Data Sheet

Cisco Nexus 5548P, 5548UP, 5596UP, and 5596T

Switches

Latest Additions to the Cisco Nexus 5000 Series Switches

Cisco Nexus 5000 Series Switches Product Overview

Today’s data centers are increasingly filled with dense rack-mount and blade servers that host powerful multicore

processors. The rapid increase in in-rack computing density and the increasing use of virtualization software

combine to accelerate the demand for 10 Gigabit Ethernet and consolidated I/O: applications for which the Cisco

Nexus

5000 Series Switches are an excellent match. With low latency and choice of front-to-back or back-to-front

cooling, copper or fiber access ports, and rear-facing data ports, the Cisco Nexus 5000 Series is designed for a

broad range of physical, virtual, storage access, and high-performance computing environments, thus giving

customers the flexibility to meet and scale their data center requirements in a gradual manner and at a pace that

aligns with their business objectives.

The switch series, using cut-through architecture, supports line-rate 10 Gigabit Ethernet on all ports while

maintaining consistently low latency independent of packet size and services enabled. It supports a set of network

technologies known collectively as Data Center Bridging (DCB) that increases the reliability, efficiency, and

scalability of Ethernet networks. These features allow the switches to support multiple traffic classes over a

lossless Ethernet fabric, thus enabling consolidation of LAN, SAN, and cluster environments. Its ability to connect

Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) to native Fibre Channel protects existing storage system investments while

dramatically simplifying in-rack cabling.

In addition to supporting standard 10 Gigabit Ethernet network interface cards (NICs) on servers, the Cisco Nexus

5000 Series integrates with multifunction adapters called converged network adapters (CNAs) that combine the

functions of Ethernet NICs and Fibre Channel host bus adapters (HBAs), making the transition to a single, unified

network fabric transparent and consistent with existing practices, management software, and OS drivers. The

switch series is compatible with integrated transceivers and Twinax cabling solutions that deliver cost-effective

connectivity for 10 Gigabit Ethernet to servers at the rack level, eliminating the need for expensive optical

transceivers. The Cisco Nexus 5000 Series portfolio also provides the flexibility to connect directly to servers using

10GBASE-T connections or fiber with Enhanced Small Form-Factor Pluggable (SFP+) transceivers.

The Cisco Nexus 5000 Series is designed for data center environments with cut-through technology that enables

consistent low-latency Ethernet solutions, with front-to-back or back-to-front cooling, and with data ports in the

rear, bringing switching into close proximity with servers and making cable runs short and simple. The switch

series is highly serviceable, with redundant, hot-pluggable power supplies and fan modules. It uses data center-

class Cisco

NX-OS Software for high reliability and ease of management.

Cisco Nexus 5500 Platform Overview

In a constantly changing business environment, companies are calling upon their IT departments to help them

reduce costs, improve productivity, and introduce new ways to interact with their customer base.

Cisco Nexus 5548UP - Page 14

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