N7K-C7004-S2E Cisco Nexus 7004 Switch Chassis

Cisco Nexus 7000 Series 7004 Switch Chassis Overview

The Cisco N7K-C7004-S2E Nexus 7004 chassis is designed to deliver scalable switching performance for enterprise and data center environments. Built within the trusted Nexus 7000 product family, this modular chassis supports flexible expansion, simplified management, and reliable power redundancy for mission-critical networks.

Core Product Details

• Brand: Cisco
• Product Line: Nexus
• Series: 7000
• Model Number: 7004
• Part Number / SKU: N7K-C7004-S2E
• Device Category: Network Switch
• Form Factor: Chassis-based architecture

Modular Chassis Architecture

This Nexus 7004 chassis is engineered with a modular design, allowing organizations to adapt network capacity as requirements evolve. Its expandable framework supports future upgrades without replacing the entire system.

Expansion Slot Configuration

• Modular Support: Yes
• Total Expansion Slots: 4
• Slot Type: Expansion modules for enhanced scalability

Network Switching Capabilities

Optimized for dependable switching operations, this Cisco Nexus chassis provides consistent performance suitable for aggregation and core networking layers.

Layer Support

• Network Layer Compatibility: Layer 2 switching
• Designed for efficient data forwarding and traffic management

Management and Control Features

The Cisco N7K-C7004-S2E is fully manageable, enabling administrators to monitor, configure, and maintain the chassis with precision. This ensures smoother operations and simplified network oversight.

Administrative Highlights

• Centralized device management support
• Improved visibility into network performance
• Designed for enterprise-grade operational control

Power Supply and High Availability

Reliability is enhanced through redundant power capabilities, helping minimize downtime and maintain consistent uptime across demanding infrastructures.

Power and Redundancy Specifications

• Primary Power Source: Power Supply units
• Redundant Power Supply: Supported
• Designed for continuous network availability

Environmental and Compliance Standards

The chassis aligns with environmentally responsible standards, making it suitable for organizations prioritizing sustainable IT solutions.

Eco-Friendly Attributes

• Environmentally Friendly Design
• Compliance Certification: RoHS-5
• Reduced environmental impact without compromising performance

Cisco Nexus 7000 Series Modular Switching Architecture

The Cisco N7K-C7004-S2E Nexus 7004 Switch Chassis belongs to the Cisco Nexus 7000 Series, a family of modular data center switches engineered to deliver scalable, resilient, and high-performance networking for enterprise core, aggregation, and data center distribution layers. This category represents modular switch chassis solutions designed to support mission-critical applications, dense virtualization environments, cloud infrastructure, and high-throughput workloads. The Nexus 7004 chassis, in particular, is optimized for organizations that require advanced Layer 2 and Layer 3 switching, integrated services, and long-term architectural flexibility within a compact footprint.

The Nexus 7000 Series architecture is built around a highly modular design that separates control, forwarding, and system management functions. This approach allows network architects to scale performance and capacity independently while maintaining consistent operational models. The Cisco N7K-C7004-S2E chassis is a four-slot platform that supports a variety of I/O modules, supervisors, fabric modules, and power supplies, enabling tailored configurations that align with specific data center and enterprise networking requirements.

Compact Modular Chassis Design for Enterprise and Data Center Use

The Cisco N7K-C7004-S2E Nexus 7004 Switch Chassis category emphasizes compact modular switching platforms that deliver enterprise-grade performance without the physical and power demands of larger chassis systems. The four-slot design allows organizations to deploy a fully redundant, feature-rich core or aggregation switch in environments where rack space and power efficiency are critical considerations. This makes the Nexus 7004 an ideal choice for mid-sized data centers, campus cores, disaster recovery sites, and edge data centers.

Despite its compact size, the Nexus 7004 chassis is engineered with the same architectural principles found in larger Nexus 7000 platforms. It supports redundant supervisors, multiple fabric modules, and hot-swappable components, ensuring continuous operation and high availability. The chassis is designed to integrate seamlessly into existing Cisco-based network architectures, supporting consistent management, policy enforcement, and operational workflows.

Supervisor Engine 2 Enhanced Capabilities

The N7K-C7004-S2E designation indicates compatibility with the Supervisor Engine 2 Enhanced, which significantly enhances the performance and feature set of the Nexus 7004 chassis. This category of switches is designed to support high-scale forwarding, advanced routing protocols, and comprehensive security features. Supervisor Engine 2 Enhanced provides increased CPU performance, higher memory capacity, and improved forwarding capabilities compared to earlier supervisor models.

With Supervisor Engine 2 Enhanced, the Nexus 7004 chassis supports extensive Layer 2 and Layer 3 features, including advanced routing, multicast, policy-based routing, and integrated services. This makes the platform suitable for complex network topologies that require high availability, fast convergence, and consistent policy enforcement across the network. The supervisor engine also plays a critical role in managing system resources, monitoring hardware health, and coordinating failover mechanisms.

High Availability and Redundancy Design Principles

High availability is a defining characteristic of the Cisco N7K-C7004-S2E Nexus 7004 Switch Chassis category. The platform supports redundant supervisor engines operating in an active-standby configuration, ensuring seamless failover in the event of a hardware or software issue. This redundancy minimizes downtime and protects critical applications and services that depend on continuous network connectivity.

The chassis also supports redundant power supplies and multiple fabric modules, allowing organizations to design fault-tolerant systems that can withstand component failures without service disruption. Hot-swappable components enable maintenance and upgrades to be performed without powering down the system, further enhancing operational continuity. These design principles make the Nexus 7004 suitable for environments with strict uptime requirements and service-level agreements.

Scalable I/O Module Support and Port Density

The Cisco Nexus 7004 Switch Chassis category is defined by its ability to support a wide range of I/O modules, enabling flexible port configurations and scalable bandwidth. The four available slots can be populated with line cards that provide various combinations of Ethernet speeds, including 1 Gigabit, 10 Gigabit, and higher-speed interfaces depending on the module selection. This flexibility allows organizations to adapt the platform to evolving network demands without replacing the entire chassis.

By selecting appropriate I/O modules, network architects can design configurations optimized for server connectivity, inter-switch links, or uplinks to the core or data center backbone. The modular nature of the Nexus 7004 allows incremental expansion as bandwidth requirements grow, making it a future-ready solution for organizations planning long-term infrastructure investments.

Support for Advanced Layer 2 Switching Features

The Cisco N7K-C7004-S2E category delivers comprehensive Layer 2 switching capabilities that support large-scale VLAN deployments, spanning tree enhancements, and loop prevention mechanisms. Advanced features such as virtual LAN segmentation, link aggregation, and fast convergence protocols enable efficient traffic management and high network resilience. These capabilities are essential for data centers and enterprise networks that support dense virtualization and multi-tenant environments.

Layer 2 features are tightly integrated with the platform’s high-availability architecture, ensuring consistent behavior during topology changes or component failures. This integration reduces the risk of network instability and enhances the overall reliability of the switching infrastructure.

Advanced Layer 3 Routing and Services Integration

The Cisco Nexus 7004 Switch Chassis category is designed to function not only as a high-performance Layer 2 switch but also as a powerful Layer 3 routing platform. With Supervisor Engine 2 Enhanced, the chassis supports a wide range of routing protocols, enabling it to serve as a core or aggregation router within complex enterprise and data center networks. This dual functionality simplifies network design by consolidating switching and routing roles into a single platform.

Advanced routing capabilities include support for dynamic routing protocols, policy-based routing, and multicast routing, allowing efficient traffic distribution and optimized path selection. These features are essential for modern applications that require predictable performance, low latency, and high throughput across distributed environments.

Integration of Network Services and Policy Enforcement

The Nexus 7004 category supports integrated network services that enhance security, traffic optimization, and operational efficiency. Features such as access control lists, quality of service, and traffic monitoring can be applied consistently across the network. This integrated approach reduces the need for external appliances and simplifies network management.

Policy enforcement at the switch level enables organizations to implement granular traffic controls that align with business and compliance requirements. The ability to apply policies at high speed and scale makes the Cisco N7K-C7004-S2E chassis suitable for environments with diverse application workloads and user populations.

High-Performance Fabric Architecture

The internal fabric architecture of the Cisco N7K-C7004-S2E Nexus 7004 Switch Chassis is designed to deliver consistent, low-latency performance across all ports. Fabric modules provide high-bandwidth connectivity between line cards and supervisor engines, ensuring that traffic can be forwarded efficiently even under heavy load. This architecture supports non-blocking performance for supported configurations, making it suitable for bandwidth-intensive applications.

The modular fabric design allows organizations to scale performance by adding or upgrading fabric modules as requirements evolve. This approach protects the initial investment while enabling future expansion without major architectural changes.

Optimized for Virtualized and Cloud Environments

The Nexus 7004 category is well-suited for virtualized data centers and private cloud deployments. Its high port density, advanced switching features, and robust routing capabilities support dense server connectivity and east-west traffic patterns common in virtualized environments. Integration with virtualization platforms enables consistent network policies across physical and virtual infrastructures.

This alignment with virtualization and cloud technologies makes the Cisco N7K-C7004-S2E chassis a strong foundation for organizations adopting software-defined networking and hybrid cloud strategies.

Operational Efficiency and Manageability

Operational simplicity is a key advantage of the Cisco Nexus 7004 Switch Chassis category. The platform runs Cisco NX-OS, a modular operating system designed for data center environments. NX-OS provides a consistent command-line interface, advanced automation capabilities, and robust monitoring tools that simplify configuration, troubleshooting, and maintenance.

Features such as process isolation, rollback capabilities, and comprehensive logging enhance system stability and reduce the risk of configuration errors. These capabilities allow network teams to manage complex environments more efficiently and with greater confidence.

Lifecycle Longevity and Investment Protection

The Cisco N7K-C7004-S2E category is designed for long-term deployment, with a focus on investment protection and lifecycle longevity. Modular components can be upgraded individually, allowing organizations to adopt new technologies and increase capacity without replacing the entire system. This approach reduces total cost of ownership and aligns with long-term infrastructure planning.

Support for evolving standards and protocols ensures that the Nexus 7004 remains relevant as network requirements change. This makes it a dependable choice for organizations seeking a stable, scalable, and future-ready switching platform.

Use Cases Across Enterprise and Data Center Networks

The Cisco Nexus 7004 Switch Chassis category addresses a wide range of use cases, including enterprise campus cores, data center aggregation layers, and high-performance computing environments. Its combination of modularity, performance, and advanced features enables it to adapt to diverse deployment scenarios.

Organizations can deploy the N7K-C7004-S2E as a central switching platform that consolidates multiple network functions, reducing complexity and improving operational efficiency. Its ability to scale and integrate with other Cisco Nexus platforms ensures seamless expansion and consistent network behavior across the infrastructure.

Foundation for Scalable Network Architectures

The Cisco N7K-C7004-S2E Nexus 7004 Switch Chassis category provides a strong foundation for scalable, resilient, and high-performance network architectures. By combining modular hardware design with advanced software capabilities, it enables organizations to build networks that can grow and evolve alongside business needs.

This category represents a strategic investment in network infrastructure, offering the flexibility, reliability, and performance required to support modern enterprise and data center workloads while maintaining operational simplicity and long-term value.