Nexus 9k Packet Capture Portable -

It cannot natively capture data plane traffic (hardware-switched traffic) without specific redirection. 2. Data Plane Capture: SPAN & ERSPAN

: Captures can be saved to bootflash and exported as .pcap files for analysis in the Wireshark application. 2. Data Plane Capture: SPAN & ERSPAN nexus 9k packet capture

Ethanalyzer is the go-to tool for troubleshooting traffic destined for or generated by the switch's CPU (Supervisor). It is a CLI-based version of Wireshark built into NX-OS. : Analyzes protocols like OSPF, BGP, STP, and ARP

: Analyzes protocols like OSPF, BGP, STP, and ARP. For modern NX-OS versions (10.2+)

Cisco Nexus 9000 Series switches support packet capture via Ethanalyzer for control plane traffic, and SPAN/ERSPAN for data plane traffic. Ethanalyzer utilizes Tshark for CPU-bound traffic analysis, while SPAN and ERSPAN mirror data plane traffic to local or remote destinations using ASIC hardware. AI can make mistakes, so double-check responses Copy Creating a public link... You can now share this thread with others Good response Bad response Show all

The Nexus 9000 series does not support the classic Cisco monitor capture (Embedded Packet Capture / EPC) found on IOS or IOS-XE devices. Instead, it relies on two distinct mechanisms: (for traffic mirroring to an external analyzer) and the Switch Analysis Module (SAM) (for on-board, filterable, limited buffer capture). For modern NX-OS versions (10.2+), SAM is the closest native equivalent to "packet capture."

This is the recommended method for any serious traffic analysis on N9K. Offload capture to an external PC/server running tcpdump or Wireshark.