Where does the data plane operate on a Cisco Nexus 7000 Series Switch?

The supervisor module on a Nexus 7000 typically handles the control plane (e.g., routing protocols, management) and management plane, not the high-speed data plane operations.

On a Cisco Nexus 7000 Series Switch, the data plane, responsible for forwarding packets and performing switching operations, primarily operates within the unified crossbar fabric modules. These fabric modules provide the high-speed interconnectivity between line cards, enabling wire-speed forwarding for all ports.

Unified port controllers are typically integrated into line cards, managing individual ports and their initial processing, but the central high-speed data forwarding across the switch relies on the fabric.

The Connectivity Management Processor (CMP) is typically used for out-of-band management and initial boot-up processes, not for data plane operations.