Cisco Nexus 5548P Fan Module: Verify the Airflow Direction Before You Order
Enterasource is proud to present a fan module for the Cisco Nexus 5548P switch. There is one question that decides whether a Nexus fan module will work in your switch, and it is not the model number — it is the airflow direction. This page leads with it because we cannot answer it from our record, and because getting it wrong is both easy and expensive.
Airflow Direction Is the Fitment Question, and We Cannot Confirm It
Cisco Nexus fan modules ship in two airflow directions: front-to-back (port-side intake) and back-to-front (port-side exhaust). The two are physically interchangeable and operationally incompatible. A module will seat and latch in a chassis built for the opposite direction, and the switch will then fight its own cooling design and the airflow discipline of the hot-aisle/cold-aisle layout around it.
Neither our record nor the part number states which direction this unit is. We are not going to guess, and we would treat any listing that states a direction without a source the same way. If your build depends on a specific airflow direction, contact us before ordering and we will read it off the unit — Cisco marks the direction on the module itself.
Fan Direction Must Match Across the Whole Switch
The rule that catches people is not just chassis-versus-module — it is module-versus-module and fan-versus-power-supply. A Nexus switch expects every fan module and every power supply in the chassis to move air in the same direction. Mixing a front-to-back fan with a back-to-front power supply, or mixing two fan modules of opposite direction, produces a chassis that is fighting itself regardless of whether every individual part is healthy.
Before ordering a replacement, read the direction off the modules already installed rather than off the switch's part number, and match to those.
What Is Certain
| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Platform | Cisco Nexus 5548P switch |
| Part type | Fan module |
| Airflow direction | Not stated in our record — verify before ordering |
Why This Page Is Short
Cisco's documentation site refuses automated retrieval, and the Nexus 5000 series datasheet that is publicly reachable discusses fan modules, redundancy and airflow in general terms without ever naming this part number. Our rule is that a specification only transfers when the document names the exact part, so nothing from that datasheet is claimed here. We would rather publish three facts that are certain than a specification table assembled from parts documents that were written about something else.
Important Notice: this is a fan module only. Every unit is tested before it ships and is covered by the Enterasource warranty shown on this page.
