Same Series "Brothers" Showdown: N9K-C9348D-GX2A vs N9K-C9364D-GX2A, the "Capacity Game" of 48 Ports vs 64 Ports

Aug 08 , 2025 6

1. Same Series "Brothers" Showdown: N9K-C9348D-GX2A vs N9K-C9364D-GX2A, the "Capacity Game" of 48 Ports vs 64 Ports

In Cisco’s Nexus 9300 series, the N9K-C9348D-GX2A (hereinafter "9348D") and N9K-C9364D-GX2A (hereinafter "9364D") are like "half-siblings"—sharing the same Cloud Scale ASIC (CSA) architecture but differing in port density (48 ports vs 64 ports), positioning them from "enterprise aggregation workhorses" to "hyperscale data center access specialists." This article breaks down their real-world differences across 15 dimensions to help you match them to your needs.

2. Performance Metrics: Processing Speed, Memory, and Storage "Quantitative Changes"

Both use CSA ASIC, but 9364D achieves "whole-machine performance leap" with more ports:

• Processing Speed:

• Per-slot bandwidth: 400Gbps (CSA ASIC feature) for both; 9364D total switching capacity 32Tbps (64 ports × 400Gbps × 80% utilization), 9348D 25.6Tbps (48 ports × 400Gbps × 80%);

• Latency: VXLAN forwarding latency 0.5μs for both, but 9364D shows slightly better stability under extreme traffic due to optimized internal switching.

• Running Memory:

• Base memory: 32GB DDR4 (expandable to 256GB) for both; 9364D supports larger flow tables (2.5 million ACL rules), suited for complex multi-tenant policies; 9348D caps at 2 million rules, ideal for small-to-medium scenarios.

• Storage Capacity:

• Onboard storage: 16GB eMMC (expandable to 64GB) for both;

• Expansion: Both support USB3.0 external drives (max 2TB), but 9364D generates more logs (70GB/day vs 9348D’s 50GB/day), requiring more frequent cleanup.

3. Feature Sets: From "Usable" to "Versatile" via Capacity

Both support ACI and EVPN-VXLAN, but 9364D’s "more ports" unlock greater flexibility:

• 9348D:

• Fixed 48×10G SFP+ + 4×400G QSFP-DD uplinks, optimized for "high-density access + flexible uplinks";

• Basic ACI policies (micro-segmentation, VXLAN encapsulation), suited for single-data-center or multi-branch interconnection.

• 9364D:

• Expanded to 64×10G SFP+ + 4×400G QSFP-DD uplinks, supporting "large-scale VXLAN" (2 million+ endpoints per tenant);

• Deep integration with ACI Multi-Site Policy Synchronization, ideal for cross-region data center interconnection (e.g., HQ-branch-cloud).

4. Design & Appearance: "Compact" vs "Expanded" Visual Differences

• 9348D:

• Dimensions: 2RU × 88mm width × 680mm depth (25kg), front panel with 48×10G SFP+ + 4×400G QSFP-DD uplinks;

• Redundancy: Dual power supplies (1+1) + dual fans (N+1), hot-swappable, requiring 600mm-deep racks;

• Cooling: Bottom-to-top airflow, dependent on data center precision cooling.

• 9364D:

• Dimensions: 2RU × 88mm width × 720mm depth (40mm deeper than 9348D), front panel with 64×10G SFP+ + 4×400G QSFP-DD uplinks (33% higher port density);

• Redundancy: Dual power supplies (1+1) + enhanced dual fans (N+2), hot-swappable, higher heat dissipation efficiency;

• Cooling: Optimized airflow (bottom-in/side-out), reducing dead zones in dense deployments.

5. User Experience: Real Pains of Ops Teams

• 9348D:

• Strengths: Simple CLI (core-layer commands only), "show interface" focused on key metrics (traffic/errors), IT staff proficient in 1 week;

• Pain points: Lower port density (48 ports) requires more devices for large-scale access, increasing management complexity.

• 9364D:

• Strengths: "Smart Port Grouping" logically divides 64 ports into virtual subsets (e.g., by business/tenant), simplifying bulk configuration;

• Pain points: Higher log volume (70GB/day) risks eMMC overflow; 64-port management requires complex ACLs, 2+ months learning curve for new engineers.

6. Cost-Effectiveness: Long-Term Investment Math

• Initial Cost: 9348D ~¥900k (48×10G+4×400G), 9364D ~¥1.3M (64×10G+4×400G), ~40% price difference.

• Expansion Costs:

• Both support 400G/800G optics (~¥30k/module), but 9364D reduces device count (e.g., 2 units vs 3 for 3,000 servers), saving 40% on rack space/cabling.

• Maintenance Costs:

• 9348D: Lower log storage costs; 9364D requires higher-performance storage (SSD caching), ~¥200/day extra;

• 9364D: ACI Multi-Site reduces cross-region management time by 50%, cutting labor costs by 30%.

7. Product Advantages: Scenario-Driven "Uniqueness"

• 9348D: Moderate port density (48), low power consumption (0.18W/Gbps), simple management; ideal for campus aggregation, medium data centers, and multi-branch interconnection.

• 9364D: Ultra-high port density (64), smart grouping, multi-site ACI; suited for hyperscale data center access, cross-region interconnection, and multi-tenant cloud platforms.

8. System Upgrade: Details Determine Success (Key Section)

Upgrade Scenario: Migrating from NX-OS 9.3(7) to 10.4(3)F (IPv6 SRv6/hardware encryption).

Upgrade Process & Challenges:

1. Pre-Check Phase:

• 9348D: Use show interface transceiver vendor to verify Cisco-certified optics;

• 9364D: Batch-shutdown ports pre-upgrade (conf t ; interface range gigabitethernet 1/0/1-64 ; shutdown).

• 9348D Issue: Third-party optics (non-Cisco 10G SFP+) fail due to driver incompatibility;

• 9364D Issue: High port density causes "port state sync delays" (e.g., un-closed ports triggering traffic loops).

• Fixes:

2. Backup & Rollback:

• 9348D: Split backups (configs to TFTP, logs to external server);

• 9364D: Use copy running-config scp://admin@192.168.1.100/ for encrypted SSH transfers, reduce logs with logging buffer 100000, or use SSD storage.

• 9348D Issue: 16GB eMMC may overflow when backing up configs/logs;

• 9364D Issue: Large logs (70GB/day) slow USB3.0 backups (50MB/s, 14 mins), risk of interruption.

• Fixes:

3. Downtime Control:

• 9348D: Use NSF/SSO for sub-30-second downtime via active-standby alternation;

• 9364D: Disable non-essential services pre-upgrade (conf t ; no ip dhcp pool test-vlan), verify with show ip dhcp pool post-upgrade.

• 9348D Issue: Full reboots cause 5-10 minute outages for core apps;

• 9364D Issue: Rolling upgrades may disrupt traffic if non-critical services (e.g., test VLAN DHCP) run.

• Fixes:

4. Post-Upgrade Validation:

• 9348D: Add temporary IPv6 routes (ipv6 route 0.0.0.0/0 2001:db8::1) during migration;

• 9364D: Reapply and upgrade old policies with show policy-map validation.

• 9348D Issue: Strict IPv6 checks drop unrouted IPv6 traffic, breaking legacy IPv4 devices;

• 9364D Issue: Smart port group policies not synced, blocking legitimate traffic.

• Fixes:

9. Product Use Cases

• 9348D Scenarios:

• Campus aggregation: 300+ access switches, QoS prioritizes video conferencing (DSCP AF41);

• Multi-branch interconnection: MPLS VPN with 50ms BFD failover, ensuring ERP stability.

• 9364D Scenarios:

• Hyperscale data center access: 100k+ servers, smart grouping for AI training/database/Web services;

• Cross-region interconnection: ACI Multi-Site unifies security policies, reducing ops complexity.

10. Detailed Pros & Cons

11. Conclusion: How to Choose?

• 9348D: For small-to-medium networks (<3,000 endpoints), cost-sensitive deployments, or space-constrained machine rooms.

• 9364D: For hyperscale data center access, cross-region interconnection, or future expansion plans.