Cisco N9K-SUP-A+ Full Official Technical Specification Document

1. Product Overview

Official Full Designation

Core Definition

SKU Naming Breakdown

1. N9K: Standard prefix for Cisco Nexus 9000 series modular chassis switch hardware
2. SUP: Supervisor module, the central control and management unit of the modular switch chassis
3. A: A-generation base supervisor silicon platform
4. +: Enhanced upgraded variant (4-core 8-thread CPU, higher multi-tasking capacity vs standard N9K-SUP-A 4-thread model)
5. =: Optional suffix for standalone spare-only supervisor kits (N9K-SUP-A+=)Cisco

Product Lifecycle Notice

• Official Global Release Year: 2019
• End-of-Sale (EoS) Status: End-of-sale hardware, Cisco stopped manufacturing new units
• Direct Upgrade Replacement Model: N9K-SUP-B / N9K-SUP-B+ higher-performance supervisors
• Minimum Supported NX-OS Software Version: NX-OS Release 7.0(3)I2(1) and later; fully compatible with all mainstream ACI OS releases
• Software Maintenance Status: Only critical security vulnerability patches are released for customers holding active Cisco DNA support contracts; no new feature development
• Legacy Status: End-of-sale hardware; certified refurbished spare parts, validated firmware upgrades and 24×7 Cisco TAC engineering technical support remain available through authorized Cisco distribution channels

Mandatory Deployment Rules for Nexus 9500 Chassis

1. Redundancy hardware consistency: If deploying dual redundant supervisors in one chassis, both units must be identical N9K-SUP-A+ models; mixing SUP-A with SUP-A+ or B-series supervisors triggers synchronization faults and breaks high availabilityCisco.
2. Hardware compatibility limitation: N9K-SUP-A+ cannot be used on Nexus 9504 / 9508 chassis populated with -R or -R2 generation line cards; only B/B+ supervisors support mixed-R line card environmentsCisco.
3. Hot-swap rule: The supervisor supports full hot-swap insertion and removal; no chassis power-off is required for maintenance or replacement, and standby supervisor maintains full state synchronization during operation.

Standard Factory Complete Bundle Contents

1. N9K-SUP-A+ base hot-swappable supervisor control module with integrated passive aluminum heat sink assembly
2. Front panel port dust blanking plugs for unused management ports
3. Chassis mounting retention screws and anti-static ESD handling storage bag
4. Quick-start hardware installation guide covering supervisor insertion, removal and redundant failover operation procedures
5. Global regulatory compliance, safety, and electromagnetic interference (EMI) certification documentation packet

Core Integrated Functional Capabilities

• Centralized chassis control plane management: Compute and maintain global routing tables (BGP, OSPF, EIGRP), distribute routing entries to all line card data plane ASICs, handle all control-plane protocol negotiation and convergence
• Full chassis hardware monitoring and fault telemetry: Real-time monitoring of fabric modules, line cards, power supplies, fan trays, internal temperature sensors, voltage and current parameters; generate syslog, SNMP traps and streaming telemetry for all hardware fault events
• Stateful active/standby high availability: Full synchronization of running configuration, routing table state, session databases and system operational state between dual redundant A+ supervisors; hitless failover with zero data-plane packet loss upon primary supervisor failure
• Dual-mode OS boot support: Natively boot and run either standard NX-OS OS for IP leaf-spine fabrics or ACI OS for policy-driven multi-tenant Application Centric Infrastructure fabrics
• Multi-type out-of-band management access: Front-panel integrated 10/100/1000BASE-T RJ45 management Ethernet port, RS232 serial console port, dual USB 2.0 ports for file upload/download and external storage, external 1PPS timing clock input port for PTP/IEEE 1588 synchronization
• System software orchestration: Full chassis-wide ISSU (In-Service Software Upgrade) coordination, distribute firmware images to all line cards, fabric modules and peripheral hardware, execute staged non-disruptive OS upgrades
• Full data plane feature policy compilation: Compile global ACL rules, QoS classification policies, VLAN segmentation rules, VXLAN EVPN bridge-domain configurations and push pre-processed policy entries to each line card hardware ASIC for wire-speed data-plane execution
• Advanced automation and observability services: Embedded Python scripting engine, NX-API REST API, NETCONF/YANG model support, EEM embedded event manager, real-time streaming telemetry export to external monitoring platforms
• Full jumbo frame, PTP timing, security management baseline services: Coordinate chassis-wide IEEE 1588 PTP boundary clock operation, centralized AAA (TACACS+/RADIUS) authentication, SSH encrypted remote management, secure SNMPv3 access control

2. Hardware & Performance Specifications

Core Control Plane Hardware Resources

• CPU Processor: 1.8GHz x86 quad-core, 8 execution threads (double thread count vs N9K-SUP-A base model)
• System DRAM Memory: 16GB high-speed DDR4 RAM for routing table storage, control-plane task execution and state synchronization
• Local Persistent Storage: 64GB internal solid-state SSD for OS image storage, configuration archives, log file retention and crash dump recording
• MTBF (Mean Time Between Failures): 414,240 hours, carrier-grade long-term continuous operation reliability

Front-Panel Management Port Specifications

1. 1× 10/100/1000BASE-T RJ45 out-of-band management Ethernet port, auto-MDI/MDI-X
2. 1× RS232 serial console port (RJ45 connector, Cisco standard console pinout)
3. 2× USB 2.0 Type-A ports, support FAT32 external flash storage
4. 1× External timing clock input port (1PPS + ToD signal for IEEE 1588 PTP synchronization)

Electrical & Thermal Specifications

Power Consumption

• Typical operating power draw under medium control-plane load: 69 Watts
• Maximum full-load power consumption under peak routing/telemetry workloads: 80 Watts
• Power Delivery: Powered exclusively through the Nexus 9500 chassis front supervisor slot backplane; no external power supply connectors on the supervisor module

Thermal & Environmental Operating Parameters

• Certified Continuous Operating Temperature Range: 0°C to 40°C (32°F to 104°F) standard data center environment
• Extended Validated Short-Term Operating Temperature: 0°C to 55°C (32°F to 131°F)
• Storage & Transport Temperature Range: -40°C to 70°C (-40°F to 158°F)
• Operating Relative Humidity: 10% to 90% RH, non-condensing
• Operating Altitude: Certified operational 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 Design: Passive aluminum heat sink assembly mounted on the supervisor PCB; cooling airflow is supplied by the host Nexus 9500 chassis rear fan trays
• Airflow Direction: Port-side intake (front panel intake), rear exhaust standard front-to-back airflow design

Physical Form Factor & Weight

• Form Factor: Standard Nexus 9500 front hot-swappable vertical supervisor module form factor, compatible with N9K-C9504 / C9508 / C9516 chassis supervisor slots
• Bare Supervisor Net Weight (without port dust plugs): 2.37 kg (5.2 lbs)

3. Regulatory & Compliance Certifications

1. Safety Standards: UL 60950-1, CSA C22.2 No. 60950-1, EN 60950-1, IEC 60950-1, GB 4943 Chinese national safety standard
2. EMC & EMI Standards: FCC CFR Title 47 Part 15 Class A, VCCI Class A, EN55022 Class A, CISPR 22 Class A, ICES003 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 6 hazardous substance restriction compliance, exempting BGA solder balls and press-fit connectors containing lead

4. Core Deployment Advantages

1. Enhanced Multi-Thread CPU Architecture vs Base SUP-A Model: The N9K-SUP-A+ upgrades from 4 execution threads to 8 threads on the same 1.8GHz quad-core platform, delivering drastically improved parallel processing capacity for large-scale routing table maintenance, high-volume ACL/QoS policy compilation, and massive real-time streaming telemetry data collection, eliminating control-plane CPU bottlenecks in medium-to-large leaf-spine fabric deployments.
2. Dual NX-OS / ACI Dual-Boot Operating Mode Support: This supervisor module natively supports booting either traditional NX-OS IP fabric OS or Cisco ACI policy-driven multi-tenant OS on the same hardware, enabling seamless migration from legacy IP data center fabrics to modern Application Centric Infrastructure without hardware replacement, maximizing asset reuse flexibility.
3. Stateful Active/Standby Redundancy with Hitless Failover: When two identical N9K-SUP-A+ supervisors are deployed in a chassis, full state synchronization of routing tables, running configurations and operational session data is maintained continuously between primary and standby units. Upon primary supervisor hardware failure or hot-swap removal, the standby unit takes over all control-plane operations instantly with zero data-plane packet loss, eliminating critical fabric downtime for control-plane maintenance and upgrades.
4. Comprehensive Multi-Method Out-of-Band Management Access: The front panel integrates four independent management access channels (1G Ethernet MGMT port, serial console, dual USB ports, external timing clock input), supporting flexible remote out-of-band access, local on-site console troubleshooting, offline OS image/config file transfer via USB storage, and precise IEEE 1588 PTP timing synchronization for low-latency media and financial trading workloads.
5. Full Hot-Swap Zero-Downtime Maintenance Compatibility: The supervisor module adopts a fully hot-swappable vertical form factor, allowing network administrators to insert, remove or replace faulty supervisor hardware without powering down the entire Nexus 9504/9508/9516 chassis, eliminating costly data center fabric downtime during control-plane hardware maintenance and OS upgrade cycles.
6. Carrier-Grade Reliability with Low Power Passive Cooling Design: The supervisor uses a fanless passive aluminum heat sink cooling architecture, removing mechanical fan failure points and improving long-term continuous operation reliability. With only 69W typical power consumption, it reduces overall chassis power draw and lowers data center cooling energy expenditure, while its 414,240-hour MTBF rating meets strict 24/7 non-stop carrier-grade data center operational requirements.

Supplementary Product Specification Notes

UNSPSC Classification Code

K9 Security Compliance Note

Factory Hardware Warranty Terms