Cisco 9336PQ vs. N9K-X9736PQ 40Gb Spine Line Card

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Cisco nexus 9000 switch users always have some questions related to the Cisco ACI. For example, is there a way to take advantage of ISSU/dual sup failover in a 9500 in ACI mode? How to get from Nexus ACI mode to NX-OS mode issue? What are the differences between Cisco 9336PQ and N9K-X9736PQ 40Gb Spine Line Card?

Now, let’s come to the last question: the differences between these 2 pieces of equipment: Cisco 9336PQ and N9K-X9736PQ 40Gb Spine Line Card.

We know that Cisco Nexus 9000 switches operate in Cisco NX-OS Software or Application Centric Infrastructure (ACI) modes with ground-breaking Cloud Scale ASIC technology. They are ideal for traditional or fully automated data center deployments. And all Nexus 9K switches can operate in standalone mode. Many also support ACI.

Cisco 9336PQ vs. N9K-X9736PQ 40Gb Spine Line Card

Similarities:

Only supported in ACI
Only to be used as a spine
36x40G nonblocking (no oversubscription) switching
Support the same 40G transceivers
Both use a mixture of third party and Cisco ASICs

Differences:

Form Factor

9336 = fixed switch
9736 = module for 9500 chassis

Scalability

9336 = 36x40G nonblocking
*9504 = Up to 144x40G (128x40G nonblocking)
*9508 = Up to 288x40G (256x40G nonblocking)

* Assumes all 9500 line card slots are populated with 9736PQ modules. To achieve full bandwidth, you will need 6 fabric modules.

Both contain a third party and Cisco Alpine ASIC.

N9K-C9336PQ-Cisco Alpine ASIC and third party chips are both on the board.
N9K-X9736PQ-Cisco Alpine ASIC is on the line card. Third party chips are on the fabric module.

Topic from https://supportforums.cisco.com/t5/application-centric/aci-spine-difference-between-cisco-9336pq-and-n9k-x9736pq-40gb/td-p/2967647

Nexus 9336PQ-Nexus 9300 40GE Switches

	Nexus 9336PQ
Usage	ACI spine
Form factor	2 RU
Throughput (Tbps)	2.88
100 M/1 GE/10 GE copper ports	NA
1/10 GE fiber ports	NA
40 GE ports	36
100 GE ports	No
Latency (microseconds)	Less than 2
Buffer (MB)	72
Power supply (watts); 2 per switch	1200
Typical power (watts)	400
Minimum software version	ACI-N9KDK9-11.1
Orderable	Yes
SKU	N9K-C9336PQ
Operating System	ACI

9736PQ-Nexus 9500 40GE Modules

	9736PQ
Usage	ACI spine
Front-panel ports	36 x 40 GE
Standalone	No
ACI leaf	No
ACI spine	Yes
Chassis support	4, 8, and 16

40 GE ports	36
Switching performance	Nonblocking
Buffer (MB)	42
Typical power (watts)	197
Minimum software version	ACI-N9KDK9-11.0
SKUs	N9K-X9736PQ