The Cisco Nexus N9K-C93240YC-FX2 is a high-density data center switch offering 4.8 Tbps bandwidth. Featuring 48x 25G downlinks and 12x 100G uplinks, it delivers wire-rate MACsec, Fibre Channel support, and ACI integration for converged cloud networks.
Quick Specs:
· Downlinks: 48 x 1/10/25G SFP28 (Supports 8/16/32G Fibre Channel)
· Uplinks: 12 x 40/100G QSFP28
· Bandwidth: 4.8 Tbps
· Security: MACsec on all ports
· OS Support: NX-OS & Cisco ACI
· Form Factor: 1RU Top-of-Rack (ToR)
Comprehensive Product Overview
The Cisco Nexus N9K-C93240YC-FX2 is a formidable 1-Rack-Unit (1RU) Top-of-Rack (ToR) and aggregation switch designed for the most demanding enterprise data centers and service provider environments. Powered by the Cisco Cloud Scale ASIC, it provides a massive 4.8 Terabits per second (Tbps) of switching capacity, completely eliminating network bottlenecks in heavily virtualized and storage-intensive racks.
What truly sets the N9K-C93240YC-FX2 apart is its extraordinary uplink density and storage integration. With 12 x 100G QSFP28 uplinks (double that of standard ToR switches) and native support for Fibre Channel (FC) and FCoE, this switch enables true LAN/SAN convergence. It allows enterprises to unify their Ethernet and Storage Area Networks on a single, high-performance Cisco ACI or NX-OS fabric.
Key Features & Business Benefits
Extreme Uplink Capacity: Prevent oversubscription. The 12x 100G QSFP28 uplink ports ensure a non-blocking architecture even when all 48 downlink ports are running at maximum 25G capacity, making it perfect for hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI).
Unified LAN/SAN Convergence: Significantly reduce cabling and hardware costs. The downlink ports can be configured as 8/16/32-Gbps Fibre Channel ports, allowing you to connect Ethernet servers and Fibre Channel storage arrays directly to the same switch.
End-to-End MACsec Security: Protect your intellectual property and comply with strict data regulations. The FX2 ASIC provides hardware-based, wire-rate IEEE 802.1AE MACsec encryption across all 60 ports without sacrificing throughput.
Flexible Operating Modes: Future-proof your investment. Operate in standard NX-OS mode for robust, traditional BGP/EVPN VXLAN routing, or deploy in Cisco ACI mode to enable policy-driven, automated Spine-Leaf architectures.
Deep Visibility & Telemetry: Built-in streaming telemetry, precision time protocol (PTP), and flow table logging offer unprecedented, real-time insights into network performance and traffic microbursts.
Technical Specifications
Specification
Details for N9K-C93240YC-FX2
Product Series
Cisco Nexus 9300-FX2 Series
Downlink Ports
48 x 1/10/25-Gbps SFP28 (Fiber/DAC)
Storage Networking
Supports 8/16/32-Gbps Fibre Channel & FCoE
Uplink Ports
12 x 40/100-Gbps QSFP28 (Fiber/DAC)
Switching Bandwidth
4.8 Tbps
Forwarding Rate
2 bpps (billion packets per second)
MAC Addresses
512,000
Security Encryption
Wire-rate MACsec on all 60 ports
System Memory / Flash
24 GB / 128 GB SSD
Buffer Size
40 MB
Power Supplies
Dual redundant hot-swappable (1200W typical)
Cooling / Airflow
4 Redundant Fan Trays (Port-side Intake or Exhaust)
Dimensions (H x W x D)
1.72 x 17.3 x 22.3 in. (4.37 x 43.9 x 56.6 cm)
Ideal Application Scenarios
Heavy-Traffic ToR Leaf: Perfect for big data clusters, AI/ML computing racks, and NVMe-over-Fabric (NVMe-oF) deployments where 6 uplinks are simply not enough to handle the server-to-spine traffic ratio.
Storage Area Network (SAN) Consolidation: Use the Fibre Channel capabilities to connect legacy SAN arrays and modern Ethernet storage seamlessly within the same 1RU switch, reducing data center footprint.
High-Density Aggregation: Deploy as a middle-of-row (MoR) or aggregation switch for smaller data center pods, utilizing the 12x 100G ports to connect downstream 10G/25G switches.
Supported Accessories & Optics
Ensure maximum reliability and ACI compatibility by configuring your N9K-C93240YC-FX2 with these genuine Cisco optics and accessories: SFP-10/25G-CSR-S: 10/25G dual-rate SFP28 transceivers for server downlinks. QSFP-100G-SR4-S: 100GBASE-SR4 QSFP28 transceivers for high-capacity core uplinks. DS-SFP-FC32G-SW: 32-Gbps Fibre Channel short-wavelength SFP+ (for SAN connections). NXA-PAC-1200W-PI / PE: 1200W AC Power Supplies (PI = Port-side Intake / PE = Port-side Exhaust). NXA-FAN-35CFM-PI / PE: Nexus Fan Trays (Airflow direction must strictly match power supplies).
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q1: What is the main difference between the Nexus 93180YC-FX2 and 93240YC-FX2?
A1: The primary difference is uplink capacity. The 93180YC-FX2 features 6x 100G uplinks (3.6 Tbps bandwidth). The 93240YC-FX2 doubles that uplink capacity, providing 12x 100G uplinks (4.8 Tbps bandwidth), preventing oversubscription in high-density racks.
Q2: Can I connect Fibre Channel (FC) storage directly to this switch?
A2: Yes. The N9K-C93240YC-FX2 supports unified ports. You can configure the 25G SFP28 downlink ports to operate as 8/16/32-Gbps Fibre Channel interfaces, allowing direct connections to FC SAN storage arrays.
Q3: Are the 100G QSFP28 uplinks backwards compatible with 40G?
A3: Yes. All 12 of the QSFP28 uplink ports natively support 40G QSFP+ transceivers. This provides a seamless migration path if your current core spine network operates at 40G but you plan to upgrade to 100G later.
Q4: Do I need a special license to operate in Cisco ACI mode?
A4: Yes. Like all Cisco Nexus 9000 series switches, operating the device in ACI mode (managed via the APIC controller) requires a Cisco DNA Advantage or Cisco ACI Advantage smart subscription license.
Q5: Does this switch support MACsec encryption?
A5: Yes. The FX2 Cloud Scale ASIC provides hardware-based, wire-rate IEEE 802.1AE MACsec encryption across all 60 ports (both downlinks and uplinks) simultaneously, without any performance degradation.
