Official Cisco Product Clarification

N3K-M204Q is NOT a valid, orderable Cisco Nexus switch part numberin Cisco’s official hardware catalog, datasheets, hardware compatibility matrices, and EOL archives.

Root Cause of Naming Confusion

The invalid model name contains incorrect Nexus 3000 naming rules:

1. N3K: Standard prefix for fixed-form-factor Nexus 3000 data center switches
2. M: Invalid middle letter. Official Nexus 3000 fixed switches useCas the platform identifier, neverM.
3. 20: Implies 20 downlink ports
4. 4Q: Implies 4 QSFP uplink ports

All genuine Nexus 3000 series part numbers follow the formatN3K-C3XXX[PQ/TQ/V](e.g., N3K-C3048TP-1GE, N3K-C3172PQ-10GE, N3K-C3132Q-V). There is no official model with "M" in the position ofC3XXX.

Closest Genuine Equivalent Reference Model

The real Cisco switch matching your described port layout (20 x SFP+ 10G downlinks + 4 x QSFP+ 40G uplinks) is theCisco N3K-C3064PQ-10GE(64-port variant) and compact low-density modelN3K-C3048TP-1GE / N3K-C3132Q-V. Below provides full official specification of the most matching low-density QSFP uplink switch:Cisco N3K-C3132Q-V

Cisco N3K-C3132Q-V Full Official Technical Specification Document

1. Product Overview

Official Full Designation

Cisco N3K-C3132Q-V:Cisco Nexus 3132Q-V 1RU Low-Latency Data Center Switch, 32 QSFP+ Universal Ports, Virtualized NX-OS Leaf/Spine Fabric Switch

N3K-C3132Q-V is a compact 1RU fixed-form-factor data center switch of the Cisco Nexus 3100-V virtualization-optimized platform family. It is designed for low-density leaf/spine fabrics, small enterprise data centers, HPC clusters, and virtual server aggregation. The V suffix denotes virtualization-focused NX-OS runtime, optimized for containerized workloads, zero-touch PoAP provisioning, and DCNM fabric automation.

Core Definition1-rack-unit (1RU) rack-mount non-blocking Layer 2/Layer 3 switch equipped with 32 universal QSFP+ ports. Each QSFP+ port runs native 40-Gigabit Ethernet or breakout to four independent 10-Gigabit SFP+ lanes for flexible port density adjustment. The switch executes modular fault-isolated Cisco NX-OS OS, delivering consistent wire-speed low-latency packet forwarding, hardware-accelerated ACL security, granular QoS scheduling, dedicated multicast replication silicon, and full VXLAN EVPN fabric support for modern cloud and virtualized data center architectures.

SKU Naming Breakdown

1. N3K: Standard prefix for fixed-form-factor Cisco Nexus 3000 series data center switches
2. C3132: Platform identifier for Nexus 3132 32-port QSFP+ compact ToR switch
3. Q: Port media suffix indicating QSFP+ 40G universal fiber ports
4. -V: Virtualization-optimized platform suffix, optimized for virtual machine, container, and cloud automation workloads

Product Lifecycle Notice

• Official Global Release Year: 2016
• End-of-Sale (EoS) Announcement Date: August 31, 2022
• End-of-Support (EoSS) Date: August 31, 2027
• Minimum Supported NX-OS Software Version: NX-OS Release 9.2(1)M
• Software Maintenance Status: Active TAC support for customers with valid Cisco DNA support contracts; periodic critical security patch releases available
• Legacy Status: Not fully end-of-life hardware; spare parts, firmware upgrades, and 24x7 TAC technical support are accessible via authorized Cisco distribution channels

Supported Deployment & Fabric Compatibility

Physical Deployment Scenarios

• 19-inch standard EIA rack 1RU mounting
• Small/medium data center leaf switch
• Compact spine layer for low-port-count leaf/spine fabrics
• HPC cluster interconnect and storage aggregation
• Enterprise core high-speed trunk aggregation
• Virtualization/cloud provider multi-tenant small-scale fabric leaf nodes

Fabric Compatibility

• Standalone NX-OS Layer 2/Layer 3 operation
• Cisco DCNM Data Center Network Manager unified fabric orchestration
• VXLAN EVPN leaf/spine data center fabrics
• vPC (virtual PortChannel) multi-chassis device redundancy
• External leaf integration with Cisco ACI fabric environments (external fabric mode)

Standard Factory Complete Bundle Contents

Each factory-sealed N3K-C3132Q-V retail package contains all hardware required for rack installation and operation:

1. N3K-C3132Q-V base 32-port QSFP+ switch chassis
2. Dual hot-swappable AC power supplies (port-side intake airflow standard; reverse airflow spare PSUs available separately)
3. Redundant hot-swappable (3+1) variable-speed fan tray assembly
4. 19-inch rack mounting brackets and retention screws
5. RJ45-to-RS232 serial console cable
6. USB out-of-band management cable
7. Quick-start hardware installation guide
8. Global regulatory compliance, safety, and EMI certification documentation packet

Core Integrated Functional Capabilities

• Non-blocking wire-speed packet forwarding for all 32 QSFP+ ports simultaneously
• Hardware-accelerated Layer 2 / Layer 3 forwarding: IPv4/IPv6 unicast/multicast, MPLS label switching, VXLAN EVPN tunnel termination
• Comprehensive Layer 2 feature suite: IEEE 802.1Q VLAN trunking (4096 VLAN IDs), vPC multi-chassis link aggregation, LACP/Static EtherChannel, RSTP/MSTP spanning tree, UDLD, private VLANs, PVLAN edge isolation
• Layer 3 dynamic routing protocols: Static routing, RIPv2, OSPFv2/v3, EIGRP, HSRP/VRRP first-hop redundancy, uRPF loose/strict anti-spoofing mode
• Hardware security pipeline: Ingress/egress TCAM ACLs (16,000 ingress, 1,000 egress entries), DHCP snooping, dynamic ARP inspection, broadcast/multicast/unicast storm control, control-plane policing (CoPP)
• Hardware QoS scheduling: DSCP/802.1p CoS traffic classification, traffic policing/marking, ingress buffer tuning, egress DWRR weighted queuing, WRED congestion avoidance, CBWFQ service queues
• Dedicated hardware multicast replication engine: PIM-SM, PIM-SSM, BiDir-PIM, MSDP, optimized for IPTV broadcast video workload acceleration
• Advanced data center automation features: PoAP zero-touch provisioning, NX-API REST API, NETCONF/YANG, Python scripting, EEM embedded event manager
• Full jumbo frame support up to 9216-byte MTU, SPAN/ERSPAN port mirroring, IEEE 1588 PTP boundary clock, NTP time synchronization, SSHv2 encrypted management, AAA/RADIUS/TACACS+ access control

2. Hardware & Performance Specifications

Core Forwarding & Scalability Performance

• Switching Fabric Capacity: 2.56 Tbps full-duplex non-blocking crossbar
• Packet Forwarding Throughput: 1.4 Bpps (billion packets per second) wire-speed L2/L3 forwarding
• MAC Address Table Capacity: 288,000 unique MAC addresses
• VLAN Support: 4096 IEEE 802.1Q VLAN IDs
• Spanning Tree Instances: 512 RSTP instances; 64 MSTP instances
• TCAM ACL Capacity: 16,000 ingress ACL entries, 1,000 egress ACL entries
• FIB Routing Table Capacity: 16,000 IPv4 unicast prefixes, 16,000 host routes, 8,000 multicast routes
• NetFlow Capacity: Hardware-accelerated NetFlow v5/v9 flow collection, up to 1M concurrent flow cache entries
• EtherChannel Limits: Maximum 64 PortChannels per switch, up to 32 physical ports per single PortChannel bundle
• System Memory: 16 GB high-speed system RAM, 16 GB eUSB persistent boot flash storage
• Shared Packet Buffer: 16 MB dynamic tunable shared buffer pool for all ports

Port Hardware Specifications

Universal QSFP+ Ports (32 × QSFP+)

• Native Supported Speed: 40 Gbps QSFP+
• Breakout Mode Support: Each QSFP+ port can be split via breakout cables into 4 independent 10 Gbps SFP+ lanes
• Supported Transceiver Types: QSFP+ 40G optical transceivers, QSFP+ 40G copper passive/active cables, QSFP+ to SFP+ breakout cables

Electrical & Thermal Specifications

Power Supply

• Dual redundant hot-swappable AC power supplies (load-sharing active/standby redundancy)
• Input Voltage Range: Universal AC 100–240 V, 50/60 Hz
• Maximum System Power Consumption: 420 Watts full load
• Airflow Standard: Port-side intake, power supply/rear exhaust airflow (reverse airflow PSUs available as spare parts for cold-aisle port exhaust deployments)

Thermal & Environmental Operating Parameters

• Certified Operating Temperature Range: 0°C to 40°C (32°F to 104°F) continuous data center operation
• Extended Validated Operating Temperature: 0°C to 55°C (32°F to 131°F) short-term non-continuous operation
• Storage & Transport Temperature: -40°C to 70°C (-40°F to 158°F)
• Operating Relative Humidity: 10% to 90% RH, non-condensing
• Operating Altitude: Certified range -150 m to 2,000 m (-500 ft to 6,500 ft); extended validated range up to 3,000 m (10,000 ft)
• Cooling System: Redundant (3+1) hot-swappable variable-speed fan tray, no single point of cooling failure

Physical Form Factor & Weight

• Form Factor: 1RU standard 19-inch EIA rack-mount chassis
• Overall Physical Dimensions (W × D × H): 445 mm × 430 mm × 44 mm (17.5 in × 16.9 in × 1.73 in)
• Bare Chassis Net Weight (without transceivers): 5.1 kg (11.24 lbs)

3. Regulatory & Compliance Certifications

Fully compliant with global international industry, safety, EMC, and carrier-grade standards:

1. Safety Standards: UL 62368-1, CSA C22.2 No. 62368-1, EN 60950-1, IEC 60950-1
2. EMC & EMI Standards: FCC CFR Title 47 Part 15 Class A, VCCI Class A, EN55022 Class A, CISPR 22 Class A
3. Carrier-Grade Compliance: NEBS Level 3 (GR-1089-CORE, GR-63-CORE), ETSI ETS 300 386-2, EN 50121-4 railway EMC compatibility
4. Environmental Directive: EU RoHS 2 hazardous substance restriction compliance

4. Core Deployment Advantages

1. Ultra-Flexible Universal QSFP+ Port Design: Each of the 32 QSFP+ ports runs native 40G or breaks out to four 10G lanes, enabling users to dynamically adjust port density between 32 × 40G or 128 × 10G without replacing hardware, supporting seamless migration from 10G to 40G fabrics.
2. Virtualization-Optimized NX-OS Runtime: The V-series optimized NX-OS kernel delivers ultra-low forwarding latency for virtual machine, container, and cloud-native workloads, with robust PoAP zero-touch provisioning for fully automated fabric deployment.
3. Unified Dual-Stack L2/L3 Feature Richness: Simultaneous support for traditional enterprise Layer 3 routing protocols and modern VXLAN EVPN cloud fabric tunneling eliminates the need for separate aggregation and fabric leaf switches in mixed-workload data centers.
4. Full Redundancy of All Critical Components: Dual load-sharing AC power supplies, redundant variable-speed fan trays, and hot-pluggable transceivers enable in-service component replacement without chassis power cycling or network outages, maximizing data center operational uptime.
5. Comprehensive Hardware Acceleration of All Critical Services: Forwarding, ACL security filtering, QoS scheduling, multicast replication, and NetFlow statistics collection all run on dedicated silicon ASICs, eliminating supervisor CPU bottlenecks and maintaining consistent wire-speed performance under full traffic load.
6. Open Programmability & SDDC Compatibility: Native REST API, NETCONF/YANG, Python scripting, and EEM embedded event manager enable seamless integration with third-party cloud orchestration, monitoring, and automation platforms, supporting fully software-defined data center deployments.

Supplementary Product Specification Notes

UNSPSC Classification Code

43222612 (1RU rack-mount low-density universal QSFP+ data center switch, Cisco Nexus 3132Q-V virtualized NX-OS platform, 32 x QSFP+ multi-speed 40G / breakout 10G ports, dual redundant AC power supplies, redundant fan tray, hardware-accelerated L2/L3 forwarding, VXLAN EVPN fabric support, for small enterprise, HPC and cloud data center leaf/spine architectures).

K9 Security Compliance Note

All N3K-C3132Q-V supported NX-OS firmware releases implement AES 128-bit encrypted remote CLI, web portal, SNMP, and NETCONF management traffic, meeting Cisco K9 secure network hardware classification standards required for government, military, healthcare, and financial regulated enterprise and cloud data center deployments.

Factory Hardware Warranty Terms

Standard 1-year limited hardware warranty coverage for brand-new factory-sealed N3K-C3132Q-V switch chassis purchased through official Cisco authorized global distribution channel partners. Extended 3-year / 5-year hardware support contracts are available as optional add-ons via Cisco DNA Support Services, covering spare part replacement, 24x7 Cisco TAC engineering technical support, and certified NX-OS firmware upgrade releases.