Nexus 6004 vs 6509 for Cores?

[Mike Schultz]

My organization is in the process of implementing two projects:

*Replacing our cores

*Upgrading our server access switches

Our current cores are dual WS-C6509's running in HSRP mode. We are upgrading them to new 6509's so we can implement VSS. They have not been installed yet, but we do have the equipment in our posession and mostly configured.

We are also in talks to purchase two Nexus 6004 chassis along with sixty 2232TM-E FEX's. It looks like this is going to happen soon. We use 4506's for our server access layer and are looking for the 6004/2000 Nexus platform to replace all of these 4506's.

What are the pro's and con's of skipping the 6509's and instead using the 6004/2232TM-E setup as our Core and Access layer?

[Sandeep Sharma]

Hi Michael,

Cisco Nexus family products are specialized products for data center solutions and have much more functionality and features comapring traditional Catalyst switches.
We have additional features that are requred today or tommrrow in your datacenter enhancement and expansion in future in nexus switches we have new features like:
- Otv
- VDC
- VPC (this is enhancement of VSS with lot of ease in loadbalancing mutlichassis/hardware portchannels)
- Fabric path

Apart from these feature the Nexus line has a much higher backplane speed than lot of other Cisco's products.

Using N2k for connecting servers will give you better bandwidth and ease of managing as these FEX's and managed from Core device no additional console/telnet sessions required.

Thanks & Regards
Sandeep

[Jon Marshall]

Sandeep

have much more functionality and features comapring traditional Catalyst switches.

I'm not that familiar with the Nexus switches but are you saying they have a lot more features than a 6500 ?

I understand they support VDC and OTV but my understanding was that the Nexus 6000 switches were basically very fast linerate 10/40Gbps capable switches.

The 6500 on the other hand, although it has always been an oversubscribed platform, supports a very large feature set as Sean mentions.

Jon

[Joseph W. Doherty]

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Posting

You also have the option of using your Nexus 6004 with L3 as server core and the Catalyst 6509 as network core.  BTW, if upgrading the 6509s, would suggest the 6807 (chassis has much more bandwidth potential).

[glen.grant]

   You also have the option now of running either the 6509 or the 6800 series  with the 6800ia switches (equivalent of nexus fexes) .  This is called instant access and it basically does the same as fexes and the 6800ia basically just sends all traffic uphill to the 6500 or 6800 and back down .  Unlike fexes you can actually stack up to 3 6800ia's together. The 6800's also support POE unlike fexes . You can also hang other switches off the 6800ia's. So basically you will configure and manage everything from 2 devices  like nexus .  So they have basically ported the fex setup to the 6500/6800 series and if you like IOS better than NOS this might be better. This is fairly new so I don't know what the availibility is . 

http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/collateral/switches/catalyst-6800ia-switch/qa_c67-728684.html