Cisco Nexus 2000 N2K-C2232PP-10GE Cisco Nexus datacenter switch / module

Brand: Cisco | Category: Network Switches

SKU: CSC-N2K-C2232PP-10GE | Part #: N2K-C2232PP-10GE | MPN: N2K-C2232PP-10GE

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The Cisco Nexus 2000 N2K-C2232PP-10GE is a fabric extender purpose-built to scale 10 Gigabit server connectivity across modern data centre architectures without requiring independent management overhead or additional control-plane resources. Unlike traditional modular switches that operate autonomously, the N2K-C2232PP-10GE functions as a remote line card of a parent Nexus 5000, 5500, 5600, 6000, or 7000 Series switch, extending server-facing capacity while maintaining a single unified management domain through Cisco NX-OS. This architectural model eliminates the complexity of managing multiple switch OS instances and allows network engineers to treat physically distributed ports as logically unified forwarding elements.

At its core, the N2K-C2232PP-10GE delivers 32 downlink 10 Gigabit Ethernet SFP+ ports facing servers and eight uplink 10 Gigabit Ethernet SFP+ ports connecting to the parent switch fabric, yielding a total of 40 10GbE SFP+ ports in a compact 1U form factor. The uplink configuration supports up to 80 Gbps of bandwidth back to the parent switch, sufficient for most east-west traffic patterns in small-to-medium hyperscale clusters and enterprise data centres running virtualized workloads. The fabric extender's internal switching capacity reaches 480 Gbps, enabling wire-rate forwarding across all downlink ports simultaneously without congestion penalties. Cisco designed this platform around cut-through forwarding rather than store-and-forward, which means packets begin egress before the entire frame has been received—a critical requirement for latency-sensitive environments such as algorithmic trading floors, real-time analytics clusters, and distributed AI inference systems where sub-microsecond latency directly impacts throughput and accuracy.

The N2K-C2232PP-10GE supports the full suite of Cisco Data Centre Bridging (DCB) standards, including Priority Flow Control (PFC per IEEE 802.1Qbb) and Enhanced Transmission Selection (ETS per IEEE 802.1Qaz). These capabilities ensure lossless Ethernet operation when FCoE (Fibre Channel over Ethernet) workloads coexist with TCP-based east-west traffic, and they enable predictable, QoS-enforced behavior for storage-attached compute nodes. Organizations running converged fabric strategies—blending SAN, NAS, and IP networking on a single physical infrastructure—leverage these features to avoid the cost and complexity of separate storage networks. FCoE support is present when paired with a compatible parent Nexus switch that provides equivalent capabilities, allowing storage traffic to traverse the same optical infrastructure as data plane traffic. All 40 ports accept SFP+ optics, supporting both short-reach (10GBase-SR) and long-reach (10GBase-LR) modules, as well as direct-attach copper (10GBase-CX1) for adjacent-rack server connectivity where optical is unnecessary.

Network engineers and infrastructure architects typically deploy the N2K-C2232PP-10GE when scale-out requirements force a choice between purchasing an entirely new parent switch or extending an existing Nexus platform with additional downlink capacity. In practice, this means fabric extenders appeal to teams managing multi-pod data centre environments, cloud-native infrastructure teams scaling container environments, and enterprises consolidating legacy physical servers. Because management traffic, SNMP polling, syslog, NetFlow, and all configuration changes flow through the parent switch's management plane, operational overhead remains low—the same administrative tools and workflows that govern the parent Nexus platform apply transparently to the fabric extender. This unified approach also simplifies troubleshooting; packet capture, NetFlow analysis, and port-level diagnostics all execute within a single NX-OS context rather than requiring SSH sessions to multiple devices.

Cisco Nexus 2000 fabric extenders occupy a specific niche in the data centre ecosystem: environments where the parent switch (typically a Nexus 5000 or 7000) has available fabric bandwidth but insufficient downlink ports, and where the cost of deploying a second independent switch is unjustifiable. The Cisco N2K-C2232PP-10GE scales cleanly in environments running between 500 and 5,000 physical or virtualized servers per rack pod, with redundant uplinks protecting against parent-switch fabric port failures. The device ships with dual redundant power supplies supporting hot-swap operation, and the operating temperature range of 0°C to 40°C accommodates standard data centre cooling infrastructure without specialized environmental controls. All ports are hot-swappable; you can insert or remove SFP+ modules on live ports without interrupting adjacent traffic, a requirement for data centres operating under strict SLA commitments.

Fabric Extender Port & Connectivity Architecture

• 32 x 10 Gigabit Ethernet SFP+ downlink ports connecting to physical servers, virtual machine hosts, and storage appliances
• 8 x 10 Gigabit Ethernet SFP+ uplink ports providing up to 80 Gbps total bandwidth to the parent Nexus switch fabric
• Support for 10GBase-SR (multimode fiber, up to 300 meters), 10GBase-LR (single-mode fiber, up to 10 kilometers), and 10GBase-CX1 direct-attach copper cabling
• Integrated cut-through forwarding engine with 480 Gbps switching fabric capacity ensuring wire-rate throughput and minimal packet latency
• Data Centre Bridging (DCB) compliance: Priority Flow Control (PFC) and Enhanced Transmission Selection (ETS) for lossless Ethernet and storage convergence
• Full FCoE (Fibre Channel over Ethernet) support when parent switch provides equivalent capability, enabling SAN traffic over the same optical fabric
• Unified management via parent Cisco Nexus switch running NX-OS; no separate management interface, CLI, or out-of-band console required

Omnixon Global stocks the Cisco Nexus 2000 N2K-C2232PP-10GE and maintains active relationships with authorized Cisco distributors across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the wider Asia-Pacific region. Whether you are expanding an existing Nexus fabric, deploying multi-pod infrastructure in the Gulf, or sourcing replacement units for deployed systems, our procurement team can facilitate rapid delivery and technical validation. Contact Omnixon Global to request a quotation, discuss inventory availability, or arrange a pre-sales technical consultation with our data centre networking specialists.