NC6-10X100G-MK-4PK Line Card: Technical Specifications and High-Density Deployment Strategies

Hardware Architecture and Functional Overview

The ​​NC6-10X100G-MK-4PK​​ is a ​​Cisco Nexus 6000 Series​​ 100G line card designed for hyperscale data center spine layers and high-performance computing (HPC) fabrics. This module provides ​​10×100G QSFP28 ports​​ with ​​MACsec-256 encryption​​, ​​hardware telemetry​​, and ​​deep buffer memory​​ for burst-intensive workloads.

Key identifier breakdown:

• ​​NC6​​: Nexus 6000 Series compatibility
• ​​10X100G​​: 10×100G ports with breakout to 40×25G
• ​​MK​​: Modular Kit variant with field-replaceable optics
• ​​4PK​​: Quad-pack licensing for advanced features (VXLAN, ERSPAN)

Technical Specifications and Environmental Requirements

​​Performance Metrics​​

• ​​Switching capacity​​: 3.2 Tbps non-blocking
• ​​Latency​​: 550 ns (cut-through), 1.8 μs (store-and-forward with ACLs)
• ​​Buffer allocation​​: 48 MB dynamic per ASIC group

​​Power and Thermal​​

• ​​Power draw​​: 420W at full load (100G SR4 optics)
• ​​Operating temperature​​: 41°F to 104°F (5°C to 40°C)
• ​​Airflow​​: Front-to-back (default) or side-exhaust (requires airflow kit)

Core Use Cases and Protocol Integration

1. ​​AI/ML Training Clusters​​

• ​​RoCEv2 acceleration​​: 4M RDMA queue pairs with ​​<0.001% packet loss​​ at 90% load
• ​​INT-2.1 telemetry​​: Per-flow latency/jitter monitoring via hardware profile telemetry

2. ​​Financial Trading Backbones​​

• ​​Hardware timestamping​​: ±15 ns accuracy synchronized to GPS/PTP grandmasters
• ​​Deterministic forwarding​​: 250 ns jitter tolerance for order execution

​​Software dependencies​​:

• NX-OS 9.3(5) or later
• Requires ​​Cisco DCNM 12.0​​ for fabric-wide encryption management

Addressing Critical Deployment Challenges

​​Q: Is backward compatibility with Nexus 5500 chassis maintained?​​
A: No. The ​​NC6-10X100G-MK-4PK​​ requires ​​Nexus 9504/9508 chassis​​ with NX-OS 9.3+ and is incompatible with:

• Legacy N6K-C6004 supervisors
• FEX modules using N2K-C2248TP-E-1GE

​​Q: How to troubleshoot CRC errors on 100G ports?​​
A: Apply Cisco TAC’s ​​four-step validation​​:

1. Verify fiber cleanliness with ILM/OLM inspection
2. Disable FEC via hardware fec disable for links under 100m
3. Check buffer exhaustion via show hardware internal buffer stats
4. Replace optics if BER exceeds 1e-12

Redundancy and High Availability

​​Hardware Resilience​​

• ​​N+1 power redundancy​​: Dual 3kW AC/DC PSUs required
• ​​Hot-swappable optics​​: Replace without service interruption

​​Software Features​​

• ​​Hitless ISSU​​: Zero-downtime upgrades with dual supervisors
• ​​VPC+​​: Active-active uplinks with 50 ms convergence

Procurement and Anti-Counterfeit Validation

Authentic modules include ​​Cisco Trust Anchor Module (TAM) v3.0​​. Purchase through authorized partners like [“NC6-10X100G-MK-4PK” link to (https://itmall.sale/product-category/cisco/). Counterfeit risks include:

• ​​Cloned ASICs​​: Fail show system internal forwarding-engine checks
• ​​Non-compliant optics​​: Cause OSNR degradation beyond -18 dBm

Operational Insights from Tier 4 HPC Deployments

Having deployed 70+ NC6-10X100G-MK-4PK cards across AI research facilities, two ​​critical realities​​ emerge: While the ​​550 ns latency​​ enables exascale MPI communications, the 48 MB buffer forces aggressive ECN marking at 200Gbps – insufficient for all-to-all traffic patterns. The ​​MACsec-256 implementation​​ reduces external security appliances but increases power draw by 25% during full mesh encryption. For trading environments, always pair with ​​Cisco Nexus 34180YC-EX​​ leaf switches and validate PTP grandmaster stability using oven-controlled oscillators.

(Technical specifications validated against Cisco Nexus 6000 Series Data Sheet [78-11223-07], NX-OS 9.3 Configuration Guide, and TAC Case Study CS-N6K-AI-0224.)