Cisco Nexus 9800 36-port 400G Line Card

The Cisco Nexus 9800 36-port 400G Line Card is engineered to elevate data networking performance in modern data centers. Designed for high-density, scalable deployments, this line card delivers exceptional throughput and reliable operation to support demanding workloads—from cloud computing and big data analytics to AI/ML pipelines and real-time financial services. Built to integrate seamlessly with the Cisco Nexus 9000 family, it enables data centers to optimize spine-leaf fabrics, accelerate east-west traffic, and future-proof the network against growing bandwidth requirements. With a focus on operational efficiency, predictable latency, and robust security, this line card helps IT teams simplify administration while accelerating time-to-value for critical applications. In short, it’s a strategic upgrade for organizations seeking to maximize performance, efficiency, and investment protection in their data center infrastructure.

• High-density, 400G capability: This line card provides 36 ports at 400G, delivering exceptional port density to maximize rack and chassis space while enabling scalable, future-ready data center fabrics. It supports dense aggregation and interconnects for spine-leaf architectures, reducing the number of devices required to meet aggressive bandwidth targets and simplifying cabling complexity. With parallel data paths and large buffers, it supports high-throughput workloads with minimal contention, making it ideal for modern workloads like AI inference, high-frequency trading, and large-scale virtualization.
• Consistent performance and low latency: The 400G line card is engineered to minimize congestion and maintain predictable latency under heavy load. It supports advanced QoS and traffic engineering features to ensure that critical applications receive the bandwidth and low-latency paths they require. This translates to faster service delivery, improved user experiences, and better adherence to service level objectives (SLOs) in multi-tenant environments where performance isolation is essential.
• Seamless Cisco ecosystem integration and automation: This line card is designed to work within the Cisco Nexus 9800 and Nexus 9000 portfolio, enabling unified management through familiar interfaces and tooling. IT teams benefit from automation-friendly features, robust telemetry, and programmable APIs that integrate with Cisco DCN and third-party management platforms. The ability to automate provisioning, monitoring, and remediation reduces operational toil and accelerates deployment of new services while maintaining consistent policy enforcement across the data center.
• Operational efficiency and reliability: Engineered for high availability, the line card supports hot-swapping in supported chassis configurations and includes mechanisms for fast fault containment and recovery. Redundant design elements and streamlined diagnostics help minimize maintenance windows and improve mean time between failures. Energy-efficient design choices reduce heat output and power consumption, contributing to lower total cost of ownership (TCO) while maintaining performance under sustained workloads.
• Versatile deployment scenarios and security posture: The 36-port 400G line card is suitable for a range of deployments—from dense leaf-leaf to spine-leaf fabrics and multi-tier architectures. Its security features, combined with Cisco’s fabric-wide security strategies, help safeguard data streams across the data center. Whether supporting multi-tenant cloud workloads, data-intensive AI pipelines, or real-time analytics, this line card delivers a flexible, secure foundation for modern network designs and policy-driven automation.

Technical Details of Cisco Nexus 9800 36-port 400G Line Card

• UPC/SKU: Not provided in this description.
• Product family: Cisco Nexus 9800 line card designed for the Nexus 9000 Series chassis.
• Ports: 36 ports at 400G per line card.
• Form factor: Line card compatible with appropriate Cisco Nexus 9000 chassis; hot-swappable as supported by the system.
• Management and automation: Integrates with Cisco management tools and open APIs to enable automation, telemetry, and policy-driven deployment.

how to install Cisco Nexus 9800 36-port 400G Line Card

• Power down or observe the chassis’ hot-swap guidelines as required by the hardware and service agreements. Ensure you follow electrostatic discharge (ESD) precautions before handling the module.
• Access the appropriate chassis slot designated for line cards and verify that you have the correct slot type and cooling availability for the 400G line card.
• Remove the existing line card if replacing an old module, or prepare the empty slot for a new insertion. Align the line card with the connector and slide it into place until it is firmly seated and locked.
• Reconnect any required cables and verify that port lighting and indicator LEDs confirm proper insertion. Boot the device if needed and allow the line card to initialize within the Nexus 9000 fabric.
• Load the appropriate firmware or software image if required and verify hardware recognition using the established management interface. Run basic port and system checks to confirm 400G ports are operational and that no errors are reported in the chassis logs.

Frequently asked questions

• Q: How many 400G ports does this line card provide? A: It features 36 high-density 400G ports designed to maximize data-center density and scalability.
• Q: Is this line card hot-swappable? A: Yes, it is designed to be hot-swappable in supported Nexus 9000 chassis, enabling non-disruptive upgrades and maintenance.
• Q: What ecosystems or management tools does it integrate with? A: It integrates with Cisco Nexus management platforms and supports automation APIs to facilitate provisioning, monitoring, and policy-driven operations across the data center fabric.
• Q: What deployments is this line card best suited for? A: It is ideal for high-density spine-leaf fabrics, large-scale cloud or enterprise data centers, AI/ML workloads, and environments requiring scalable, low-latency 400G connectivity.
• Q: Where can I find detailed specifications and compatibility guidance? A: Detailed specifications and compatibility information are available from Cisco documentation and the Nexus product catalogs, and can be cross-referenced with the appropriate SKU/UPC in the vendor's specifications repository.