Explore Cisco Nexus 7700 Series Switches, latest extension to Cisco 7000 Series switches | NBTech A21

We are back with our Tech article series and after Cisco 7000 series, it’s time to explore Cisco Nexus 7700 series switches which are the latest extension to 7000 Nexus series switches. Did you miss our last article on Cisco 7000 series switches? Don’t worry…

Get it here - All you need to know about Cisco Nexus 7000 series Switches #NBTech A20

Cisco Nexus 7700 Series Switches - An Overview

This latest extension to Cisco 7000 series switches – Cisco Nexus 7700 series switches delivers highest capacity 100, 40, and 10 GE ports in the industry, with up to 192 100-Gbps ports, 384 40-Gbps ports or 768 native 10-Gbps ports.

For meeting the scalability requirements of cloud environments Cisco 7700 are designed to offer high system capacity. Cisco 7700 switches have Nexus Operating System software and four different models, namely –

• Cisco Nexus 7700 18-Slot Switch
• Cisco Nexus 7700 10-Slot Switch
• Cisco Nexus 7700 6-Slot Switch
• Cisco Nexus 7700 2-Slot Switch

Models of Cisco 7700 Series Switches

Cisco 7700 series switches have numerous models and each model delivers few unique features. Below we are providing a brief description of various models of Cisco Nexus 7700 switches with their features and capabilities.

1. Cisco Nexus 7700 18-Slot Switch

Cisco Nexus 7700 18-Slot switches offer high density 100 and 40 GE (Gigabit Ethernet), high availability, front-to-back airflow and exceptional performance. These features make it ideal for high-performance DC core & Unified Fabric deployments. Numerous other capabilities and features of Cisco 7700 18-Slot switches are listed below –

Feature and Operation Consistency

Cisco Nexus 7700 18-Slot switches maintain feature as well as operational consistency with Cisco 7000 series. These switches offers -

• One of the most comprehensive DC feature set in the whole industry.
• Similar NX-OS software, proven architecture and ASICs.

#High Scalability

These switches are especially designed for meeting the scaling needs of Data Centers today. Thus, it offers switching capacity up to 83 Tbps, one of the highest switching capacities in the industry. In addition, it provides 100 GE, 40 GE and 10 GE densities which are also among the highest density in the industry.

#Lower TCO (Total Cost of Ownership),

These switches deliver a lower ownership cost as they are optimized for the DC along with front-to-back airflow in the compact form factor. Cisco Nexus 7700 18-Slot switches offer –

• Reduction in power consumption along with configuration and granular power supplies.
• It has a Data Center power mode which optimizes the power consumption of system at higher temperatures.
• Front-to-back air flow design for hot-cold aisle deployments.

2. Cisco Nexus 7700 10-Slot Switch

These switches provide front-to-back airflow, high availability, high density 100 and 40 Gigabit Ethernet (GE) and exceptional performance. These unique features make Cisco Nexus 7700 10-Slot switches ideal for high-performance DC access, core, aggregation, as well as Unified Fabric deployments –

#High Scalability

These switches provide quite a high switching capacity up to 42 (Tbps). In addition, it provides high 100 GE, 40 GE and 10 GE density (192 ports 40 GE, 96 ports 100 GE or 384 ports 10 GE; non-blocking ports).

Thus, this model of Cisco 7700 switches easily meet the scaling needs of today’s most demanded Data Centers.

#Feature and Operation Consistency

Just like Cisco Nexus 7700 18 slot switches, Cisco 7700 10 slot switches also maintain the feature and the operation consistency with Cisco 7000 series switches. These switches also have the common architecture, Nexus Operating System software and ASICs.

#Lower TCO (Total Cost of Ownership)

For the purpose of delivering lower TCO (Total Cost of Ownership), these switches are optimized for DC in Compact 14RU form factor.  In addition, it also offers reduced power consumption along with granular power supplies & configuration.

Cisco 7700 10 slot switches have DC power mode that optimizes power consumption at higher temperatures.

Recommended read: Benefits, Features, and Everything about Cisco Nexus 6001 Series Switches

3. Cisco Nexus 7700 6-Slot Switch

Another model of Cisco 7700 series is Cisco Nexus 7700 6-Slot Switches. These switches allow scaling up to 21 Tbps (terabits per second). It is a 9RU switch and thus offers high availability, compact form factor and high performance.

These features make Cisco Nexus 6 slot switches ideal for small and medium-sized DC access, Data Center Interconnect, Unified Fabric deployments and aggregation. Other features of Cisco Nexus 7706 switches include -

#Feature and Operation Consistency

• Just like other Cisco Nexus 7700 series switches, these switches also maintain feature and operation consistency with Cisco Nexus 7000 series switches.
• These switches have Cisco Nexus Operating System software, ASIC (application-specific integrated circuits) sand common architecture,
• In order to ensure consistency, it has the software similar to Cisco 7000 series.
• Most comprehensive DC feature sets in the whole industry.

#High Scalability

• Nexus 7700 6 slot switches offers high switching capacity up to 21 terabits per second.
• These switches provide high density native 100 GE, 40 GE, and 10 GE density (48 ports 100 GE, 96 ports 40 GE, or192 ports 10 GE; all ports are non-blocking ports)

#Lower TCO (Total Cost of Ownership)

• For the purpose of hot and cold aisle deployments, these switches offer front-to-back air flow.

• Compact 9RU form factor.
• Reduced consumption of system power with granular power supplies & configuration.

4. Cisco Nexus 7700 2-Slot Switch

The next model of Cisco 7700 series is 7700 2 slot switches. These switches have 3 rack unit chassis which supports all the Cisco 7700 100/40/10 GE modules. Cisco 7702 switches provide operational and feature consistency as well as investment protection.

They are ideal for medium and small -sized DCI (data center interconnect) solutions. Other features of Cisco 7700 2 slot switches are listed below –

#Feature and Operation Consistency

Nexus 7700 2 slot switches also maintain consistency with Cisco 7000 series by providing –

• Similar architecture, ASICs (application-specific integrated circuits) and Cisco Nexus Operating System software.
• Similar software train across all the Cisco 7000 Series switches to ensure consistency.

#Compact Form Factor

• These switches are space optimized and thus deliver lower TCO.
• The 3 rack unit chassis of Nexus 7702 switches has only 1 module slot.
• These switches support 48 ports of 10/1 Gigabit Ethernet, 24 ports of 40 Gigabit Ethernet, or 12 ports of 100 Gigabit Ethernet, and all the ports are non-blocking.

#Deployment Flexibility

• These switches offer very high deployment flexibility with the help of DCI feature set. The comprehensive Data Center Interconnect (DCI) feature includes Virtual Private LAN Service (VPLS), Cisco IOS Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS), Cisco Locator/ID Separation Protocol (LISP), and Cisco Overlay Transport Virtualization (OTV).
• Compact server chassis of Cisco 7700 2 slot switch offers comprehensive L2 and L3 features for small DC aggregation as well as campus cores.

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Conclusion

Cisco 7700 series switches are an add-on to Cisco Nexus 7000 series switches. These switches offer high system capacity for meeting the scalability requirements of today’s cloud environment. These switches have the switching capacity up to 83 Tbps (terabits per second) and a lot more.

Cisco 7700 switches being an extension to 7000 series switches maintains functional and operational consistency with 7000 series. Every model of 7700 has a common architecture, ASICs and Nexus Operating Software.  Different models of Cisco Nexus 7700 series switches include –

• Cisco Nexus 7700 18-Slot Switch
• Cisco Nexus 7700 10-Slot Switch
• Cisco Nexus 7700 6-Slot Switch
• Cisco Nexus 7700 2-Slot Switch

Each model of the series offers few unique features which increase its worth to the industry.

Also read: Exploring Cisco 6000 Series Nexus Switches – Benefits, Features, Models and More

Hope the article helped you to know in detail about Cisco 7700 series switches. However, if you still have any doubt feel free to ask in the comment section below.