REFURBISHED
Cisco
Cisco N3K-C3172PQ-10GE Refurbished — 48x10G 6x40G ToR Switch
MPN: N3K-C3172PQ-10GE
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Lifetime
Warranty
ISO 9001
Certified Testing
R2v3
Responsible Refurb
25+
Years
5K+
Customers
ISO
Certified
✓
Tested
Every WhaleyComm unit is professionally tested, reset to factory defaults, and certified by our in-house engineers — the same standard trusted by 5,000+ organisations across 25 years. Not a refurb marketplace. A certified lifecycle partner.
Tested to factory specification. Backed by 25 years of enterprise trust.
This professionally tested and refurbished Cisco Nexus N3K-C3172PQ-10GE is a dense, high-performance top-of-rack (ToR) data center switch delivering line-rate Layer 2 and Layer 3 switching across 48x 10G SFP+ and 6x 40G QSFP+ ports. Each SFP+ port supports 100 Mbps, 1 Gbps, or 10 Gbps operation, while each QSFP+ port operates in native 40 Gbps or breakout 4x10 Gbps mode. This unit ships with dual AC power supplies and has been reset to factory defaults, ready for immediate deployment.The N3K-C3172PQ-10GE is built on the Cisco Nexus 3100 platform and delivers 1.4 Tbps switching capacity and a forwarding rate of up to 1 billion packets per second (bpps) in a compact 1RU form factor. It runs Cisco NX-OS, a data center–class operating system engineered for continuous availability and mission-critical environments. Key capabilities include virtual port-channel (vPC) for Layer 2 multipathing, 64-way ECMP for Layer 3 fat-tree designs, jumbo frame support up to 9,216 bytes MTU, In-Service Software Upgrade (ISSU), and full Layer 3 unicast and multicast routing protocol support including BGP, OSPF, EIGRP, PIM-SM, and SSM. The switch also supports both port-side exhaust and port-side intake airflow schemes.
Sourcing refurbished Cisco Nexus hardware through WhaleyComm delivers the same enterprise-grade performance at a fraction of new list price — without sacrificing reliability or support. Every unit is covered by WhaleyComm's Lifetime Warranty and ships with a Certificate of Testing and factory reset. With 25+ years of experience and 5,000+ enterprise customers, WhaleyComm is the trusted source for data center infrastructure.
Technical Specifications
Part Number
N3K-C3172PQ-10GE
Platform / Series
Cisco Nexus 3100 Series (Nexus 3000)
Form Factor
1RU (1.72 x 17.3 x 17 in / 4.4 x 43.9 x 43.2 cm)
10G SFP+ Ports
48 x SFP+ (supports 100 Mbps, 1 Gbps, 10 Gbps per port)
40G QSFP+ Ports
6 x QSFP+ (supports native 40G or 4x10G breakout per port)
Management Ports
1 x 1GbE out-of-band management, 1 x RS-232 serial console, 1 x USB
Switching Capacity
1.4 Tbps
Forwarding Rate
Up to 1 bpps (billion packets per second)
Throughput
Line-rate Layer 2 and Layer 3 on all ports
Jumbo Frame / MTU
Up to 9,216 bytes
System Memory (RAM)
4 GB
MAC Address Table
288,000 entries
VLANs Supported
4,096
Spanning Tree Instances
RSTP: 512 / MSTP: 64
ACL Entries
4,000 ingress / 1,000 egress
Routing Table
16,000 prefixes, 16,000 host entries
Multicast Routes
8,000
EtherChannels
64 (with vPC), up to 32 ports per EtherChannel
Operating System
Cisco NX-OS
Layer 3 Routing
BGP, OSPF, EIGRP, RIPv2, PIM-SM, SSM, MSDP, VRF-lite
Power Supplies
Dual AC (redundant), 400W PSUs
Typical Operating Power
143 W
Maximum Power
293 W
Airflow
Port-side exhaust and port-side intake supported
Fans
4 x fan modules (3+1 redundant)
Operating Temperature
0 to 40°C (32 to 104°F)
Net Weight
18.6 lb (8.4 kg)
IEEE Standards
802.1D, 802.1Q, 802.1s, 802.1w, 802.1p, 802.1ab, 802.3ad, 802.3ae, 802.3ba, IEEE 1588-2008 PTP
End-of-Sale Status
EoS announced October 21, 2021 (fully supported in secondary market)
Ideal Use Cases
Data Center Top-of-Rack (ToR) Deployment
The N3K-C3172PQ-10GE is purpose-built for ToR switching, providing line-rate 10G server connectivity and 40G uplinks to aggregation or spine layers in a 1RU footprint.
Spine-Leaf Fabric Buildout
With 64-way ECMP, vPC support, and full BGP/OSPF routing, this switch integrates seamlessly into modern spine-leaf architectures requiring non-blocking, low-latency throughput.
High-Density 10G Server Access
Forty-eight SFP+ ports support flexible 1G/10G server connectivity, making this ideal for densely populated server racks in enterprise and colocation environments.
40G Uplink Aggregation
Six QSFP+ ports deliver native 40G or 4x10G breakout uplinks, supporting high-bandwidth connections to core or aggregation switches without adding chassis complexity.
Cisco NX-OS Campus or DC Refresh
Organizations standardized on Cisco NX-OS can deploy this switch alongside existing Nexus 5000, 7000, or 9000 platforms with no retraining required and full software interoperability.
Budget-Conscious Enterprise Infrastructure
At a fraction of the new list price, refurbished N3K-C3172PQ-10GE units allow enterprises and managed service providers to expand or refresh data center capacity while controlling CapEx.
What's Included
Cisco N3K-C3172PQ-10GE Nexus 3172PQ Switch
Dual AC power supplies
Power cords (2x)
Rack-mount kit
Console cable
Certificate of testing and factory reset
WhaleyComm Lifetime Warranty certificate
Lifetime Warranty — No Time Limits. No Questions.
Every WhaleyComm unit ships with a Lifetime Warranty. If it fails under normal operating conditions at any point, we replace it. We have stood behind our hardware for 25 years and 5,000+ customers — that is not a marketing line, it is our operating standard.
Compatibility Details
Review supported optics, cables, software, management protocols, and environment-specific compatibility guidance.
✓
Compatible Transceivers (SFP+ Ports)
✓
SFP-10G-SR — 10GBASE-SR Multimode Fiber
✓
SFP-10G-LR — 10GBASE-LR Single-Mode Fiber
✓
SFP-10G-ER — 10GBASE-ER Single-Mode Fiber
✓
SFP-H10GB-CU1M / CU3M / CU5M — 10G Twinax Direct Attach Copper
✓
SFP-GE-T — 1000BASE-T Copper (1G mode)
✓
GLC-SX-MMD / GLC-LH-SMD — 1G SFP Fiber (1G mode)
✓
Compatible Transceivers (QSFP+ Ports)
✓
QSFP-40G-SR4 — 40GBASE-SR4 Multimode Fiber
✓
QSFP-40G-LR4 — 40GBASE-LR4 Single-Mode Fiber
✓
QSFP-4SFP10G-CU1M / CU3M / CU5M — 40G QSFP+ to 4x10G SFP+ Breakout DAC
✓
QSFP-H40G-CU1M / CU3M — 40G QSFP+ Direct Attach Copper
✓
Compatible Software
✓
Cisco NX-OS (all supported releases for Nexus 3000/3100 platform)
✓
Cisco Prime Data Center Network Manager (DCNM)
✓
OpenFlow (SDN support)
Compatibility Verification
For full transceiver compatibility, reference the official Cisco 10 Gigabit Ethernet Transceiver Module Compatibility Matrix at cisco.com. For environment-specific compatibility questions, contact our engineering team: +1 214 607-4800 or sales@whaleycomm.com
Shipping & Returns
Clear fulfilment, tracking, return, warranty, and support information for enterprise hardware orders.
Shipping
Orders typically ship within 1-2 business days after payment confirmation. Tracking details are shared once the order has been dispatched.
Returns
Eligible products can be returned according to WhaleyComm's return policy. For DOA, warranty, or product-related issues, contact the support team for replacement or resolution.
Frequently Asked Questions
Product-specific answers about compatibility, testing, warranty, fulfilment, and purchase confidence.
The Cisco Nexus N3K-C3172PQ-10GE delivers 1.4 Tbps of switching capacity and a forwarding rate of up to 1 billion packets per second (bpps). It provides line-rate Layer 2 and Layer 3 throughput on all ports simultaneously, with no oversubscription.
Yes. Each of the 6 QSFP+ ports supports either native 40 Gigabit Ethernet or a 4x10 Gigabit Ethernet breakout configuration using a QSFP+ breakout cable. This gives the switch an effective maximum of up to 72 x 10G ports when all QSFP+ ports are used in breakout mode.
Yes. Advanced Layer 3 routing features such as BGP and VRF-lite require the LAN Enterprise license (N3K-LAN1K9). Base Layer 2 features operate under the LAN Base license. Please verify your required feature set and contact WhaleyComm at +1 214 607-4800 or sales@whaleycomm.com to confirm licensing before deployment.
Yes. Every WhaleyComm unit ships with a Lifetime Warranty. If it fails under normal operating conditions at any point, we replace it at no cost — no time limits, no questions asked.
Every unit goes through our ISO 9001-certified testing process: full power-on diagnostics, port-by-port functionality testing, firmware verification, factory reset, and final inspection. A Certificate of Testing ships with every unit.
Cisco N3K-C3172PQ-10GE Refurbished — 48x10G 6x40G ToR Switch
$215.00
Cisco
Cisco N3K-C3172PQ-10GE Refurbished — 48x10G 6x40G ToR Switch
MPN: N3K-C3172PQ-10GE
$215.00
In Stock — Ships Same Day
