Determining I/O Module Type on a Nexus 5548 Switch

This is just a short post inspired by one of my colleagues. He wanted to know how to tell whether a Nexus 5548 contained a Layer 3 I/O module or a Layer 2 I/O module.

It’s pretty easy, I told him – use the show module command.

L3-5K2# sh module
Mod Ports Module-Type                       Model                  Status
--- ----- --------------------------------- ---------------------- ----------
1   32    O2 32X10GE/Modular Universal Plat N5K-C5548UP-SUP        active *
3   0     O2 Daughter Card with L3 ASIC     N55-D160L3-V2          ok

Mod  Sw              Hw      World-Wide-Name(s) (WWN)
---  --------------  ------  ------------------------------------------------
1    5.2(1)N1(1)     1.0     --
3    5.2(1)N1(1)     1.0     --

Mod  MAC-Address(es)                         Serial-Num
---  --------------------------------------  ----------
. . .
L3-5K2#

He could then look for a N55-D160L3-V2 or a N55-D160L3 in module 3.

No, that would not work for him. He had two of both types of 5548s, and wanted to determine the module type before mounting it and turning it on. He wanted to mount the correct N5Ks to match his rack elevation diagram.

Hmm. I had answered that very question before, but I forgot what to look for. So I looked around in the Cisco documentation.

After you find the right link, it is easy to tell. Layer 3 modules have an N55-D160L3 or N55-D160L3-V2 product ID located at the spot pointed to by the 1 in the figure below. Layer 2 modules do not indicate any Product ID here.

Here’s another picture of the Layer 3 I/O module, also known as the Layer 3 Daughter card.

Note: This is a pull and replace field upgrade. To upgrade from a L2 5548 to a L3 5548, you remove the fan tray modules from the existing L2 I/O module, remove the L2 I/O module, install the L3 module in the 5548, and then reinstall the fan tray modules. More details here: http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/switches/datacenter/nexus5000/hw/installation/guide/replacement.html#wp1059316

— cwr

Twitter: @cwreece