) o SAN team manages the SAN (including the FC/FCoE switching part of the enclosure) - Less expensive than the proprietary partner solution (check public prices on the web) Still, B22 need to be requested by the customer to the enclosure vendor because they of course favor their proprietary solution Nexus B22 information here (CCO) and here (IBM website) Introducing Citrix NetScaler 1000V Citrix and Cisco are partners. Cisco is not planning to build next generation load-balancers like ACE and now favors Citrix products integration in its Data Center portfolio. Cisco does not resale Citrix H/W appliances (MPX and SDX) Citrix NetScaler 1000V is available since 16th of October 2013. It is based on Citrix Netscaler VPX. Citrix NetScaler 1000V is a virtual application delivery controller solution, part of the Cisco Cloud Network Services architecture. It gives applications critical performance enhancements, including offloading application servers, helping guarantee quality of service (QoS), and improving end-user experiences. NetScaler 1000V Key highlights: - Extends Nexus 1000V Ecosystem to enable vPath Service Insertion and Chaining - Broadens the portfolio of Virtual DC solution offerings to include best in class virtual Server Load Balancing (SLB) and Application Delivery Controller (ADC) - Flexible Form Factor: Available as a Virtual Appliance running on VMWare ESXi or as a Virtual Service Blade 6. -(VSB) on the Nexus 1100 Series Cloud Services Platform (CSP) Requires the redirection method of Nexus 1000v vPath technology Supported by Cisco TACvPath is a key component of the Cisco Nexus 1000V Virtual Switch. It is a policy-based innovation that directs traffic to appropriate virtual service nodes, such as firewalls or ADCs. This is done in the right order for each application, independent of network topology or network services location, and results in greater application mobility and more reliable service delivery. Citrix NetScaler 1000V information here New Software releases Nexus 7000 NX-OS 6.2(2) (released 22nd of August 2013) NX-OS 6.2(2) introduced the following new features: - Support for Nexus 7710 and Nexus 7718 - Support for the Nexus 7700 Switches specific F2E module (N77-F248XP-23E) - Support for Nexus 2232TM-E 10GE Fabric Extender (for Nexus 7000 and Nexus 7700) - Support for Nexus 2248PQ-10GE 10GE Fabric Extender (for Nexus 7000 and Nexus 7700) - Support for Nexus B22H for HP Blade Systems (in Ethernet mode only, FCoE not yet supported) - Support for NAM module (N7K-SM-NAM-9G-K9) for Nexus 7000 (not for Nexus 7700) - New MPLS features (Any Transport over MPLS (AToM), Pseudowire provisioning for AToM, Ethernet over Multiprotocol Label Switching (EoMPLS), Virtual Private LAN Service ) - FabricPath enhancements (Anycast Hot Standby Router Protocol (HSRP), Scale improvements ) - VDC enhancement (a new VDC type: F2E, an Administrator VDC on the Sup1, support for F2e Series module and M Series module in the same VDC) - OTV enhancement (VLAN translation, scale of OTV, convergence time ) - Additionnal routing capabilities Nexus 7000 NX-OS 6.2(2)a (released 16nd of October 2013) NX-OS 6.2(2)a introduced the following new features: - RISE: the Remote Integration Service Engine (RISE) architecture logically integrates the Citrix NetScaler appliance and the Nexus 7000 Series switch so that the Citrix NetScaler service appliance appears as a service module within the Nexus 7000 Series switch. RISE provides streamlined deployment, simplified configuration, and reduced operational costs for service appliances. RISE enables service integration with the Nexus 7000 Series switch virtual device context (VDC) architecture and fully supports virtual port-channel (vPC) deployments - Static Route to a VLAN: A switch virtual interface (SVI) includes a static route to a VLAN in Cisco NX-OS Release 6.2(2a) - FIPS: NX-OS Release 6.2(2a) includes features that qualify this release for Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) 140-2 Level 1 certification for the Cisco Nexus 7000 Series. The release is planned to be submitted for certification in December 2013 NX-OS 6.2 on Nexus 7000 Sup1 requires 8GB of memory. If customer has a Nexus 7000 Sup2 with 2GB of memory, 2 possibilities, either to upgrade memory, either to upgrade to Sup2 (Sup1 is announced End-Of-Sale for 15th of August 2014 below End-Of-Sale section of the Newsletter and Cisco currently double CTMP credit for trade-ins). Next NX-OS 6.2 release is planned to be be NX-OS 6.2(6) with F3 modules support and Dynamic Fabric Automation (DFA) Spine support. More details on the NX-OS 6.2 Release Notes Nexus 7000 NX-OS 6.1(4)a (released 27nd of September 2013) NX-OS 6.1(4)a is a maintenance release that includes bug fixes. It does not include new software features. More details on the NX-OS 6.1 Release Notes Nexus 6000 6.0(2)N2(1) (released 29th of July 2013) NX-OS Release 6.0(2)N2(1) introduced the following new features: - Support for Nexus 6001T (N6K-C6001-64T) - Bidirectional Forwarding Detection (BFD): a detection protocol designed to provide fast forwarding-path failure detection times for media types, encapsulations, topologies, and routing protocols. Starting with Release 6.0(2)N2(1), the Cisco Nexus 6000 supports BFD for BGP, EIGRP, OSPF, PIM, HSRP, VRRP, and static routes - Support for default interface command to clear the existing configuration of multiple interfaces and return them to default settings - Embedded Event Manager (EEM) that monitors events that occur on your device and takes action to recover from or troubleshoot these events, based on your configuration - Ingress policing - Maximum Paths for Equal-Cost Multipath Routing: For BGP, EIGRP, and OSPF routing protocols, the number of maximum paths that can be load balanced to a destination in equal-cost multipath routing (ECMP) has increased from 16 to 64 - Network Time Protocol Server - Policy-based routing (PBR) - FEX Host Interface Storm Control: HIF Storm control allows ingress traffic suppression for unknown multicast, broadcast, and unknown unicast traffic on Fabric extender (FEX) Host Interface (HIF) ports and port channels - Scalability Enhancements - vPC shutdown command to isolate a switch from the vPC complex. The switch can then be debugged, reloaded, or removed physically, without affecting the vPC traffic going through the non isolated switch. 7. Nexus 6000 6.0(2)N2(2) (released 4th of October 2013) NX-OS Release 6.0(2)N2(2) introduced the following new features: - Support for Nexus 6004 EF chassis - Support for N6004-M12Q (new 12 x 40Gb/s QSFP+ ports LEM for Nexus 6004 and Nexus 6004 EF) More details on the NX-OS 6.0(2) Release Notes Nexus 5000 5.2(1)N1(5) (released 1st of July 2013) NX-OS Release 5.2(1)N1(5) introduced the following new feature: - CLI for controlling digital optical monitoring (DOM) on a Switch port. By default, DOM polling is disabled. The new CLI commands allow you to turn polling on and off and monitor status. Nexus 5000 5.2(1)N1(6) (released 14th of October 2013) NX-OS Release 5.2(1)N1(6) introduced the following new feature: - You can now configure static DHCP bindings and port security features simultaneously on the same interface. More details on the NX-OS 5.2(1) Release Notes Nexus 5000 6.0(2)N2(1) (released 29th of July 2013) NX-OS Release 6.0(2)N2(1) introduced the following new features: - Bidirectional Forwarding Detection (BFD): a detection protocol designed to provide fast forwarding-path failure detection times for media types, encapsulations, topologies, and routing protocols. Starting with Release 6.0(2)N2(1), the Nexus 5500 supports BFD for BGP, EIGRP, OSPF, PIM, HSRP, VRRP, and static routes. - Support for default interface command to clear the existing configuration of multiple interfaces and return them to default settings - Embedded Event Manager (EEM) that monitors events that occur on your device and takes action to recover from or troubleshoot these events, based on your configuration - Network Time Protocol Server - Policy-based routing (PBR) - FEX Host Interface Storm Control: HIF Storm control allows ingress traffic suppression for unknown multicast, broadcast, and unknown unicast traffic on Fabric extender (FEX) Host Interface (HIF) ports and port channels - Scalability Enhancements - vPC shutdown command to isolate a switch from the vPC complex. The switch can then be debugged, reloaded, or removed physically, without affecting the vPC traffic going through the non isolated switch. Nexus 5000 6.0(2)N2(2) (released 4th of October 2013) NX-OS Release 6.0(2)N2(2) introduced the following new feature: - Command Addition: cts role-based batched-programming. Enabling CTS Batch Programming by entering the cts role-based batched-programming command enables faster programming on SGACLs associated with large numbers of SGT, DGT pairs More details on the NX-OS 6.0(2) Release Notes Nexus 1000V 4.2(1)SV2(2.1) for vSphere (released 4th of September 2013) NX-OS Release 4.2(1)SV2(2.1) for vSphere introduced the following new features: - Increased scale with 128 host, 300 ports per host, 4000+ ports per VSM - VXLAN 1.5 - VXLAN Gateway - VXLAN trunks - VXLAN Offload - Multi-MAC Capability: you can use multi-MAC addresses to mark a virtual Ethernet interface as capable of sourcing packets from multiple MAC addresses. For example, you can use this feature if you have a virtual Ethernet port and you have enabled VXLAN trunking on it and the VM that is connected to the port bridges packets that are sourced from multiple MAC addresses. More details on the NX-OS 4.2(1)SV2(2.1) Release Notes Nexus 1000V 4.2(1)SV2(2.1a) for vSphere (released 16th of October 2013) NX-OS Release 4.2(1)SV2(2.1a) for vSphere introduced the following new features: - vCenter Server Certificate Validation: The Cisco Nexus 1000V VSM can validate the certificate presented by vCenter Server to authenticate it - VXLAN Gateway Upgrade: Nexus 1000V VXLAN supports upgrading the VXLAN gateway through VSM. More details on the NX-OS 4.2(1)SV2(2.1a) Release Notes Nexus 1000V for vSphere information here Nexus 1000V 5.2(1)SM1(5.1) for Hyper-V (released 3rd of June 2013)NX-OS Release 5.2(1)SM1(5.1) for Hyper-V introduced: - Tight integration with Microsoft System Center Virtual Machine Manager (SCVMM) and System Center Operations Manager (SCOM) as well as support for PowerShell - Nexus 1100 Cloud Services Platform also supports Nexus 1000V for Hyper-V to host VSM and VSG virtual appliances - Support 64 hosts 8. -The Cisco Nexus 1000V Installer App is now a standalone C# application that can be used to install the Cisco Nexus 1000V Logical Switch (VSM) Essential (for free) and Advanced Edition (695 USD GPL per CPU, including VSG), like for vSphereMore details on the NX-OS 5.2(1)SM1(5.1) Release Notes Nexus 1000v for additional hypervisors like KVM will be released soon. Nexus 1000V for Hyper-V information here Upcoming Nexus 1000V Webinars : - Citrix NetScaler 1000V w/ vPath for Policy Based Service Insertion/Chaining: Nov 6th at 0900 PST, Register - Unified Fabric Integrating Physical and Virtual Networking: Nov 13th at 0900 PST, Register - Nexus 1000V InterCloud: Securely Extend into the Public Cloud, Nov 20th at 0900 PST, Register - Nexus 1000V for Hyper-V update: VSG enhancements and Windows Server 2012 R2 support, Dec 4th at 0900 PST, Register H/W End-of-Sale and End-of-Life Announcements The 15th of August 2013, Cisco announced that the last day to Replacement product is N7K-C7010-FAB-2 (EOL9252) The 15th of August 2013, Cisco announced that the last day to Replacement product is N7K-C7018-FAB-2 (EOL9253) The 15th of August 2013, Cisco announced that the last day to Replacement product is N7K-F248XP-25E (EOL9254) The 15th of August 2013, Cisco announced that the last day to Replacement product is N7K-SUP2 or N7K-SUP2E (EOL9255)order N7K-C7010-FAB-1 will be 15th of August 2014. order N7K-C7018-FAB-1 will be 15th of August 2014. order N7K-F132XP-15 will be 15th of August 2014. order N7K-SUP1 will be 15th of August 2014.S/W End-of-Sale and End-of-Life Announcements On 13th of September 2013, Cisco announced last day to order DCNM 4.x will be the 14th of March 2014 (EOL9398) On 13th of September 2013, Cisco announced last day to order DCNM 5.x will be the 14th of March 2014 (EOL9399) NX-OS recommended releases Advise on how to select the right NX-OS release for Nexus 7000 is available here Additional Nexus 7000 Software Release Strategy information is available here Advise on how to select the right NX-OS release for Nexus 6000 is available here Advise on how to select the right NX-OS release for Nexus 5000 is available here Advise on how to select the right NX-OS release for MDS 9000 is available here Data Center Network Manager (DCNM) Introducing Prime DCNM 6.2.3 release (released 8th of August 2012) Prime -DCNM 6.2.3 introduces the following new features: Support for Nexus 7710 Support for Nexus 7718 Support for Nexus 7700 Enhanced 48-port 1/10 Gigabit Ethernet SFP+ I/O module (N77-F248XP-23E) Support for Nexus 1000V for Microsoft Hyper-V SAN Host Redundancy Check Storage Array Discovery VMware vCenter Plug-in UCS Blade Inventory Generic Online Diagnostics Deep Discovery of Devices VSAN Dual Fabrics Report Snooze FeatureMore details on the DCNM 6.2 Release Notes DCNM 7.0 is planned for the next couple of months. Data Center Network Manager (DCNM) Weekly customers demonstrations Cisco Prime Data Center Network Manager (DCNM) is the industry's first converged Storage Area Network and Data Center Switching management solution. Supporting the entire line of Cisco MDS and Nexus family of switches, DCNM provides an intuitive graphical user interface (GUI) that simplifies day to day operations of Cisco unified fabrics resulting in lowering operational expenses over traditional methods of management. This one hour, weekly demonstration introduces DCNM, provides an overview of how to implement the product, and provides demonstration of where the product most positively impacts Nexus and MDS operations, maintenance, troubleshooting and provisioning. The session includes demonstrations including: - End-to-End visibility for VM-aware SAN and LAN operations and troubleshooting - Infrastructure, path and fabric monitoring of health and performance dashboards and detailed views - Historic performance, trend analysis and even some capacity planning / forecasting - Rule-based event notification - GUI, Wizard and Template based provisioning which simplifies the initial and ongoing provisioning and configuration NEW: starting Wednesday, October23rd the weekly session will include DCNM for SAN centric sessions on the 2nd and 4th Wednesday of the month, with DCNM for LAN centric sessions on the 1st and 3rd Wednesday of the month. Offered every Wednesday at 9:00-10:00 am Pacific Time To join this meeting (Now from mobile devices!) 9. ------------------------------------------------------1. Go to here 2. Enter the meeting password: dcnm-demo 3. Click "Join Now". 4. Follow the instructions that appear on your screen. For more information on Prime DCNM: www.cisco.com/go/dcnm (includes demo videos) FCoE news Market share evolution: According to Dell'Oro report released 20th of August 2013, and based on Q2CY2013 numbers: - In Q2CY2013, FC market is 470 M USD, FCoE market is 217 M USD - FCoE market now represents 31,6% of total (FC+FCoE) - FCoE market share: : Cisco 1st (83,9%), HP 2nd (8,3%), Juniper (1,5%) 3rd, Brocade 4th (0,6%) - DellOro counts only ports that can originate or terminate FCoE packets. For Cisco products, this includes: Nexus 5000 and Nexus 6000 (only if FCoE licenced), UCS FI 6xxx (but not the FEX), a portion of the Nexus 7000, MDS 9500 and MDS 9710 (if FCoE licenced). Infostor bloger Henry Newman is also convinced FCoE will continue to eat progressively FC sales. Read why here The below slide shows the Data throughput differences between native FC ports and Etherne/FCoE ports:GE Money Bank Unified Fabric Case study here Get more FCoE information on http://www.cisco.com/go/fcoe and use the End-to-End Unified Fabric TCO Comparison Tool. 10 Gb/s Base-T 10 Gb/s Base-T is currently supported on the following Nexus products: - Nexus 7000 (with N7K-F248XT-25E): 48 ports: FCoE not supported at the moment - Nexus 6001T (N6K-C6001-64T): 48 fixed ports: FCoE supported since NX-OS 6.0(2)N2(1) - Nexus 5596T (N5K-C5596T-FA): 32 fixed ports: FCoE supported since NX-OS 6.0(2)N1(1) - Nexus 5596T GEM (N55-M12T): 12 ports: FCoE supported since NX-OS 6.0(2)N1(1) - Nexus 3064T (N3K-C3064TQ-10GT): 64 ports: FCoE will not be supported (HPC and HFT positionning) - Nexus 3064-32T (N3K-C3064TQ-32T): 32 ports: FCoE will not be supported (HPC and HFT positionning) - Nexus 2232TM (N2K-C2232TM-10GE): 32 ports: FCoE not supported (will never be) - Nexus 2232TM-E (N2K-C2232TM-E): 32 ports: FCoE supported since NX-OS 6.0(2)N1(1) 10 Gb/s Base-T is much cheaper than 10 Gb/s on fiber connection. 10 Gb/s Base-T can span to 100 m (up to 30 m for FCoE) vs 10 m maximum for Twin-ax EMC and NetApp support FCoE on 10Gb/s Base-T on Nexus 5596T and Nexus 232TM-E. Updated Cisco-Panduit-Intel 10GBASE-T ecosystem white paper here FCoE is gaining traction taking into account its ROI strong advantage (taking into account CAPEX and OPEX for switches, servers, power and cabling it is much cheaper). We can anticipate that 10 Gb/s Base-T, will accelerate FCoE adoption because it reduces even more the cost (on the CNA /server and cabling side). 40 Gb/s adoption 40Gb/s is available on Nexus 7000 since July 2012 (NX-OS 6.1.1) and since spring 2013 on Nexus 6004 and Nexus 6001 (at FCS). 40Gb/s is today used for connecting Nexus between themselves and tomorrow also for server connectivity when 40Gb/s server connectivity will gain traction. 40Gb/s QSFP+ transceivers offer the same power consumption than 10Gb/s SFP+ transceivers. So adopting 40Gb/s results in 75% power saving on the transceiver side. FET-40G is already available (and can be ordered with Nexus 6004). Nexus 6001 offers a cheaper 10Gb/s price per port for the SFP+ connectivity down to the servers and Nexus 2000, while offering 40Gb/s ISL connectivity up to the distribution/core layer. Nexus Trainings Some -Cisco Learning Partners offering Nexus and MDS trainings are listed here. Anyweb-Osys (Trainings are also available in german) Fastlane Firefly IT Training Academy (Trainings are also available in french) 10. -Learneo (Trainings are also available in french) NilNexus promotion news Updated Nexus promotion information in the PDF attached to this Newsletter. Technology Migration Promotions for Nexus 7000 1st Generation Supervisor and Fabrics This program offers higher trade-in credits to customer migration from the 1st generation Supervisors and Fabrics to the 2nd generation Supervisors and Fabric Modules. Customers can take advantage of this program that has been extended until 26th of January 2014 to get higher TradeIn credits:Upgrading from Sup1 to Sup2/Sup2E can enable customers to take advantage of the faster CPU and additional memory on the Supervisors. Here are some of the top benefits: - Faster Convergence - Higher Scale with Sup2E (8+1 VDCs, 48 Fabric Extenders per system and more) - Support for FCoE with F2/F2e Modules - Future support for upcoming F3 modules. - Future support of upcoming NX-OS 7.0 (Sup1 will not support NX-OS 7.0) Upgrading the Fabric Modules can help scale the system bandwidth from a maximum of 230 Gb/s per slot to 550 Gb/s per slot. FabricPath Best practices Nexus 7000 FabricPath Best practices available here Cisco Feature Navigator (CFN) Now supports Nexus 7000. Check here Data Center Swiss Webinars You can register to Cisco Switzerland DataCenter Webinar on www.cisco.ch/dcwebinar DC Webinars take place on Mondays from 4:00pm to 5:00pm. You can also replay the sessions. Topics are: Nexus, UCS, VDI, VXI, Cloupia, MDS, xWDM, WAAS, Flexpod, ExpressPod, vBlock Cisco CloudLabs You need to use Cisco remote labs ? Use CloudLabs These remote labs are available to Cisco customers & partners with Cisco sponsor (ask your swiss DataCenter SE) Cisco Partner Labs The Nexus Demonstration Labs are a training and demonstration resource for Cisco Channel Partners focused on Data Center Virtualization solutions. The technologies showcased in these labs include the following products: - Cisco Nexus 7000 - Cisco Nexus 5000 and Nexus 2000 - Cisco Nexus 1000V - Cisco MDS 9124 - Cisco UCS C200 Server - Cisco UCS C250 Server - Cisco Fabric Manager - Cisco Device Manager - EMC AX4 - NetApp 2020 - VMware vSphere 4.1 - Emulex Converged Network Adapters - Zenoss Cloud Assurance Use LabGearUnsubscribe to this newsletter by replying to vmeoni@cisco.com 1992-2012 Cisco, Inc. All rights reserved. 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