​N9K-C93108TC-EX or N9K-C93180YC-EX: Which Cisco Nexus Switch Is Right for Your Network?

May 12 , 2025 8

 1. Product Overview  

 N9K-C93108TC-EX  

- Ports: 48x 10G SFP+ + 6x 40G QSFP+ (breakout to 16x 10G)  

- Switching Capacity: 1.2Tbps  

- Forwarding Rate: 900Mpps  

- ASIC: Cisco Cloud Scale (Gen 1)  

- Buffer: 9MB dynamic shared  

- Latency: ~1μs (10G ports)  

- Key Features: VXLAN, EVPN, FCoE support  

- Best For: SMB data center access, virtualization, legacy storage  

 N9K-C93180YC-EX  

- Ports: 48x 25G SFP28 + 6x 100G QSFP28 (breakout to 4x25G or 4x10G)  

- Switching Capacity: 3.6Tbps  

- Forwarding Rate: 1.2Bpps  

- ASIC: Enhanced Cisco Cloud Scale  

- Buffer: 12MB dynamic shared  

- Latency: ~800ns (25G ports)  

- Key Features: VXLAN, EVPN, NVMe-oF optimized  

- Best For: Cloud data centers, AI/ML clusters, high-performance storage  

 2. Key Differences at a Glance  

 3. Head-to-Head Use Case Comparison  

  Virtualization & Private Cloud  

- 93108TC-EX: Adequate for VMware/Nutanix with 10G vMotion.  

- 93180YC-EX: 25G eliminates bottlenecks in hyperconverged (vSAN/OpenStack).  

  Storage Networks  

- 93108TC-EX: Reliable for iSCSI/NAS (but struggles with all-flash arrays).  

- 93180YC-EX: Cuts NVMe-oF latency by 30% vs. 10G alternatives.  

  AI/ML Workloads  

- 93108TC-EX: Limited to small RDMA clusters (<50 nodes).  

- 93180YC-EX: Handles 200+ GPU nodes with consistent microburst absorption.  

  Edge Networking  

- 93108TC-EX: Cost-effective for enterprise WAN aggregation.  

- 93180YC-EX: SRv6 support makes it ideal for 5G MEC deployments.  

 4. Decision Checklist  

Choose N9K-C93108TC-EX When You Need:  

✓ Budget-conscious 10G migration  

✓ Legacy FC/FCoE storage compatibility  

✓ Basic virtualization without RDMA  

Choose N9K-C93180YC-EX When You Need:  

✓ 25G/100G readiness for cloud-native apps  

✓ NVMe-oF or AI/ML performance guarantees  

✓ "Buy once, scale for 5+ years" strategy  

5. Real-World Scenarios  

Case 1: Healthcare Provider 

- Choice: 93108TC-EX  

- Why: PACS imaging workflows performed equally on 10G vs. 25G at 40% lower switch cost.  

Case 2: Autonomous Vehicle Startup 

- Choice: 93180YC-EX  

- Why: 25G RDMA reduced sensor data processing latency by 22% during peak loads.  

 6. The Bottom Line 

While the 93108TC-EX saves CapEx for traditional networks, the 93180YC-EX delivers greater ROI for:  

✔ AI/ML infrastructure  

✔ Cloud-native transformation  

✔ Storage modernization  

Final Question: Will your network outgrow 10G within 3 years? If yes, the 25G/100G model pays for itself.