N9K-C9372PX-E vs N9K-C9372PX in ACI mode

[ataranen]

I'm having trouble finding any documentation on the difference between these 2 models in ACI mode. I found a short notice that in Nexus mode there is no difference, but I can't fine anything about ACI mode. Clearly "E" should mean some enhancement in hardware, but what is the enhancement, and what are its implications on the software and configuration. 

[Tomas de Leon · Accepted solution]

Hardware revisions to address additional features in ACI.

The 9372EPX use the Broadcom Trident II along with the Cisco-created ALE2 or ALE2+ SoC. The non-E uses the ALE2, the E version uses the ALE2+. In NX-OS mode, there's no difference between the ALE2 or ALE2+. The ALE chips (ALE, ALE2, ALE2+) provide some extra buffer as well as some additional functionality that is missing in the T2, such as VXLAN routing (T2 can only do VXLAN termination, it can't make a routing decision after the decapsulation.)

In ACI mode the E version can do microsegmentation based on IP address, where normally segmentation/microsegmentation is done via VXLAN/VLAN/NVGRE. You cannot do uSeg IP-based with a non-E leaf. You can still segment based on VLAN or VXLAN, which can still be microsegments depending on how you lay your VLANs/VXLANs out.The only difference between the ALE2 and ALE2+ is that particular ability. All other functionality and performance is the same. For NX-OS mode, there's no difference in functionality or performance.

I hope this helps!

T.

[ataranen]

Just a follow up on the difference between the basic model N9K-C9372PX and N9K-C9372PX-E: if I mix the 2 models in our environment, may I run into any compatibility or configuration issues ? Especially in situations when I connect an external device to both switches.