Cisco Nexus 3500 Series Replacement — What Cisco Recommends
Cisco support for the Cisco Nexus 3500 Series has ended for some part numbers (last group runs to Jul 2025) — unsupported units need a plan. Cisco's own end-of-life bulletin names the successor below — quoted from the source, with the successor's live support status where EOSL.ai tracks it.
The Cisco-named replacement
named as the replacement part number in the Cisco EOL bulletin — named in the Cisco EOL bulletin ↗ as the migration path.
named as the replacement part number in the Cisco EOL bulletin — named in the Cisco EOL bulletin ↗ as the migration path.
per-part mapping in the bulletin (4 replacement parts listed) — named in the Cisco EOL bulletin ↗ as the migration path.
named as the replacement part number in the Cisco EOL bulletin — named in the Cisco EOL bulletin ↗ as the migration path.
NXOS-703I7 and N3KUK9-602A8 and C1-N3K-C3548X and N3KUK9-602A4 are not yet tracked on EOSL.ai — no vendor end-of-life notice has been captured for them, which is typical of current products.
Cisco Nexus 3500 Series lifecycle dates
| SKU group | End of sale | EOSL / last support | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Switch hardware | Jul 2020 | Jul 2025 | bulletin ↗ |
| Switch hardware | Jun 2019 | Jun 2024 | bulletin ↗ |
| Switch hardware | Mar 2019 | Feb 2024 | bulletin ↗ |
| Switch hardware | Oct 2016 | Oct 2021 | bulletin ↗ |
| Switch hardware | Oct 2016 | Oct 2021 | bulletin ↗ |
Per-part-number replacement mapping (15)
As listed in the Cisco bulletin's migration table for each part number.
| End-of-life part | Description | Bulletin-listed replacement |
|---|---|---|
| N3KUK9-602A8 | NXOS-703I7 | |
| N3KUK9-602A6 | N3KUK9-602A8 | |
| N3KUK9-602A3 | N3KUK9-602A8 | |
| N3KUK9-602A4 | N3KUK9-602A8 | |
| N3KUK9-602A7 | N3KUK9-602A8 | |
| C1-N3K-C3548P | C1-N3K-C3548X | |
| N3K-C3524P-10G | N3K-C3524P-10GX | |
| N3K-C3524P-L3 | N3K-C3524P-10GX | |
| N3K-C3548P-10G | N3K-C3548P-10GX | |
| N3K-C3548P-BA-L3A | N3K-C3548-X-SPL3A | |
| N3K-C3548P-BD-L3A | N3K-C3548-X-SPL3A | |
| N3K-C3548P-FA-L3A | N3K-C3548-X-SPL3A | |
| N3K-C3548P-FD-L3A | N3K-C3548-X-SPL3A | |
| N3KUK9-503A1 | N3KUK9-602A4 | |
| N3KUK9-602A1 | N3KUK9-602A4 |
Migration questions
What is the replacement for the Cisco Nexus 3500 Series?
Cisco's end-of-life bulletin names NXOS-703I7 and N3KUK9-602A8 and C1-N3K-C3548X and N3KUK9-602A4 as the recommended migration path for the Cisco Nexus 3500 Series. The exact wording and any per-part-number mapping are in the linked bulletin.
Is the Cisco Nexus 3500 Series end of life?
Cisco support for the Cisco Nexus 3500 Series has ended for some part numbers (last group runs to Jul 2025) — unsupported units need a plan. Full lifecycle dates by part number: https://eosl.ai/system/cisco-nexus-3500/.
Is there a per-part-number replacement mapping for the 3500 Series?
Yes — the bulletin maps replacements at the part-number level for 15 SKUs (for example N3KUK9-602A8 → NXOS-703I7). The full table is on this page.
Do I have to buy the Cisco-recommended replacement?
No. The bulletin's named successor is Cisco's suggested path, not an obligation. Teams also keep 3500 Series units running under third-party maintenance after the support cutoff, migrate to a different vendor, or run low-criticality units to failure with the risk documented. See the support-options guide for the trade-offs.