Cisco Nexus 9000 Series NX-OS Verified Scalability Guide, Releases 6.1(2)I2(1), 6.1(2)I2(2), 6.1(2)I2(2a), and 6.1(2)I2(2b)
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- Updated:
- August 6, 2014
Chapter: Verified Scalability Limits
Verified Scalability Limits
This chapter describes the Cisco NX-OS configuration limits for the Cisco Nexus 9000 Series switches.
Introduction
The values provided in this guide should not be interpreted as theoretical system limits for Cisco Nexus 9000 Series hardware or Cisco NX-OS software. These limits refer to values that have been validated by Cisco. They can increase over time as more testing and validation is done.
Verified Scalability Limits
This table lists the unidimensional verified scalability limits for Cisco NX-OS Releases 6.1(2)I2(1), 6.1(2)I2(2), 6.1(2)I2(2a), and 6.1(2)I2(2b). These limits are validated with a unidimensional configuration. The values provided in these tables focus on the scalability of one particular feature at a time.
Each number is the absolute maximum currently supported by this Cisco NX-OS release for the corresponding feature. If the hardware is capable of a higher scale, future software releases might increase this verified maximum limit. Results might differ from the values listed here when trying to achieve maximum scalability with multiple features enabled.
|
Feature |
9500 Series Verified Limit |
9300 Series Verified Limit |
|---|---|---|
|
IPv4 unicast routes (LPM)* |
128,000 16,000 (max host mode) |
12,000 |
|
IPv6 unicast routes (LPM)* |
20,000 4000 (max host mode) |
6000 (5000 routes < /64, 1000 routes > /64) |
|
IPv4 host routes** |
88,000 60,000 (max host mode) |
90,000 |
|
IPv6 host routes** |
20,000 30,000 (max host mode) |
40,000 |
|
IPv4 multicast routes** |
32,000 |
8000 |
|
Multicast outgoing interfaces (OIFs) |
40 |
40 |
|
BGP neighbors |
1000 |
150 |
|
OSPFv2 neighbors |
1000 |
200 |
|
OSPFv3 neighbors |
300 |
200 |
|
IPv4 ingress ACLs |
3072 (per network forwarding engine) |
3072 (per network forwarding engine) |
|
IPv4 egress ACLs |
768 (per network forwarding engine) |
768 (per network forwarding engine) |
|
IPv6 ingress ACLs |
1536 (per network forwarding engine) |
1536 (per network forwarding engine) |
|
IPv6 egress ACLs |
256 (per network forwarding engine) |
256 (per network forwarding engine) |
|
Configurable SPAN or ERSPAN sessions |
32 |
4 |
|
Active SPAN or ERSPAN sessions1 |
4 to 32, based on the number of line cards and the session configuration |
4 |
|
Active localized SPAN or ERSPAN sessions per line card2 |
4 |
4 |
|
Source interfaces per SPAN or ERSPAN session (Rx and Tx, Rx, or Tx) |
48 |
48 |
|
Destination interfaces per SPAN session |
1 (physical interface) |
1 (physical interface) |
|
Source VLANs per SPAN or ERSPAN session |
32 |
32 |
|
IPv4 ARP |
60,000 |
45,000 |
|
IPv6 ND |
30,000 |
20,000 |
|
MAC addresses |
90,000 |
90,000 |
|
MST virtual ports |
85,000 |
48,000 |
|
RPVST virtual ports |
22,000 |
12,000 |
|
HSRP groups per interface or I/O module |
490 |
250 |
|
VRRP groups per interface or I/O module |
250 |
250 |
|
Port channel links |
32 |
8 |
|
VLANs |
4000 |
3900 |
|
VLANs in RPVST mode |
500 |
500 |
|
vPCs*** |
275 |
100 |
|
SVIs |
490 |
250 |
|
MST instances |
64 |
64 |
|
VRFs**** |
1000 |
500 |
|
VXLANs |
||
|
Virtual network identifiers (VNIs) or VXLAN-mapped VLANs |
Not applicable |
640 |
|
Overlay multicast groups |
Not applicable |
128 |
|
Overlay MAC addresses |
Not applicable |
64,000 |
|
Remote VXLAN tunnel endpoints (VTEPs) |
Not applicable |
256 |
*The IPv4 and IPv6 routes share the same hardware table. Limits are provided for both the default line card mode and the max host line card mode.
**The IPv4/IPv6 host routes and IPv4 multicast routes share the same hardware table. Limits are provided for both the default line card mode and the max host line card mode.
***The number of VLANs per vPC supported should be within the MST or RPVST virtual port count specified in this table, depending on the topology.
****The VRF limits have been tested and verified only for Cisco NX-OS Releases 6.1(2)I2(2a) and 6.1(2)I2(2b).
 Note | The SPAN and ERSPAN scalability limits have been tested and verified only for Cisco NX-OS Releases 6.1(2)I2(2a) and 6.1(2)I2(2b). For Cisco NX-OS Releases 6.1(2)I2(1) and 6.1(2)I2(2), 32 local SPAN sessions and 4 system SPAN sessions have been tested and verified for the Cisco Nexus 9500 Series switches and 4 SPAN sessions have been tested and verified for the Cisco Nexus 9300 Series switches. |
Note | High availability (graceful restart and stateful switchover) is not supported when unicast or multicast aggressive timers are configured at any scale. |
Guidelines and Limitations for OSPF Verified Scalability Limits
Deployment Case Studies
This section provides sample topologies for some common deployments. For each topology, the scalability numbers are the limits with all of the listed features enabled at the same time.
These numbers are not the maximum verified values if each feature is viewed in isolation. For these numbers, see Verified Scalability Limits.
Verified Scalability Limits for a Layer 2/Layer 3 Aggregation Topology (Max-Host Routing Mode)
This Layer 2/Layer 3 aggregation topology consists of Cisco Nexus 9508 switches as virtual port channel (vPC) aggregation pairs. These aggregation nodes are fully loaded with N9K-X9564TX, N9K-X9564PX, and N9K-X9636PQ line cards. The N9K-X9636PQ line cards are used in normal mode and breakout mode. Cisco Nexus 9396PX and 93128TX switches are used as top-of-rack units with Cisco Nexus 3000 Series switches to achieve the desired vPC scale.
The Cisco Nexus 9508 switch is also used as a core Layer 3 node that connects to a pair of vPC aggregation nodes. The focus of the topology is to test IPv4 ARP, IPv6 neighbor discovery (ND), and Layer 2 scalability and other routing, switching, and Layer 4 through Layer 7 features for management and operations. All Layer 3 interfaces are configured for dual stack, and the traffic is dual stack for all VLANs.
In the following table, the Verified Limit column lists the verified scaling capabilities with all listed features enabled at the same time. The scale numbers listed here exceed those used by most customers in their topologies. These numbers are not the maximum verified values if each feature is viewed in isolation.
|
Feature |
9500 Series Verified Limit (Max-Host Routing Mode) |
9300 Series Verified Limit |
|---|---|---|
|
Fully loaded chassis |
6 N9636PQ line cards + 1 N9564TX line card + 1 N9564PX line card + 6 fabric modules + 2 system controllers + 2 supervisors |
Not applicable |
|
Physical interfaces enabled |
300 |
Not applicable |
|
Multicast S,G routes |
12,000 |
Not applicable |
|
Multicast *,G routes |
3400 |
Not applicable |
|
IPv4 unicast routes (LPM) |
2400 |
2200 |
|
IPv6 unicast routes (LPM) |
2200 |
2200 |
|
IPv4 ARP |
60,000 |
5000 |
|
IPv6 ND |
30,000 |
5000 |
|
MAC addresses |
90,000 |
72,000 |
|
VLANs |
500 (RPVST) |
3900 (MST) |
|
vPCs* |
275 |
100 |
|
OSPFv2 neighbors |
16 |
200 |
|
OSPFv3 neighbors |
16 |
200 |
|
BGP (IPv4) neighbors |
64 (eBGP) |
150 (iBGP) |
|
BGP (IPv6) neighbors |
64 (eBGP) |
150 (iBGP) |
|
SVIs |
490 |
250 |
|
MST instances |
Not applicable |
64 |
|
HSRP VLANs (IPv4/IPv6) |
490 |
250 |
|
Virtual ports |
3000 (RPVST) |
24,000 (MST) |
|
Port channel links |
32 |
8 |
* The number of VLANs per vPC supported should be within the MST or RPVST virtual port count specified in this table, depending on the topology.
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