Cisco DS-9300-CTL-K9 Full English Product Description
1. Short Official Part & License Label
DS-9300-CTL-K9: Cisco MDS 9300 Series Integrated Control Processor Module, Embedded Supervisor Unit for MDS 9396S / MDS 9396T / MDS 9396V Fixed-Form Multilayer SAN Switches, Runs Cisco MDS NX-OS, Single-Chassis Integrated Control Plane, Supports Fibre Channel, FCoE, VSAN Zoning, FSPF Routing, Local Console & Out-of-Band Management, Hot-Upgrade Support, Entry-to-Mid Density Fixed SAN Switch Controller
2. Full Product Overview
The Cisco DS-9300-CTL-K9 is the integrated supervisor control module embedded within all Cisco MDS 9300 series fixed-port multilayer Fibre Channel fabric switches, including MDS 9396S (16G FC), MDS 9396T (32G FC), and MDS 9396V (64G FC). Unlike modular MDS 9700 director supervisors, the DS-9300-CTL-K9 is a non-field-replaceable integrated control processor built into the fixed 2RU chassis; it serves as the unified control-plane, management, and protocol engine for low-to-medium density datacenter storage area networks.
This controller executes all Fibre Channel control-plane logic, fabric services, system management, and switch administration. It runs Cisco MDS NX-OS and supports core storage networking protocols, VSAN virtualization, zoning, dynamic routing, and diagnostics. The MDS 9300 platform is designed for top-of-rack, middle-of-row, and small consolidated SAN deployments for virtualized servers, database workloads, backup targets, and hyper-converged storage environments.
The DS-9300-CTL-K9 manages all switch ASIC forwarding pipelines, port initialization, login services, fabric name server, RSCN event handling, and switch configuration persistence. While the MDS 9300 fixed switches do not support redundant supervisors, the controller supports nondisruptive software upgrades, process restart, and comprehensive fault monitoring for power supplies, fans, and port hardware.
Lifecycle Status: Multiple MDS 9300 variants remain actively supported. The controller firmware is bundled with MDS NX-OS switch images. Software licensing is chassis-based and independent of the embedded control hardware.
Key Differentiator vs MDS 9700 Supervisor Modules: Integrated non-hot-swappable design for fixed-port switches, no redundant supervisor slot support, optimized for fixed-density SAN leaf deployments, lower scale target compared to MDS 9700 director supervisors.
3. Hardware Physical & Interface Specifications
Form Factor & Mechanical
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Form Factor: Integrated embedded controller inside MDS 9300 fixed 2RU chassis (Not a separate hot-swappable pluggable module)
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Host Supported Chassis: MDS 9396S, MDS 9396T, MDS 9396V
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Chassis Dimensions: 88.9 mm (H) × 431.8 mm (W) × 558.8 mm (D) / 3.5 × 17 × 22 in
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Cooling: Redundant hot-swappable fan trays
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Power Supplies: Dual redundant AC power supplies (field replaceable)
Controller-Related Front Panel Interfaces
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1× RJ45 RS‑232 Serial Console Port for local CLI access
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1× 10/100/1000BASE-T Out-of-Band Management Ethernet Port
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USB Type‑A port for OS image upload, configuration backup and diagnostics
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System LED array: Power, System Status, Fault, Fan, Power Supply Status
Power & Environmental Parameters
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Operating Temperature: 0°C to 40°C (32°F to 104°F)
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Storage Temperature: -40°C to 70°C (-40°F to 158°F)
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Humidity: 10%–90% non-condensing RH
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Regulatory Certifications: UL 60950‑1, CE, FCC Class A EMC
Controller Base Hardware Resources
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Multi-core embedded control processor
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System RAM: 8 GB DDR4
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Internal flash storage for NX-OS boot images, logs, crash diagnostics
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Interfaces to switch forwarding ASICs, power monitoring, fan control, and port modules
Verified Scalability Boundaries (Dependent on Host MDS 9300 Chassis)
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Maximum Ports: 96 × 16G / 32G / 64G Fibre Channel
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Supported VSANs: Up to 256
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Maximum Zone Sets, Zones, Device Aliases: Platform MDS 9300 validated limits
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Supported Protocols: FC, FCoE, NPIV, FSPF, IVR, FCIP (licensed add-on)
4. Core MDS NX-OS Storage Networking Feature Suite
1. Fibre Channel Control Plane Services
FSPF dynamic routing, Fibre Channel Name Server, RSCN notification, FLOGI/FDISC login management, fabric configuration server.
2. VSAN Virtualization & Segmentation
Virtual Storage Area Networks (VSANs), hard/soft zoning, device aliases, zone merge control, persistent zoning databases.
3. Multiprotocol SAN Switching
Native Fibre Channel, FCoE (Fibre Channel over Ethernet), NPIV N-Port ID Virtualization; FCIP available with feature license for SAN extension.
4. High Availability Operations
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Nondisruptive In-Service Software Upgrade (ISSU)
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Stateful process restart for control-plane services
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Real-time environmental monitoring for power, fans, and transceivers
5. SAN Security Toolset
FC-SP Fibre Channel authentication, port security, VSAN ACLs, RBAC, TACACS+/RADIUS AAA, SSHv2, secure audit logging.
6. Traffic Management & Troubleshooting
Fibre Channel QoS, slow-drain congestion mitigation, FC SPAN, FC ping/traceroute, real-time port statistics, online diagnostics.
7. Management & Automation
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Local CLI over serial console / SSH
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Embedded web-based GUI
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Centralized management via Cisco DCNM (Data Center Network Manager)
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SNMPv3 for monitoring integration
5. Typical Deployment Scenarios
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Embedded control-plane for MDS 9396S / 9396T / 9396V leaf switches in medium enterprise SAN fabrics
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Top-of-Rack storage access switches connecting blade servers and disk arrays
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Consolidated backup SAN and secondary storage fabrics
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Medium datacenter multi-VSAN segmented storage environments
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Edge SAN switches in multi-site architectures connected via FCIP gateways
6. Short Sales Listing Tagline
Cisco DS-9300-CTL-K9 Integrated Embedded Control Processor for MDS 9300 Series Fixed SAN Switches, Hosts MDS NX-OS Control Plane for MDS 9396S / 9396T / 9396V, Supports Fibre Channel, FCoE, VSAN Zoning, FSPF Dynamic Routing, ISSU Nondisruptive Upgrades, Local Console & Out-of-Band Management, Controller for Mid-Density Fixed-Form Datacenter Storage Area Network Switches
Note: DS-9300-CTL-K9 is the reference designation for the embedded supervisor on MDS 9300 fixed switches. It isnot a separate field-replaceable hot-swappable modulelike MDS 9700 series supervisors. Complete physical ordering part numbers for full switches: DS-C9396S-K9, DS-C9396T-K9, DS-C9396V-K9.
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