DS-C9710-V3K9: Cisco\’s Next-Gen SAN Director Upgrade Kit, How Does It Revolutionize Enterprise Storage Scalability Compared to Legacy MDS 9500 Series?



What Is the DS-C9710-V3K9?

The ​​DS-C9710-V3K9​​ is Cisco’s advanced configuration bundle for the MDS 9710 Multilayer Director, designed to deliver ​​24 Tbps total throughput​​ with ​​384 fully licensed 64G Fibre Channel ports​​. This kit includes ​​dual Supervisor-4E modules​​, ​​six Fabric-3 switching engines​​, and ​​pre-configured NX-OS 10.4​​ optimized for hyper-scale storage architectures. Unlike standard MDS 9710 configurations, it supports ​​mixed 64G FC/200G NVMe-oF traffic​​ at <2μs latency while maintaining backward compatibility with legacy 16/32G Fibre Channel devices.

Key innovations include:

  • ​Fabric Path Optimization​​: Reduces ISL congestion by 60% through adaptive load balancing
  • ​Quantum-Safe Encryption Module​​: Provides 40Gbps AES-256/CRYSTALS-Kyber hybrid encryption
  • ​AI-Driven Predictive Analytics​​: Identifies SAN bottlenecks 72 hours in advance via Cisco DCNM integration

DS-C9710-V3K9 vs. MDS 9509: Evolution of Storage Networking

​Feature​ ​DS-C9710-V3K9​ ​MDS 9509​
​Max Throughput​ 24 Tbps (Fabric-3 modules) 2.88 Tbps
​Port Density​ 384×64G FC ports per chassis 168×16G FC ports
​Energy Efficiency​ 0.55W per 64G port 2.1W per 8G port
​Protocol Support​ FC, FCoE, NVMe-oF, iSCSI, FCIP, SRv6 FC, FCoE, FCIP
​Encryption​ Hardware-accelerated quantum-safe Optional software-based AES-128

This comparison highlights how the ​​DS-C9710-V3K9​​ achieves ​​4× higher port density​​ and ​​75% lower power consumption​​ than previous-generation directors.


Deployment Scenarios and Configuration Guidelines

Three mission-critical implementations define the DS-C9710-V3K9’s operational value:

  1. ​AI/ML Data Lakes​

    • Enables ​​1:1 GPU-to-NVMe array mapping​​ with RDMA RoCEv2 acceleration
    • Supports ​​3:1 oversubscription ratios​​ for cost-efficient cold data tiering
  2. ​Financial Core Systems​

    • Reduces IBM z16 mainframe latency by ​​45%​​ via FICON Express64G optimization
    • Provides ​​<1ms replication​​ for synchronous DR across FCIP tunnels
  3. ​Hybrid Cloud Gateways​

    • Integrates with ​​Cisco Nexus Dashboard​​ for unified SAN/LAN policy automation
    • Delivers ​​SRv6-based traffic steering​​ between on-prem FC arrays and AWS/Azure FCoE endpoints

For hardware compatibility checks and licensing verification, visit itmall.sale’s Cisco SAN solutions.


The DS-C9710-V3K9 redefines enterprise storage by merging web-scale agility with mainframe-grade reliability. Its true breakthrough lies in ​​protocol-agnostic ASICs​​ – enabling simultaneous operation of legacy FICON and quantum-computing-ready NVMe/TCP workloads without throughput degradation. Enterprises building exabyte-scale AI repositories should view this not as an upgrade, but as the foundation of next-decade data mobility.

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