User Guide

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Cisco 12016, Cisco 12416, and Cisco 12816 Router Installation and Configuration Guide
OL-11495-01
Chapter 1 Product Overview
Switch Fabric Overview
Switch Fabric Overview
The switch fabric provides synchronized gigabit-speed connections between line
cards and the RP. The switch fabric card cage is located behind the air filter door
and consists of 2 clock and scheduler cards (CSCs) and 3 switch fabric cards
(SFCs). One CSC and the 3 SFCs are the active switch fabric; the second CSC
provides redundancy for the other 4 cards.
Note 10-Gbps and 40-Gbps switch fabrics do not operate in 1/4-bandwidth mode as
they did in some earlier models of the Cisco 12000 series routers. You must have
at least one CSC and three SFCs for the system to function. You can add an
additional CSC for redundancy.
The combination of CSCs and SFCs make up the 2.5-Gbps, 10-Gbps, or 40-Gbps
per-slot switch fabric. Routers are identified by the switch fabrics they use:
• Cisco 12010: 2.5-Gbps switch fabric
• Cisco 12410: 10-Gbps switch fabric
• Cisco 12810: 40-Gbps switch fabric
Each SFC or CSC provides a 2.5-Gbps, 10-Gbps, or 40-Gbps full-duplex
connection to each line card in the system. For example, in a Cisco
12416 router
with 16 line cards, each with 2 x 10
Gbps capacity (full duplex), the system
switching bandwidth is 16x 20 Gbps = 320 Gbps.
Note The Cisco 12000 series router supports online insertion and removal (OIR),
allowing you to remove and replace a card while the router remains powered on.
Switch Fabric Card Functionality
The core of the router is a crossbar switch fabric that provides synchronized
connections between the line cards and the RP. The switch fabric consists of 2
clock scheduler cards (CSCs) and 3 switch fabric cards (SFCs) installed in the
switch fabric card cage. One CSC and the three SFCs are the active switch fabric;
the second CSC provides redundancy for the other 4 cards.