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Nexus 7004 vs Nexus 5596UP

Ruterford
Level 1
Level 1

Hello All,

Our organization needs to change our aging pair of non-VSS non-E Cat6506 switches with something new and based on our existing DC we were offered by our local Cisco partner either a pair of Nexus 5596UP switches or a pair of Nexus 7004 switches. Now dilemma is what to go with, so far I see that netflow is unavailable on 5596 but available on 7004. 7004 is also more expensive than 5596 and I am wondering what else could be considered as a go/no go factor.

Thanks!

7 Replies 7

Leo Laohoo
Hall of Fame
Hall of Fame

7004 is also more expensive than 5596 and I am wondering what else could be considered as a go/no go factor.

7K will always be more expensive than the 5k/6K because it's primary used as a core DC switch whilst the 5K/6K is mainly used as a distribution switch. 

7K is more geared up for 10Gbps/40Gbps while the 7700 is geared up for 40Gbps/100 Gbps. 

Why not stick with what you know?

An alternative is to upgrade to a VSS 6506E pair.

Collin Clark
VIP Alumni
VIP Alumni

The Nexus 5K's do not make good core switches. They were not designed for that. I would stay far away from that design. The 7K's work just fine as a core switch, however do you need the features that a 7K offer? Features like

VDC

FCoE

High density 10gb

40gb/100gb

If you don't need these features then stick with the 6500 or new 6800 series switch. You'll (potentially) save money and get a richer feature set. Buy a Nexus when you need a Nexus.

Thanks for your answers guys,

We would like to get rid of STP in multiple connections to our floor catalyst access-layer switches and some server farm switches, so wanted to use the vPC technology available on Nexus. ( I know we could have VSS upgrade, but wanted to get something newer)

Now our local cisco dealer is offering us 96 port F2E linecards, and I am wondering if EVERY port on F2E cards can be placed in an SVI act as L3 and be part of vPC (thus eliminatng need of STP block).

Thanks

glen.grant
VIP Alumni
VIP Alumni

  If you go Nexus be very careful about what cards you order.  Certain cards are not compatible with others and cannot operate in the same VDC .  Also nexus os is a different beast and there is a considrable learning curve if you have never used them before .  It is not exactly like IOS .

We are ordering same cards on both Nexus switches.

They are all F2E.

Either VSS or vPC will work just fine. All I'm saying is that I wouldn't spend the money and effort to buy a Nexus when a 6500 in VSS will accomplish what I need. As Glen mentioned it is a different beast and there is a learning curve. It's not so much the learning the commands, it learning what to look for when you run into problems.

As far as putting each port into an SVI and be a part of vPC....it really doens't work like that. What you would do to eliminate STP is create your VLANs, then add all those to a vPC peer link which then creates the virtual port channel. IMO VSS is more mature, stable and easier to configure as well as troubleshoot.

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