Cisco DS-X9148 Full Official Product Description
Important Model Clarification
DS-X9148 is aGeneration 2 high-density 48-port auto-sensing 1/2/4Gbps Fibre Channel switching line cardfor Cisco MDS 9500 series multilayer storage directors. It must not be confused with MDS 9148 fixed 1RU standalone SAN switch, which is an independent all-in-one chassis without pluggable line cardsCisco.
Spare Part SKU: DS-X9148=
1. Part Number Naming Breakdown
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DS: Director Switch, identifier for pluggable Fibre Channel line cards of MDS 9500 directors
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X91: Generation 2 MDS switching module family
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48: Total of 48 independent SFP Fibre Channel ports on the card
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Suffix=: Spare replacement unit for data center maintenance inventory
2. Core Product Positioning
The DS-X9148 is Cisco’s high-density Gen2 Fibre Channel line card built exclusively for MDS 9500 series directors. It delivers auto-sensing 1Gbps, 2Gbps, 4Gbps line-rate Fibre Channel connectivity for massive server/storage consolidation, shared tape backup libraries, and redundant inter-switch ISL trunks.
Compared with Gen1 DS-X9032 32-port card, DS-X9148 provides 50% higher port density per chassis slot, larger port buffer pools, improved fabric forwarding performance, and full native support for VSAN, IVR, and enterprise SAN security suites, enabling cost-effective scaling of large-scale enterprise SAN fabrics.
3. Hardware & Platform Compatibility
Supported Chassis
Cisco MDS 9500 Series Multilayer Directors: MDS 9506, MDS 9509, MDS 9513; occupies one standard full line card slot.
Unsupported Platforms
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MDS 9700 Gen3 high-density directors
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MDS 9100 / MDS 9200 fixed compact SAN switches
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Early Gen1-only fabric backplane chassis with hardware incompatibility
Supported Firmware
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Minimum SAN-OS release: SAN-OS 3.0(x)
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Fully validated for all mainstream NX-OS 4.x, 5.x, 6.x production releases
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Supports ISSU (In-Service Software Upgrade) for zero-downtime SAN fabric firmware upgrades
SFP Transceiver Compatibility
All Cisco certified 1G/2G/4G Fibre Channel LC SFP transceivers (optics sold separately):
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Short-wave multimode: DS-SFP-FC4G-SW
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Long-wave single-mode: DS-SFP-FC4G-LW
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Extended long-haul single-mode optics for cross-building long-distance ISL links
4. Physical & Electrical Technical Specifications
Form Factor
Single-slot hot-swappable FRU (Field Replaceable Unit), vertical front-panel insertion for MDS 9500 chassis, standard mechanical footprint for MDS Gen2 line cards.
Port & Bandwidth Performance
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48 independent LC SFP port slots, auto-sensing 1.0625G / 2.125G / 4.25G Fibre Channel full line-rate forwarding
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Total aggregate full-duplex switching bandwidth: 384 Gbps
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Buffer credit allocation: Max 4095 buffer credits per individual port for high-throughput sequential storage workloads
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Supported FC port operational modes: F_Port, FL_Port, E_Port, SD_Port, TE_Port, TL_Port
Power Consumption
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Typical idle operating power draw: 130W
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Maximum full-load power consumption: 220W with all 48 SFP transceivers running full line-rate traffic
Environmental Operating Parameters
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Operating ambient temperature range: 0°C to 40°C (32°F to 104°F)
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Storage / transportation temperature range: -40°C to 70°C (-40°F to 158°F)
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Relative humidity: 5% to 95% non-condensing
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Maximum operating altitude: 3000 meters above sea level
5. Key Fibre Channel & Software Feature Set
Hot-Swap OIR (Online Insertion and Removal)
The entire DS-X9148 line card can be inserted or removed while the host MDS 9500 director remains fully powered and operational. No chassis power cycle is required for hardware replacement or SAN port capacity expansion. The supervisor module generates standardized syslog messages and SNMP trap alerts for all module insertion/removal events for centralized SAN fabric monitoring.
Full Native Fibre Channel Protocol Support
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Supports all standard Fibre Channel Classes of Service: Class 2, Class 3, Class F (fabric control plane traffic)
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Hardware-isolated VSAN (Virtual Storage Area Network) segmentation to logically partition multi-tenant SAN environments, with independent zoning policy configuration per VSAN
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Comprehensive Fibre Channel zoning functionality: Hard zoning, soft zoning, WWPN/WWNN device-based zoning
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ISL trunking between MDS directors with E_Port trunk groups to aggregate inter-fabric bandwidth for redundant multi-tier fabric topologies
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IVR (Inter-VSAN Routing) support for cross-VSAN data transmission across segmented storage fabrics
Enterprise-Grade SAN Security Features
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Port security: Lock individual port access to predefined storage device WWPN identifiers to prevent unauthorized fabric attachment
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Fabric mutual authentication: DH-CHAP authentication for all inter-switch ISL links
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Port lockdown, broadcast and multicast Fibre Channel frame storm suppression
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RBAC (Role-Based Access Control) fully integrated with the MDS supervisor management plane
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FC-SP Fibre Channel security protocol for host and switch authentication
Advanced SAN Diagnostics & Management
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Built-in DOM (Digital Optical Monitoring) support for all optical SFP transceivers, real-time monitoring of transmit/receive optical power, laser operating temperature, module supply voltage
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Real-time per-port performance counters: Frame transmit/receive statistics, CRC error tracking, link loss and signal fault logging
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Native integration with Cisco DCNM (Data Center Network Manager), Fabric Manager, Device Manager for unified end-to-end SAN fabric lifecycle management
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Built-in diagnostic tools: FC ping, FC traceroute, SPAN port mirroring, Call Home automated fault reporting
6. Typical Enterprise SAN Deployment Use Cases
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High-Density Server-to-Storage F_Port Connectivity: Deploy F_Ports to attach large batches of database, virtualization and application servers to Fibre Channel disk arrays and all-flash storage systems, maximizing port density per chassis slot to save data center rack space
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Centralized Shared Tape Library Backup FL_Port Connections: FL_Port mode attachment to enterprise-wide shared tape libraries and virtual backup appliances for consolidated SAN backup and archive workflows
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Scalable Redundant ISL Trunk Links: E_Port trunk links to build resilient multi-path inter-fabric connections between multiple MDS 9500 directors across data center rack rows
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Legacy Gen1 SAN Infrastructure Upgrade: Cost-effective high-density Gen2 line card to replace aging DS-X9016 / DS-X9032 Gen1 modules, enabling higher 4Gbps Fibre Channel throughput without full chassis replacement
7. Regulatory & Compliance Certifications
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Electrical Safety Standards: UL 60950-1, CSA C22.2 No.60950-1, IEC/EN 60950-1
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EMC & EMI Compliance: CE Mark, FCC Part 15 Class A, ICES-003 Class A, VCCI Class A, CISPR 22 Class A, CISPR 24, full EN 61000 series ESD, surge, radiated and conducted immunity testing compliance
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Environmental Directives: EU RoHS 2.0 hazardous substance restriction compliant, EU WEEE waste electronics recycling directive compliant
8. Standard Factory Packaging Contents
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DS-X9148 48-port auto-sensing 1/2/4Gbps Fibre Channel Gen2 switching line card
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Integrated metal extraction lever and captive retention screws for secure chassis slot installation
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ESD anti-static protective bag and ESD wrist strap for static-safe hardware handling
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Hardware installation quick-start guide covering OIR hot-swap procedures, SFP transceiver installation, and basic Fibre Channel port configuration CLI commands
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Full global regulatory compliance and safety certification documentation packet
End-of-Life Status Note
The DS-X9148 is a Cisco Generation 2 Fibre Channel line card with official End-of-Sale (EoS) announced in late lifecycle phases. Cisco TAC hardware fault support remains available for customers holding active Cisco Smart Net Total Care service contracts. Recommended migration replacement hardware includes Gen3 high-density 8Gbps Fibre Channel line cards (DS-X9248-96K9).
UNSPSC Classification Code
43222602 – Cisco DS-X9148 hot-swappable high-density 48-port auto-sensing 1/2/4-Gbps Fibre Channel Gen2 switching line card for Cisco MDS 9500 series multilayer storage directors, supporting OIR hot-swap maintenance, hardware-isolated VSAN segmentation, Inter-VSAN Routing, full Fibre Channel zoning, DH-CHAP fabric security, DOM optical transceiver diagnostics, designed for high-density enterprise data center SAN host/storage attachment and redundant inter-switch ISL trunk deployments.
Standard Hardware Warranty
All factory-new DS-X9148 line cards include a 1-year limited hardware warranty covering manufacturing defects and component failures under rated standard operating environmental conditions. Cisco Smart Net Total Care extended service contracts provide 24×7 priority Cisco TAC technical support, advance genuine spare hardware replacement service, validated stable SAN-OS/NX-OS firmware upgrade releases, and comprehensive end-to-end SAN fabric fault troubleshooting support
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