Primary Device
Cisco Nexus 9300-GX2
★ 3.3 Value Score
Technical Specifications
- Switching Capacity: Family: 9364D-GX2A 51.2 Tbps (2RU); 9348D-GX2A 38.4 Tbps (2RU); 9332D-GX2B 25.6 Tbps (1RU)
- Forwarding Rate: Family: 9364D-GX2A 8.35 Bpps max; 9348D-GX2A 8.35 Bpps max; 9332D-GX2B 4.17 Bpps max
- Ports (breakdown): 9364D-GX2A: 64x 400G QSFP-DD + 2x 1/10G SFP+; 9348D-GX2A: 48x 400G QSFP-DD + 2x 1/10G SFP+; 9332D-GX2B: 32x 400G QSFP-DD + 2x 1/10G SFP+. All models: 1x 10/100/1000BASE-T and 1x 1G SFP management, 1 RS-232 console, 1 USB. Each 400G port breaks out to 4x10G, 4x25G, 4x50G, 4x100G or 2x200G; native 200G, 100G and 40G supported
- PoE Budget: N/A (data center fixed switch, no PoE)
- Layer: L3 (Layer 2 and Layer 3; NX-OS or ACI spine/leaf modes)
- Stacking support: No stacking; multipathing via vPC and VXLAN fabric (128-way ECMP cited)
- Packet Buffer: 120 MB (all models)
- MACsec: Wire-rate on port subsets: 9364D-GX2A first 16 ports; 9348D-GX2A all 48 ports; 9332D-GX2B last 8 ports
- Power (typical / max): 9364D-GX2A and 9348D-GX2A 1380 W / 3124 W with 3200W AC PSUs; 9332D-GX2B 638 W / 1442 W with 1500W AC PSUs
- Form Factor: 2RU (9364D-GX2A, 9348D-GX2A); 1RU (9332D-GX2B)
- Routing Protocols: BGP, OSPF, IS-IS, EIGRP, RIPv2, PIM-SM, SSM, MSDP, Segment Routing (SR and SRv6)
- Forwarding Table Scale (GX2A / GX2B): IPv4 LPM 1M / 2M; IPv6 LPM 500K / 1M; MAC entries 500K / 1M; multicast routes 256K; up to 2M shared forwarding entries
- AI/ML Features: PFC, ECN, ETS, DCBX, WRED, AFD with ETRAP, DPP
- Operating Temperature: 0-40 C (intake); 0-28 C (exhaust on 9332D-GX2B)
Curation Review
- ✔ Pros: Very high density of 400G ports in a compact fixed chassis (up to 64x 400G in 2RU on the 9364D-GX2A); Full-duplex switching capacity up to 51.2 Tbps with 8.35 Bpps forwarding on the largest models; Flexible port breakouts (4x10G, 4x25G, 4x50G, 4x100G, 2x200G) allow one platform to serve mixed-speed fabrics; Wire-rate MACsec on selected ports and AI/ML-ready congestion features (PFC, ECN, AFD); Supports both NX-OS and ACI (spine and leaf) modes with deep L3 routing and segment routing (SR, SRv6); Large forwarding tables on GX2B models (2M IPv4 LPM and host entries) and 120 MB packet buffer
- ✘ Cons: No public Cisco list price; pricing requires a sales contact or partner quote, and the reseller prices found vary widely; Optics and transceivers are sold separately and must be checked against the Cisco optics compatibility matrix, which adds significant cost; High power draw on the 2RU models (typical 1380 W, max 3124 W), so power and cooling planning is needed; No stacking, so fabrics rely on vPC or VXLAN designs that add configuration complexity; Only 2x 1/10G SFP+ ports on every model, so legacy 1G/10G access or uplink needs require breakouts or extra hardware; Full-scale 400G port density is aimed at data center and AI fabric deployments, which makes the platform poorly suited to small enterprise or access-layer use
- Est. Price: $89,219 - $111,224
Compare Against
Aruba (HPE) Aruba CX 6200
★ 4.2 Value Score
Technical Specifications
- Switching Capacity: 128 Gbps (24-port models); 176 Gbps (48-port models)
- Forwarding Rate: 95.2 Mpps (24-port models); 130.9 Mpps (48-port models)
- Ports (breakdown): 24x or 48x 10/100/1000BASE-T (PoE+ on PoE SKUs) + 4x SFP/SFP+ uplinks (1GbE/10GbE); 6200M models add 4x SFP+ uplinks
- PoE Budget: 370W Class 4 (24G and 48G 370W SKUs); 740W Class 4 (48-port 6200F PoE SKU); up to 1440W Class 6 (60W per port) on 6200M PoE SKUs. Varies by SKU
- Layer: L2/L3 (Layer 3 static routing; dynamic routing depends on software license)
- Stacking support: Yes, VSF virtual stacking up to 8 members (single logical device); VSX redundancy also supported
Curation Review
- ✔ Pros: Fixed-port, Layer 2/3 managed access switch in a compact 1U form factor; Wide range of PoE and non-PoE SKUs (370W, 740W, and 1440W class 6 PoE options) for IP phones, cameras, and APs; VSF stacking of up to 8 members simplifies management as one logical device; Full Aruba CX OS features with REST API, network analytics, and automation support via Aruba Central; Solid mid-range pricing compared with enterprise-class core switches; 10GbE SFP+ uplinks support aggregation and campus backbone links
- ✘ Cons: Model and SKU naming (6200F vs 6200M, 24G vs 48G, PoE vs non-PoE) is confusing and specs differ significantly between variants; Public spec sources conflict on some figures (for example, 6200F throughput and uplink types), so exact datasheet values should be verified per SKU; Dynamic routing and advanced L3 features require additional licensing; Power budget is limited on 370W and 740W SKUs, so high-draw PoE devices may not all be supported at full load; Pricing is in USD only for 6200F SKUs. European 6200M pricing was found only in EUR and GBP, and no official HPE list price was confirmed
- Est. Price: $4,261 - $8,663