cisco Nexus 7700 Nexus 7718
The Cisco Nexus 7718 is an 18-slot flagship modular datacenter core switch delivering massive capacity and up to 83 Tbps of switching throughput in a 26U frame. Providing dual supervisor engine slots and sixteen payload line card slots supporting up to 768 ports of 10G, 384 ports of 40G, or 192 ports of 100G Ethernet, the 7718 represents the maximum scale of the Nexus 7000/7700 family.
Specifications
| Brand | cisco |
|---|---|
| Family | Nexus 7700 |
| Form factor | modular chassis |
| Released | Jun 2013 |
| End of sale | Oct 2021 |
| End of support | Oct 2026 |
| Chassis slots | 18 |
| Supervisor slots | Slots 9 and 10 (redundant supervisor modules) |
| Line card slots | 16 payload slots (Slots 1-8, 11-18) |
| Chassis height | 26U rack mount |
| Switching capacity | Up to 83 Tbps system bandwidth |
| Fabric architecture | 6 orthogonal rear fabric modules |
| Port scale | Up to 768 10G, 384 40G, or 192 100G ports in a single chassis |
Generations
- Previous generation: cisco Nexus 7000 Nexus 7018
- Next generation: cisco Nexus 9000 Nexus 9516
Works together
How the cisco Nexus 7700 Nexus 7718 connects to servers, storage and the network: 3 ways, with the parts and products on each path.
iSCSI and NVMe/TCP over Ethernet
Keep the speed the same at all three points: a 25GbE server, a 25GbE switch port and a 25GbE array port. Mixed speeds work but the slowest link sets the pace.
Servers
Dell PowerEdge R430 1U rack
Dell PowerEdge R530 2U rack
Dell PowerEdge R630 1U rack
Dell PowerEdge R730 2U rack
Dell PowerEdge R730xd 2U rack
HPE ProLiant DL120 Gen9 1U rack
Adapters for the server
BCM957414A4142CC Broadcom NetXtreme-E BCM57414 Dual-Port 25GbE SFP28 PCIe 3.0 Ethernet Network Adapter
BCM957416A4160C Broadcom NetXtreme-E BCM57416 Dual-Port 10GBASE-T PCIe 3.0 Ethernet Network Adapter
BCM957504A5041CC Broadcom NetXtreme-E BCM57504 Quad-Port 100GbE QSFP56 PCIe 4.0 Ethernet Network Adapter
540-BBGN Dell Broadcom 57412 Dual Port 10GbE SFP+ PCIe Adapter
Storage
HPE MSA 2040 2U rack enterprise SAN
Dell PowerStore 7000T 2U rack
Dell Unity XT Unity 300 2U rack
Dell Unity XT Unity 400 2U rack
HPE MSA 2050 2U rack enterprise SAN
Lenovo ThinkSystem DS4200 2U rack
Optics
QSFP-100G-SR4-S Cisco 100GBASE-SR4 QSFP28 Optical Transceiver
SFP-10G-SR Cisco 10GBASE-SR SFP+ Optical Transceiver
SFP-25G-SR-S Cisco 25GBASE-SR SFP28 Optical Transceiver
File storage (NFS and SMB)
Front-end ports face the clients; back-end ports (on scale-out systems) connect the nodes to each other and need their own switch pair.
Servers
- Dell PowerEdge R430 1U rack
- Dell PowerEdge R530 2U rack
- Dell PowerEdge R630 1U rack
- Dell PowerEdge R730 2U rack
- Dell PowerEdge R730xd 2U rack
- HPE ProLiant DL120 Gen9 1U rack
Adapters for the server
- BCM957414A4142CC Broadcom NetXtreme-E BCM57414 Dual-Port 25GbE SFP28 PCIe 3.0 Ethernet Network Adapter
- BCM957416A4160C Broadcom NetXtreme-E BCM57416 Dual-Port 10GBASE-T PCIe 3.0 Ethernet Network Adapter
- BCM957504A5041CC Broadcom NetXtreme-E BCM57504 Quad-Port 100GbE QSFP56 PCIe 4.0 Ethernet Network Adapter
- 540-BBGN Dell Broadcom 57412 Dual Port 10GbE SFP+ PCIe Adapter
Storage
- Dell PowerStore 7000T 2U rack
- Dell Unity XT Unity 300 2U rack
- Dell Unity XT Unity 400 2U rack
Lenovo ThinkSystem DM3000H 2U rack
Lenovo ThinkSystem DM5000H 2U rack
Lenovo ThinkSystem DM7000H 3U rack
Optics
- QSFP-100G-SR4-S Cisco 100GBASE-SR4 QSFP28 Optical Transceiver
- SFP-10G-SR Cisco 10GBASE-SR SFP+ Optical Transceiver
- SFP-25G-SR-S Cisco 25GBASE-SR SFP28 Optical Transceiver
Hyperconverged cluster
Plan at least two 25GbE ports per node to two switches; all-NVMe clusters often move to 100GbE.
HCI nodes
Dell VxRail E Series E560 1U rack (1 node)
Dell VxRail P Series P570F 2U rack (1 node)
HPE SimpliVity 380 Gen10 2U rack
HPE SimpliVity 380 Gen9 2U rack
Adapters for the server
- BCM957414A4142CC Broadcom NetXtreme-E BCM57414 Dual-Port 25GbE SFP28 PCIe 3.0 Ethernet Network Adapter
- BCM957416A4160C Broadcom NetXtreme-E BCM57416 Dual-Port 10GBASE-T PCIe 3.0 Ethernet Network Adapter
- BCM957504A5041CC Broadcom NetXtreme-E BCM57504 Quad-Port 100GbE QSFP56 PCIe 4.0 Ethernet Network Adapter
- 540-BBGN Dell Broadcom 57412 Dual Port 10GbE SFP+ PCIe Adapter
Optics
- QSFP-100G-SR4-S Cisco 100GBASE-SR4 QSFP28 Optical Transceiver
- SFP-10G-SR Cisco 10GBASE-SR SFP+ Optical Transceiver
- SFP-25G-SR-S Cisco 25GBASE-SR SFP28 Optical Transceiver
Plan and size it
- Draw this setup in the topology planner mrplanb.com
- Add up rack power and space rack-density.com
- iSCSI explained mrplanb.com
- Virtualization storage Ledger: scored storage platforms mrplanb.com
- Network monitoring tools compared mrplanb.com
Check compatibility with Cisco
Before you buy, confirm the exact configuration against the vendor's own lists: firmware levels, operating systems, adapters and optics that Cisco has tested with the cisco Nexus 7700 Nexus 7718.
- Compatibility Cisco UCS Hardware Compatibility List
- Compatibility Cisco Optics-to-Device Compatibility Matrix
- Support Cisco Support and Downloads
Equivalent models from other brands
FAQ
What is the maximum weight of an operational Nexus 7718?
A fully populated 7718 with 16 line cards, dual supervisors, six fabric modules, and sixteen power supplies weighs approximately 180 kg (400 lbs).
Is the 7718 still maintained via third-party maintenance (TPM)?
Yes, many large financial institutions and carriers maintain 7718 systems under TPM contracts for critical core routing.
Buying or selling Nexus 7718?
New, refurbished or used. Tell us the quantity and condition and we connect you with a vetted reseller in your region, usually within one working day.
Sources
- Cisco Nexus 7718 Product Documentation, checked 2026-10-27
- Cisco Nexus 7718 Data Sheet and Technical Specifications, checked 2026-10-27