Cisco N55-DL2
Nexus 5548 Layer 2 Daughter Card
Product Highlights
Maintaining wire-rate Layer 2 forwarding across a dense 10 Gigabit Ethernet data center fabric is critical — any bottleneck at the switching plane ripples into latency, dropped frames, and degraded application performance. The Cisco N55-DL2 Nexus 5548 Layer 2 Daughter Card is the factory-default forwarding engine for the Nexus 5548P and 5548UP switches, delivering up to 160 Gbps of Layer 2 switching capacity that is shared by all 48 ports in the chassis.
Unlike rear-panel expansion modules, the N55-DL2 installs in a dedicated front-panel slot, preserving valuable rear expansion capacity for additional I/O modules. The card is fully field-upgradable and hot-swappable, so you can deploy or replace it without scheduling a maintenance window or disrupting production traffic.
For environments that later require inter-VLAN routing or hardware-accelerated Layer 3 forwarding, the N55-DL2 can be swapped out for the Cisco N55-D160L3 or N55-D160L3-V2 Layer 3 daughter card — providing a clear, non-disruptive upgrade path. Whether you are maintaining an existing Nexus 5500 deployment or sourcing a replacement spare, the N55-DL2 keeps your data center switching infrastructure running at full capacity.
Features & Benefits
160 Gbps Layer 2 Switching Capacity
The N55-DL2 provides up to 160 Gbps of Layer 2 forwarding capability, distributed across all 48 ports in the Nexus 5548 chassis. This ensures wire-rate performance for east-west data center traffic without creating forwarding bottlenecks.
Field-Upgradable & Hot-Swappable
Designed as an I/O module that can be ordered with the system or installed later as a spare, the N55-DL2 supports hot-swap operation. Network administrators can add or replace the daughter card without powering down the switch, minimizing downtime in production environments.
Front-Panel Installation
The N55-DL2 occupies a dedicated front-panel slot on the Nexus 5548 chassis rather than consuming a rear expansion slot. This preserves rear-panel capacity for additional expansion modules, maximizing the overall port density and flexibility of the switch.
Clear Layer 3 Upgrade Path
When your network requirements evolve beyond Layer 2 switching, the N55-DL2 can be replaced with the N55-D160L3 or N55-D160L3-V2 Layer 3 daughter card. This in-place upgrade adds hardware-accelerated routing without replacing the entire chassis.
Deployment Scenarios
Data Center Access / Top-of-Rack Switching
In a data center access layer deployment, the Nexus 5548 with the N55-DL2 provides high-density 10GbE connectivity to servers and storage arrays. The 160 Gbps Layer 2 forwarding capacity ensures low-latency, wire-rate switching for east-west traffic between compute nodes.
Spare / Replacement for Existing Nexus 5548 Deployments
Organizations running Nexus 5548P or 5548UP switches can stock the N55-DL2 as a field-replaceable spare. Its hot-swappable design allows rapid replacement in the event of a hardware fault, reducing mean time to repair and maintaining network availability.
Staged Migration to Layer 3
Teams planning a phased migration from pure Layer 2 to Layer 3 routing can begin with the N55-DL2 and later swap in the N55-D160L3-V2 daughter card. This approach avoids a forklift upgrade and lets you add routing capability on your own timeline.
General
Performance
Compatibility
Installation
Lifecycle
Compatibility Notes
Compatible Platforms
- Cisco Nexus 5548P (N5K-C5548P-FA)
- Cisco Nexus 5548UP (N5K-C5548UP-FA)
The N55-DL2 installs in the front-panel daughter card slot and does not occupy a rear expansion slot. When upgrading to Layer 3 capability, this module is replaced by the N55-D160L3 or N55-D160L3-V2 daughter card.
Note: The Cisco Nexus 5548P and the broader Nexus 5500 platform have reached End-of-Life (EOL) status. Cisco encourages migration to the Nexus 5600 platform or Nexus 9000 series. Third-party maintenance contracts are available for continued support.
Downloads & Resources
Frequently Asked Questions
| Part Number | Product | Key Difference |
|---|---|---|
| N55-D160L3 | Nexus 5548 Layer 3 Daughter Card | Adds hardware-accelerated Layer 3 routing (160 Gbps, 240 Mpps) — replaces the N55-DL2 in the same front-panel slot. |
| N55-D160L3-V2 | Nexus 5548 Layer 3 Daughter Card V2 | Updated L3 ASIC with higher table sizes (up to 16K host entries) vs. V1; also replaces the N55-DL2 in the same slot. |
| N55-M160L3 | Nexus 5596 Layer 3 Expansion Module | Layer 3 module designed for the Nexus 5596UP/5596T chassis — not compatible with the Nexus 5548. |