NX-OS

NX-OS is a network operating system for the Nexus-series Ethernet switches and MDS-series Fibre Channel storage area network switches made by Cisco Systems. It evolved from the Cisco operating system SAN-OS, originally developed for its MDS switches.^[1]

It is based on MontaVista Software embedded Linux and is inter-operable with other Cisco operating systems. The command-line interface of NX-OS is similar to that of Cisco IOS.^[2]

Features

• Fibre Channel and FICON
• FCIP
• FCoE (Nexus 5000/7000 linecards)
• iSCSI
• IPsec
• Scheduling
• NPIV NX Port ID Virtualization
• Inter–VSAN Routing
• VSAN
• Zoning (Hard zoning)
• Callhome
• Cisco Fabric Services (distributed configuration)
• SSH and Telnet
• Storage Media Encryption
• Port Channels
• Cisco Data Mobility Manager
• Fibre Channel Write Acceleration

Switches running NX-OS

• Nexus B22 (HP, Dell, Fujitsu)
• Nexus 9000 series
• Nexus 7700 series
• Nexus 7000 series
• Nexus 6000 series
• Nexus 5000 series
• Nexus 4000 (for IBM BladeCenter)
• Nexus 2000 series
• Nexus 3000
• Nexus 1000V
• MDS 9700 FC Directors
• MDS 9500 FC Directors^[3]
• MDS 9250i FC Switch
• MDS 9222i FC Switch
• MDS 9100 FC Switches

Differences between IOS and NX-OS

• NX-OS does not support the login command to switch users.
• NX-OS does not distinguish between standard or extended access lists, all lists are named and "extended" in functionality.^[4]
• NX-OS did not support scp server prior to 5.1(1) release.
• In NX-OS, there is no "write" command to save the configuration like on IOS (one uses the "copy" command, instead). Instead, command aliases can be created to provide the "write" command.
• When accessing NX-OS, users authenticate directly to their assigned privilege level.
• SSH server is enabled while Telnet server is disabled by default in NX-OS ^[5]

Releases

4.1, 4.2, 5.0, 5.1, 5.2, 6.0, 6.1, 6.2, 7.0

See also

• Cisco IOS
• FTOS – competitor Force10's operating system FTOS

External links

• intro
• data sheet

References

1. Cisco NX-OS Software: Business-Critical Cross-Platform Data Center OS
2. Nexus: Hands on with NX-OS, Part#1
3. Cisco Product Brocuhure Cisco MDS 9500 Series of Multilayer Directors, visited 18 May 2012
4. "Cisco Nexus 7000 Series NX-OS Security Configuration Guide, Release 4.1".
5. "Cisco NX-OS/IOS Configuration Fundamentals Comparison".