N9K-C93108TC-FX3P Cisco 48 Ports L3 Ethernet Switch

Cisco N9K-C93108TC-FX3P Layer 3 Ethernet Switch Overview

The Cisco N9K-C93108TC-FX3P is a high-capacity, enterprise-grade Ethernet switch engineered for modern data center and core network deployments. Built on Cisco Nexus 9000 Series architecture, this managed switch delivers consistent performance, scalability, and advanced Layer 3 capabilities for demanding environments.

Manufacturer and Product Identification

• Brand: Cisco
• SKU / Part Number: N9K-C93108TC-FX3P
• Product Category: Managed Network Switch
• Port Configuration: 48-Port Ethernet Switch

Core Hardware and Design Attributes

Form Factor and Deployment

• Rack-mountable chassis optimized for data centers
• Compact 1U enclosure conserving rack space
• Designed for high-density server and storage connectivity

Switching Technology

• Advanced Layer 3 switching support
• Managed switch architecture for granular network control
• Optimized for low latency and high-throughput workloads

Port Density and Network Interfaces

Downlink Connectivity Options

• 48 x 10GBASE-T RJ-45 Ethernet ports
• Ideal for connecting servers, appliances, and access switches
• Supports copper-based 10 Gigabit Ethernet deployments

Uplink Capabilities

• 6 x QSFP28 uplink ports
• Flexible support for 40GbE and 100GbE
• Designed for spine-leaf and aggregation layer architectures

High-Speed Expansion Benefits

• Improved east-west traffic handling
• Seamless scalability for growing networks
• Optimized backbone connectivity

Management and Administrative Interfaces

Out-of-Band Management Ports

• 2 x RJ-45 management interfaces
• 1 x SFP-based management port
• Dedicated channels for monitoring and configuration

Additional Connectivity Interfaces

• 1 x USB port for local management tasks
• 1 x Serial (RS-232) console interface
• Enhanced flexibility for troubleshooting and setup

Power and Reliability Features

Power Supply Configuration

• Integrated internal power supply
• Designed for continuous, reliable operation
• Suitable for enterprise and data center environments

Operational Advantages

• Stable power delivery for critical networking workloads
• Reduced cable clutter with internal PSU design
• Optimized airflow and thermal efficiency

Cisco Nexus 9000 Series Fixed-Configuration Switching Architecture

The Cisco N9K-C93108TC-FX3P 48 Ports Ethernet Switch Layer 3 Supported belongs to the advanced Cisco Nexus 9000 Series, a family of fixed-configuration data center switches engineered for modern enterprise, cloud-scale, and service provider environments. This category focuses on delivering high-density, low-latency, and highly programmable switching platforms designed to support evolving workloads such as virtualization, containerized applications, and software-defined networking architectures. The Nexus 9000 fixed platforms integrate cutting-edge ASIC innovation with Cisco’s NX-OS and Application Centric Infrastructure capabilities, ensuring consistency, scalability, and performance across the data center fabric.

The Cisco N9K-C93108TC-FX3P category emphasizes versatility and efficiency by combining multiple Ethernet speeds, advanced Layer 3 features, and hardware-based telemetry. These switches are optimized for leaf and spine deployments, enabling predictable performance and simplified management while supporting both traditional networking models and intent-based networking paradigms. With a strong focus on reliability and extensibility, this category addresses the needs of organizations transitioning toward automation-driven infrastructure.

High-Density Port Configuration and Multi-Speed Connectivity

Within this category, the Cisco N9K-C93108TC-FX3P stands out by offering forty-eight Ethernet ports designed to support multiple speed configurations. This capability allows seamless integration with existing server and storage infrastructures while providing a future-ready path for bandwidth expansion. The multi-speed port design supports data center operators who require flexibility when connecting a mix of legacy and next-generation devices without compromising performance or operational simplicity.

The category emphasizes optimized port density in a compact form factor, allowing efficient rack utilization and reduced cabling complexity. By consolidating high-performance switching into a single fixed platform, these devices reduce the overall footprint of data center deployments while maintaining consistent throughput and low latency. This makes the category particularly suitable for high-density top-of-rack deployments in enterprise and colocation environments.

Support for Layer 3 Routing and Advanced Network Services

Layer 3 support is a defining characteristic of the Cisco N9K-C93108TC-FX3P category, enabling full routing functionality directly at the access or aggregation layer. This capability allows for scalable IP fabric designs where routing is distributed closer to endpoints, improving convergence times and simplifying network architecture. The category supports a wide range of routing protocols and features, allowing seamless integration into complex multi-tier data center designs.

Advanced network services such as policy-based routing, access control, and quality of service are integral to this category. These features enable precise traffic management and segmentation, ensuring that critical applications receive consistent performance even during peak usage. The combination of hardware-accelerated forwarding and robust software features ensures predictable latency and high availability across the network fabric.

Optimized ASIC Design for Low Latency and High Throughput

The Cisco N9K-C93108TC-FX3P category benefits from custom ASIC engineering that delivers wire-speed forwarding across all ports. This design ensures minimal packet processing delay, making the category suitable for latency-sensitive workloads such as financial trading platforms, real-time analytics, and high-performance computing clusters. Hardware-based forwarding and buffering capabilities contribute to consistent performance even under heavy traffic loads.

By integrating telemetry and monitoring functions directly into the ASIC, this category enables real-time visibility into traffic patterns, congestion points, and application behavior. This hardware-level insight reduces reliance on external monitoring tools and provides actionable data that can be leveraged by automation platforms and network analytics solutions.

Data Center Fabric Integration and Deployment Flexibility

The Cisco N9K-C93108TC-FX3P category is designed to integrate seamlessly into modern data center fabric architectures. Whether deployed as part of a leaf-spine topology or within a traditional three-tier design, these switches provide consistent feature sets and operational models. This flexibility allows organizations to adopt new architectures incrementally while preserving investments in existing infrastructure.

Support for fabric-based networking simplifies scaling by allowing additional switches to be introduced without complex reconfiguration. The category emphasizes predictable performance and simplified operations, enabling network teams to focus on service delivery rather than manual configuration tasks. This approach aligns with the growing demand for agile infrastructure capable of adapting to changing business requirements.

Compatibility with Cisco NX-OS and Programmability

All switches in the Cisco N9K-C93108TC-FX3P category operate on Cisco NX-OS, a modular and resilient network operating system optimized for data center environments. NX-OS provides consistent command-line interfaces, robust APIs, and advanced automation capabilities. This ensures that network operations remain streamlined across the entire Nexus 9000 portfolio.

Programmability is a key aspect of this category, with support for open standards and APIs that enable integration with orchestration and automation platforms. Network engineers can leverage scripting, model-driven programmability, and controller-based management to automate configuration, monitoring, and troubleshooting tasks. This reduces operational overhead and minimizes the risk of human error.

Integration with Cisco Application Centric Infrastructure

The Cisco N9K-C93108TC-FX3P category is fully compatible with Cisco Application Centric Infrastructure, providing an intent-based networking framework that aligns network behavior with application requirements. This integration allows policies to be defined at a high level and automatically enforced across the network fabric. The result is improved consistency, faster application deployment, and simplified network management.

By supporting both ACI and standalone NX-OS modes, this category offers deployment flexibility that accommodates diverse operational models. Organizations can adopt policy-driven networking at their own pace while maintaining the option to operate in a traditional configuration if required.

Telemetry and Visibility for Proactive Operations

Advanced telemetry capabilities are embedded within the Cisco N9K-C93108TC-FX3P category, enabling real-time data streaming to monitoring and analytics platforms. This continuous visibility allows network teams to detect anomalies, identify performance bottlenecks, and respond proactively to potential issues. The ability to collect granular metrics without impacting performance enhances overall network reliability.

These telemetry features support modern observability practices by providing detailed insights into flows, latency, and resource utilization. This information can be correlated with application performance metrics to deliver end-to-end visibility across the data center stack.

Reliability, Availability, and Operational Resilience

High availability is a core design principle of the Cisco N9K-C93108TC-FX3P category. Redundant power supplies, efficient cooling mechanisms, and robust hardware components ensure continuous operation in demanding environments. This focus on resilience minimizes downtime and supports mission-critical workloads that require uninterrupted network connectivity.

The category supports non-disruptive software upgrades and maintenance features that reduce the impact of changes on production traffic. These capabilities allow organizations to maintain up-to-date software and security patches without sacrificing uptime or performance.

Security and Network Segmentation Capabilities

Security is deeply integrated into the Cisco N9K-C93108TC-FX3P category, with features designed to protect data center traffic and enforce segmentation policies. Layer 3 capabilities enable network segmentation that isolates workloads and limits the blast radius of potential threats. This approach aligns with zero-trust principles and modern security frameworks.

Hardware-based access control and policy enforcement ensure that security measures do not compromise performance. The category supports scalable segmentation models that accommodate multi-tenant environments and hybrid cloud deployments.

Energy Efficiency and Sustainable Data Center Design

The Cisco N9K-C93108TC-FX3P category emphasizes energy efficiency through optimized power consumption and intelligent thermal management. Efficient hardware design reduces operational costs and supports sustainability initiatives by minimizing energy usage without sacrificing performance.

By consolidating high-performance switching into compact form factors, this category helps reduce overall data center footprint and cooling requirements. These efficiencies contribute to lower total cost of ownership and align with environmentally conscious infrastructure strategies.

Scalability for Future Network Growth

Scalability is a defining feature of the Cisco N9K-C93108TC-FX3P category, enabling organizations to expand network capacity as demands grow. The fixed-configuration design supports high port density and bandwidth, allowing seamless scaling without complex redesigns. This ensures that the network remains capable of supporting emerging technologies and increased traffic volumes.

Future-ready architecture and software support ensure that investments in this category remain relevant over time. The ability to adapt to new protocols, speeds, and management models makes this category a long-term foundation for modern data center networking.

Use Cases Across Enterprise and Cloud Environments

The Cisco N9K-C93108TC-FX3P category addresses a wide range of use cases across enterprise, cloud, and service provider data centers. Its combination of high-density connectivity, advanced Layer 3 routing, and automation-friendly features makes it suitable for hosting virtualized workloads, container platforms, and private cloud infrastructures.

In hybrid and multi-cloud environments, this category provides consistent networking behavior and policy enforcement across on-premises and cloud-connected resources. This consistency simplifies operations and ensures predictable performance regardless of workload location.

Support for Virtualization and Containerized Workloads

Modern application environments rely heavily on virtualization and container technologies that demand agile and responsive networking. The Cisco N9K-C93108TC-FX3P category supports these workloads by providing fast convergence, scalable routing, and seamless integration with orchestration platforms. This enables rapid provisioning and dynamic scaling of application environments.

Network policies can be aligned with application lifecycles, ensuring that connectivity and security adapt automatically as workloads move or scale. This level of integration enhances operational efficiency and application performance.

Alignment with DevOps and Automation Practices

The programmability and API-driven management of the Cisco N9K-C93108TC-FX3P category align closely with DevOps methodologies. Network infrastructure can be treated as code, enabling version control, automated testing, and continuous deployment of network configurations. This approach reduces configuration drift and accelerates innovation.

By integrating with automation frameworks and CI/CD pipelines, this category supports rapid iteration and consistent deployment across large-scale environments. This capability is essential for organizations seeking to modernize their IT operations and embrace agile practices.

Consistent Performance for Mission-Critical Applications

Mission-critical applications require predictable network behavior and minimal latency. The Cisco N9K-C93108TC-FX3P category delivers consistent performance through hardware-accelerated forwarding and intelligent traffic management. This ensures that critical services remain responsive even under heavy load conditions.

The combination of reliability, scalability, and advanced feature sets positions this category as a trusted choice for organizations seeking to build resilient and high-performance data center networks that can adapt to future demands.