Cisco Nexus 9516 Series Replacement: What Cisco Recommends
Cisco support for the Cisco Nexus 9516 Series has ended for some part numbers (last group runs to Jan 2032). 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.
N9K-C9516-FM-E2 is not yet tracked on EOSL.ai — no vendor end-of-life notice has been captured for it, which is typical of current products.
Cisco Nexus 9516 Series lifecycle dates
| SKU group | End of sale | EOSL / last support | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Switch hardware | Nov 2020 | Nov 2025 | bulletin ↗ |
| Nexus 9516 cloud-scale chassis | Jan 2027 | Jan 2032 | bulletin ↗ |
Per-part-number replacement mapping (1)
As listed in the Cisco bulletin's migration table for each part number.
| End-of-life part | Description | Bulletin-listed replacement |
|---|---|---|
| N9K-C9516-FM | N9K-C9516-FM-E2 |
Migration questions
What is the replacement for the Cisco Nexus 9516 Series?
Cisco's end-of-life bulletin names N9K-C9516-FM-E2 as the recommended migration path for the Cisco Nexus 9516 Series. The exact wording and any per-part-number mapping are in the linked bulletin.
Is the Cisco Nexus 9516 Series end of life?
Cisco support for the Cisco Nexus 9516 Series has ended for some part numbers (last group runs to Jan 2032). Unsupported units need a plan. Full lifecycle dates by part number: https://eosl.ai/system/cisco-nexus-9516/.
Is there a per-part-number replacement mapping for the 9516 Series?
Yes. The bulletin maps replacements at the part-number level for 1 SKU (for example N9K-C9516-FM → N9K-C9516-FM-E2). 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 9516 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.