N9K-X9788TC-FX – 48×1/10G BaseT – 4×40/100G QSFP28 – Nexus 9500 Line Card
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N9K-X9788TC-FX Description
The N9K-X9788TC-FX is a Cisco Nexus 9500 Cloud Scale line card for modular data center switches that need dense copper access. The card has 48 100M/1/10G BASE-T ports and four 40/100G QSFP28 ports, with 1.76 Tbps of performance and 0.59 bpps of forwarding rate in the Nexus 9504, Nexus 9508 and Nexus 9516 chassis. The card runs in NX-OS mode only, not as a Cisco ACI spine, and it needs four fabric modules to reach maximum bandwidth.
Quick Specs
|
Parameter |
Specification |
|---|---|
|
Product ID |
N9K-X9788TC-FX |
|
Product type |
Cloud-scale BaseT plus QSFP line card |
|
Supported chassis |
Cisco Nexus 9504, Nexus 9508, Nexus 9516 |
|
Access-layer ports |
48 x 100M/1/10G Ethernet BASE-T |
|
Aggregation-layer ports |
4 x 40/100G Ethernet QSFP28 |
|
Cisco NX-OS support |
Yes |
|
Cisco ACI spine support |
No |
|
MACSec support |
Yes |
|
N+1 fabric module redundancy |
No |
|
Fabric modules for maximum bandwidth |
4 |
|
Performance and forwarding rate |
1.76 Tbps, 0.59 bpps |
|
Power and airflow |
513 W typical, 684 W maximum, port-side intake |
Application Scenarios
In a data center row that still uses twisted-pair server and appliance cabling, the line card gives a Nexus 9500 chassis 48 100M/1/10G BASE-T ports for direct server connections. The four QSFP28 ports carry 40/100G uplinks back to the aggregation layer from the same slot.
A Nexus 9500 chassis running NX-OS can add the card to take on more copper-attached hosts without a new switch. Its MACSec support lets those links be encrypted at the port.
Product Comparison
|
Parameter |
N9K-X9788TC-FX |
N9K-X97160YC-EX | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Port layout |
48 x 100M/1/10G BASE-T plus 4 x 40/100G QSFP28 |
48 x 1/10/25G SFP+ plus 4 x 40/100G QSFP28 |
32 x 100G QSFP28 |
|
Primary access media |
Copper BASE-T |
SFP+ fiber or DAC media |
QSFP28 100G media |
|
Performance |
1.76 Tbps |
3.2 Tbps |
6.4 Tbps |
|
Cisco ACI spine support |
No |
No |
No |
|
MACSec support |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
|
N+1 fabric module redundancy |
No |
No |
Yes |
N9K-X9788TC-FX is the copper model of this group: it carries 48 100M/1/10G BASE-T ports plus four 40/100G QSFP28 ports at 1.76 Tbps, while N9K-X97160YC-EX has 48 SFP+ ports plus four QSFP28 ports at 3.2 Tbps and no MACSec, so fiber or DAC access cabling and 25G access ports point to N9K-X97160YC-EX. Where MACSec is required, N9K-X9788TC-FX and N9K-X9732C-FX both support it, but N9K-X9788TC-FX has no N+1 fabric module redundancy. Designs that need 32 ports of 100G QSFP28 at 6.4 Tbps, or a fifth fabric module for N+1, move to N9K-X9732C-FX, and that N+1 option holds only when every line card in the chassis is an N9K-X9732C-FX. None of the three cards is an ACI spine card, so an ACI spine design needs a different line card.
Ordering Checklist
- Nexus 9500 chassis: Use the card in a Nexus 9504 (N9K-C9504), Nexus 9508 (N9K-C9508) or Nexus 9516 (N9K-C9516). The hardware guides of all three chassis list this line card, and the chassis and fabric modules are ordered as separate PIDs.
- Fabric modules: Order four same-type fabric modules, such as N9K-C9504-FM-E, N9K-C9508-FM-E, N9K-C9508-FM-E2 or N9K-C9516-FM-E2 (N9K-C9504-FM-G and N9K-C9508-FM-G also work in NX-OS mode). Fabric modules in one chassis must match, and the card needs four for full bandwidth; a 16-card Nexus 9516 needs at least three N9K-C9516-FM-E2.
- NX-OS mode chassis: Run the card in a chassis in NX-OS mode, not as an ACI spine. ACI spine support is listed as No for this card, and ACI-mode and NX-OS-mode line cards must not share a chassis.
Specifications
| Parameter | Specification | Parameter | Specification |
|---|---|---|---|
| Product ID | N9K-X9788TC-FX | Product type | Cloud-scale BaseT plus QSFP line card |
| Cisco ordering description | Cisco Nexus 9500 48p 1/10G BaseT plus 4p 100G QSFP cloud-scale line card | Spare part format | N9K-X9788TC-FX= |
| Supported chassis | Cisco Nexus 9504, Nexus 9508, Nexus 9516 | Maximum quantity by chassis | 4 in 9504, 8 in 9508, 16 in 9516 |
| Access-layer ports | 48 x 100M/1/10G Ethernet BASE-T | Aggregation-layer ports | 4 x 40/100G Ethernet QSFP28 |
| Cisco NX-OS support | Yes | Cisco ACI spine support | No |
| MACSec support | Yes | N+1 fabric module redundancy | No |
| Fabric modules for maximum bandwidth | 4 | Packet buffer | 80 MB |
| Performance | 1.76 Tbps | Forwarding rate | 0.59 bpps |
| Typical power consumption | 513 W | Maximum power consumption | 684 W |
| Weight | 5.9 kg (13 lb) | MTBF | 429,630 hours |
| Hot-swappable | Yes | Airflow | Port-side intake |
Quality Certifications
Customer Reviews
Questions & Answers
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Which Nexus 9500 chassis and fabric modules does N9K-X9788TC-FX need?
-
How many N9K-X9788TC-FX line cards can each Nexus 9500 chassis hold?
-
What is the weight of N9K-X9788TC-FX for chassis planning?
-
Does N9K-X9788TC-FX need an IOFPGA EPLD change between NX-OS 10.3(6) and 10.4(5)?
-
How much packet buffer does N9K-X9788TC-FX have?
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