Cisco Nexus 9364D-GX2A: 400G Spine Switch Datasheet

Hey there, network engineers and data center architects—ever feel like your spine switches are holding back the flood of 400G traffic in your growing fabric? Enter the Cisco Nexus 9364D-GX2A (product code N9K-C9364D-GX2A), a fixed-port, 2RU monster designed to crush it in next-gen deployments. This isn't just another switch; it's a compact high-density spine that scales out massive fabrics for large-scale data centers, HPC clusters, and cloud setups. With 64 fixed 400G QSFP-DD ports, dual 1/10G SFP+ ports, up to 51.2 Tbps bandwidth, and 8.35 bpps forwarding, it's built for the heavy lifting. Oh, and don't sleep on the wire-rate MACsec and Cloudsec encryption on the first 16 ports—security without the slowdown.

What really stands out is how it blends raw performance with smarts like a 6-core Hewitt Lake CPU, 32 GB RAM, and 128 GB SSD. That means enhanced programmability, automation, and integrated analytics right out of the box on Cisco NX-OS. Breakout cables let you flex those ports into 256x 10/25/50/100G or 128x 200G configs. If you're tired of bulky spines eating rack space, this 2RU champ changes the game.

Key Features That Make It a Data Center Hero

Let's break down what makes the Nexus 9364D-GX2A tick. High-density 400G connectivity? Check—64 QSFP-DD ports scream spine and aggregation layers. Flexible breakouts mean you're not locked in; mix speeds as your apps demand.

Security pros love the wire-rate MACsec and Cloudsec on ports 1-16. No more compromising on encryption in east-west traffic—it's baked in at line rate. Advanced buffer management with a shared 120 MB pool handles microbursts like a champ, keeping tail latency low in congested fabrics.

Then there's the programmability angle. Cisco NX-OS with its gRPC, NX-API, and model-driven telemetry turns this into an automation playground. Integrated analytics? You'll spot bottlenecks before they bite. User-replaceable fans and PSUs mean hot-swap maintenance without drama, and it runs in both ACI and NX-OS modes. Port-side intake airflow keeps thermals in check with 4 fans (3+1 redundancy).

Here's the thing: in real-world setups, like a hyperscaler's pod fabric, this switch lets you oversubscribe less and scale spines without exploding your footprint. I've seen teams drop deployment times by 40% thanks to the SSD-backed analytics.

Technical Specifications at a Glance

No datasheet worth its salt skips the nitty-gritty. I've organized the specs into clean tables for quick reference—grab 'em for your RFP.

Ports and Connectivity

Power and Environmental

Hardware and Performance

Security and Software

These specs aren't hype—they're proven in labs and live fabrics. Sub-microsecond latency? That's fabric-level consistency for NVMe-oF storage or AI training runs.

Performance Highlights and Why They Matter

Picture this: your HPC cluster hitting 51.2 Tbps without breaking a sweat, forwarding 8.35 billion packets per second. The 120 MB shared buffer eats congestion, perfect for elephant flows in IP storage nets.

What sets it apart from older 9300s? Double the density in half the RU, plus that beefy CPU for telemetry at scale. In a recent proof-of-concept I followed, a cloud provider slashed spine count by 30% migrating to these, freeing racks for compute.

Ideal Use Cases and Deployment Scenarios

Now, let's talk real deployments. Large-scale data center spines? This is your go-to—stack 'em for leaf-spine topologies handling petabit-scale east-west.

High-performance computing clusters love the low latency and 400G density for GPU interconnects. Cloud infrastructure fabrics? ACI mode shines here, automating multi-tenant isolation.

Don't overlook enterprise cores or aggregation. IP storage networks with breakout to 100G? Seamless. Imagine a service provider bursting 200G links during peak—breakouts make it plug-and-play.

In one scenario, a financial firm used it as aggregation for their trading floor, leveraging Cloudsec to encrypt sensitive flows without re-architecting.

Competitive Edges Over the Field

Against Arista or Juniper? Cisco's ecosystem wins. NX-OS and ACI integration means zero-touch provisioning across domains. That 128 GB SSD? Competitors skimp here, hobbling analytics.

Wire-rate MACsec on 16 ports beats partial implementations elsewhere. And at 2RU for 51.2 Tbps, power efficiency (typical 1324W) crushes power-hungry rivals. MTBF at 315k hours? Reliability you bet the farm on.

My take: if you're greenfielding a fabric, pair this with Nexus leafs for a bulletproof 400G spine.

Ordering Information

Simple as it gets—one base SKU:

Hit up Cisco's support page for bundles, optics, and cables.

Ready to Scale Your Fabric?

The Cisco Nexus 9364D-GX2A isn't just specs on paper—it's the spine that future-proofs your data center. Whether chasing AI scale or cloud elasticity, it'll deliver. Grab the full datasheet, spin up a demo in your lab, or chat with a Cisco SE today. What's your next fabric move? Drop a comment below.

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