Nexus – IO Module

Nexus IO Module has 2 main classification – M & F Series.

M Series:

M1 – 1/10 G

M2 – 10/40/100 G

F Series:

F1 – 1G (L2)

F2 – 10G (L2/L3)

F2E – 10G (L2/L3)

F3 – 40G – Closes feature gap between M & F, with fewer exceptions.

As a rule of thumb, M series is used for L2/L3/L4 with large forwarding table requirements. F Series provides high performance, low latency, low cost & low power with mainly L2 features. F2 & later versions provide more of L3 features.

F1 & F2 requires its own VDC (Virtual Device Context). F2E has the ability to share VDC context with other M & F IO Modules. Recommended good practice is to make sure that each VDC has its own IO Module.

Common M/F Features:

Classic L2/L3

QoS Feature Set

VDC

Security Feature Set

Multicast Feature Set

M-Specific Features:

MPLS, OTV & LISP

F-Specific Features:

Fabricpath & FCoE

In the coming days, the functionality that is unique to M-Series will be replicated on the F-Series. Cisco’s comparison can be found here for Nexus 7000.

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