Cisco Nexus N2K‑C2248PQ Fabric Extender

Product Overview

Key Features

• High‑density 10GE server access: 48 × SFP+ host ports supporting 1 Gbps / 10 Gbps Ethernet and FCoE; 4 × QSFP+ 40 Gbps fabric uplink ports, each QSFP+ can break out into four 10 Gbps interfaces, providing up to 16 ×10GE fabric links totalCisco.
• Fabric Extender (FEX) architecture: No local forwarding capability. All configurations, policies and firmware management are centralized on the parent Nexus switch, ensuring consistent policy across multiple racks and lowering day‑to‑day O&M workloadCisco.
• Unified fabric & lossless Ethernet: Supports FCoE and DCB (Data Center Bridging) including PFC and ECN, enabling convergence of LAN Ethernet and Fibre‑Channel storage traffic over the same physical infrastructureCisco.
• Rich QoS and traffic management: Per‑port queuing, traffic classification, marking, policing, jumbo‑frame support, optimized for latency‑sensitive virtual machine and storage I/O workloads.
• Enterprise‑grade hardware reliability: Dual hot‑swappable power supplies, hot‑swap fan trays; supports front‑to‑back or back‑to‑front airflow options for flexible cabinet deployment.
• Unified NX‑OS management: Fully controlled from parent switch NX‑OS CLI; supports ACL, LACP, LLDP, CDP, IGMP snooping, SNMP monitoring and bulk firmware upgrades for large FEX deploymentsCisco.

Technical Specifications

• Form factor: 1U standard 19‑inch rack‑mount chassis
• Host downlink ports: 48 × SFP+ (1G /10G Ethernet / FCoE)
• Fabric uplink ports: 4 × QSFP+ 40 Gbps (breakout‑capable to 4×10G each)
• Total fabric bandwidth: 160 Gbps
• Packet buffer: 32 MB shared buffer
• Power supplies: Dual hot‑swap AC or DC power modules
• Fans: Hot‑swappable fan trays, dual‑direction airflow selectable
• Compatible parent switches: Cisco Nexus 5000 / 5500 / 6000 series running qualified NX‑OS releases
• Operating temperature: 0 °C ~ 40 °C

Application Scenarios