Cisco N9K-C9336C-FX2
Nexus 9300 Series, 36p 40/100G QSFP28
Product Highlights
What's Included
(2) NXA-PAC-750W-PE (Port Side Exhaust) or NXA-PAC-750W-PI (Port Side Intake)
(2) AC Power Cords
(3) NXA-FAN-65CFM-PE (Port Side Exhaust) or NXA-FAN-65CFM-PI (Port Side Intake)
(1) Rackmount/Rail Kit (N9K-C9300-RMK)
As data centers scale from 10G and 40G to 25G and 100G, network teams need a spine or aggregation switch that delivers wire-rate performance without consuming precious rack space. The Cisco N9K-C9336C-FX2 — part of the Nexus 9300-FX2 Series — answers that challenge with 36 QSFP28 ports and 7.2 Tbps of switching capacity in a single rack unit.
Built on Cisco's Cloud Scale ASIC technology, the Nexus 9336C-FX2 provides flexible port speeds spanning 1G through 100G with breakout support on every interface. Whether you're building a leaf-spine fabric, a VXLAN/EVPN overlay, or a high-performance computing cluster, this switch delivers the throughput, low latency, and deep 40 MB buffers your applications demand.
The platform runs Cisco NX-OS for standalone deployments or integrates seamlessly into Cisco ACI fabrics for policy-driven automation. With dual hot-swappable 750W AC power supplies, three field-replaceable fan modules, and a choice of port-side exhaust or intake airflow, the N9K-C9336C-FX2 is engineered for 24/7 data center reliability. Advanced features like vPC, MACsec hardware encryption, and EVPN/VXLAN come standard — making this switch a future-proof foundation for modern enterprise and cloud-scale networks.
Features & Benefits
High-Density 100G Connectivity
With 36 QSFP28 ports in a 1RU chassis, the N9K-C9336C-FX2 delivers one of the highest 100G port densities available in a fixed-form-factor switch. Every port supports breakout to 4x25G or 4x10G, enabling up to 144 lower-speed connections from a single switch — ideal for top-of-rack aggregation or spine-layer deployments where port count and bandwidth matter.
Cisco Cloud Scale Technology
The Cloud Scale ASIC powers 7.2 Tbps of full-duplex bandwidth and over 2.4 billion packets per second of forwarding capacity. It also enables hardware-accelerated features like VXLAN routing, MACsec encryption, and wire-rate telemetry — capabilities that would tax the CPU on legacy platforms. This means you get advanced services without sacrificing throughput.
Flexible Speed Migration
Supporting 1G, 10G, 25G, 40G, 50G, and 100G Ethernet on the same platform, the Nexus 9336C-FX2 lets you migrate at your own pace. Start with 40G uplinks today and transition to 100G when ready — no forklift upgrade required. QSA adapters enable SFP+ and SFP28 optics on ports 7–32 for even greater flexibility.
Enterprise-Grade Reliability
Dual hot-swappable 750W AC power supplies and three field-replaceable fan modules provide N+1 redundancy for uninterrupted operation. Choose port-side exhaust (blue) or port-side intake (burgundy) airflow to match your hot-aisle/cold-aisle layout. An MTBF exceeding 335,000 hours underscores the platform's carrier-grade durability.
Advanced Network Virtualization
Native support for VXLAN, EVPN, and vPC enables scalable overlay networks and multi-tenant segmentation without external appliances. Up to 16,000 VRF instances and 3,967 VLANs provide the segmentation headroom that large-scale virtualized environments demand.
Deployment Scenarios
Data Center Spine Layer
Deploy the N9K-C9336C-FX2 as a spine switch in a leaf-spine fabric, aggregating 100G uplinks from multiple leaf switches. The 7.2 Tbps non-blocking architecture ensures east-west traffic flows at wire rate, supporting virtualized workloads, big data analytics, and distributed storage clusters.
VXLAN/EVPN Overlay Fabric
Leverage hardware-accelerated VXLAN routing and EVPN control-plane integration to build scalable multi-tenant overlay networks. The Cloud Scale ASIC handles encapsulation and decapsulation at line rate, enabling seamless workload mobility and micro-segmentation across the fabric.
High-Performance Computing & Storage
Connect compute nodes and storage arrays at 25G or 100G with ultra-low latency and deep 40 MB buffers. The switch absorbs traffic bursts common in HPC and parallel storage workloads, reducing retransmissions and improving application performance.
Cisco ACI Fabric Deployment
Integrate the 9336C-FX2 as a spine or leaf node in a Cisco ACI fabric for policy-driven automation, centralized management via APIC, and consistent security across the entire data center. ACI mode unlocks intent-based networking capabilities and simplified Day-2 operations.
General
Ports & Interfaces
Performance
Scalability
System Resources
Power
Cooling
Physical
Environmental
Routing & Switching Features
Compliance
Compatibility Notes
Operating System: Runs Cisco NX-OS for standalone mode or Cisco ACI firmware when deployed in an ACI fabric. Verify the minimum NX-OS or ACI release for your required feature set on Cisco's release notes page.
Transceivers & Optics: Supports Cisco QSFP-100G, QSFP-40G, and breakout cables. Use CVR-QSFP-SFP10G QSA adapters for 10G SFP+ connectivity on all ports (1–36) and 1G SFP on ports 7–32. Always verify optic compatibility via the Cisco Transceiver Compatibility Matrix.
Airflow: All power supply and fan modules must match the same airflow direction — port-side exhaust (blue) or port-side intake (burgundy). Do not mix airflow directions.
Power: Compatible with NXA-PAC-750W-PE / NXA-PAC-750W-PI (750W AC) power supplies. DC and HVAC/HVDC PSU options also available (NXA-PDC-1100W-PE/PI, NXA-PAC-1100W-PE2/PI2).
Downloads & Resources
Frequently Asked Questions
| Part Number | Product | Key Difference |
|---|---|---|
| N9K-C9336C-FX2-E | Nexus 9336C-FX2-E | Same 36-port QSFP28 form factor but adds 16/32G Fibre Channel support for converged Ethernet/FC fabrics |
| N9K-C9364C | Nexus 9364C | 64 x QSFP28 ports in 2RU — choose when you need higher 100G port density at the spine layer |
| N9K-C93240YC-FX2 | Nexus 93240YC-FX2 | 48 x 1/10/25G SFP28 + 12 x 40/100G QSFP28 — ideal for leaf/access deployments with SFP28 server connections |
| N9K-C93360YC-FX2 | Nexus 93360YC-FX2 | 96 x 1/10/25G SFP28 + 12 x 40/100G QSFP28 in 2RU — higher SFP28 access port count for large leaf deployments |