Serial and asynchronous high-speed WAN interface cards (HWICs) provide highly flexible connections for Cisco® 1800, 1900, 2800, 2900, 3800 and 3900 Series Integrated Services Routers. These HWICs help customers to enable applications such as WAN aggregation, legacy protocol transport, console server, and dial access server. Customers can mix and match HWICs to tailor cost-effective solutions for common networking problems such as remote network management, external dial-modem access,
low-density WAN aggregation, legacy protocol transport, and high port density support.
Cisco Systems® offers five serial and asynchronous HWICs:
1. 4-Port Serial High-Speed WAN Interface Card (HWIC-4T)-Four high-speed serial ports (Figure 1, A)
2. 4-Port Asynchronous/Synchronous High-Speed WAN Interface Card (HWIC-4A/S)-Four low-speed synchronous/asynchronous ports (Figure 1, B)
3. 8-Port Asynchronous/Synchronous High-Speed WAN Interface Card (HWIC-8A/S-232)-Eight low-speed synchronous/asynchronous ports, EIA-232 only (Figure 1, C)
These highly flexible interface cards enable several important applications.
WAN Aggregation
Serial interfaces can be used to aggregate WAN connection from remote sites. With support for serial speeds up to 8 Mbps per port, the 4-Port Serial High-Speed WAN Interface Card is ideal for low- and medium-density WAN aggregation (Figure 2).
Figure 2. WAN Concentration
Legacy Protocol Transport
Serial and synchronous/asynchronous ports are ideally suited to transport legacy traffic across a TCP/IP network. This enables network convergence (Figure 3), eliminating costly separate leased lines for this traffic. Legacy protocols supported by Cisco IOS® Software include:
• Systems Network Architecture (SNA) and Synchronous Data Link Control (SDLC) Protocol
Asynchronous ports provide highly flexible connections that allow access to EIA-232 devices across a TCP/IP network. This allows out-of-band management to console or craft ports, allowing the network operator to manage a network of remote devices from a central location (Figure 4).
Figure 4. Managing Multiple Remote Devices From a Single Location
Dial Access Server
Asynchronous HWICs can connect to external dial modems to provide low-density dial access servers (Figure 5).
Figure 5. Dial Access Server
Connectors and Cabling
Serial and asynchronous HWICs have connectors and cabling that allow high port densities in the compact HWIC form factor. Tables 1-4 show connector and cabling specifications.
Table 1. Connectors and Cabling
HWIC
Connectors
Available Cables
HWIC-4T, HWIC-4A/S
Smart Serial
See Table 2
HWIC-8A/S-232
High-density 4-port connector
See Table 3
HWIC-8A, HWIC-16A
High-density 8-port connector
• High -density 8-port EIA-232 asynchronous cable (CAB-HD8-ASYNC)
The 4-Port Serial High-Speed WAN Interface Card and 4-Port Asynchronous/Synchronous High-Speed WAN Interface Card each have four Smart Serial ports. These ports use the same connectors and cabling as the WIC-2T and WIC-2A/S.
Table 2. Smart Serial Cabling for HWIC-4T and HWIC-4A/S
Product Number
Cable Type
Length
Connector Type
CAB-SS-V35MT
V.35 DTE
10 ft (3m)
Male
CAB-SS-V35FC
V.35 DCE
10 ft (3m)
Female
CAB-SS-232MT
EIA/TIA-232 DTE
10 ft (3m)
Male
CAB-SS-232FC
EIA/TIA-232 DCE
10 ft (3m)
Female
CAB-SS-449MT
EIA/TIA-449 DTE
10 ft (3m)
Male
CAB-SS-449FC
EIA/TIA-449 DCE
10 ft (3m)
Female
CAB-SS-X21MT
X.21 DTE
10 ft (3m)
Male
CAB-SS-X21FC
X.21 DCE
10 ft (3m)
Female
CAB-SS-530MT
EIA/TIA-530 DTE
10 ft (3m)
Male
CAB-SS-530AMT
EIA/TIA-530A DTE
10 ft (3m)
Male
High-Density Synchronous/Asynchronous Cabling
The 8-Port Asynchronous/Synchronous High-Speed WAN Interface Card uses two high-density 4-port connectors. Each connector supports four ports of EIA-232 with data communications equipment (DCE) or data terminal equipment (DTE) interfaces. All four ports on one cable use the same DTE/DCE mode.
The 8-Port Asynchronous High-Speed WAN Interface Card and 16-Port Asynchronous High-Speed WAN Interface Card use one (HWIC-8A) or two (HWIC-16A) high-density 8-port connectors. The 8-port asynchronous cable provides the high-density connector on one end and eight RJ-45 plugs on the other. RJ-45- to DB-25 modular adapters are used to convert the RJ-45 to DB-25 DTE or DB-25 DCE connections.
Table 4. High-Density Asynchronous Cabling
Product Number
Cable Type
Length
Connector Type
CAB-HD8-ASYNC
8-port EIA-232
10 ft (3m)
RJ-45
CAB-HD8-KIT
8-port EIA-232 plus eight
CAB-25AS-MMOD
10 ft (3m)
Male DB-25
CAB-25AS-MMOD
RJ-45 to DB-25 adapter
‒
Male DB-25
CAB-25AS-FDTE
RJ-45 to DB-25 adapter
‒
Female DB-25
Platform Support
Serial and asynchronous HWICs are supported in the HWIC slots of Cisco 1800, 2800, and 3800 series integrated services routers. Table 5 indicates which platforms are supported. These HWICs are supported in all Cisco IOS Software feature sets. The minimum Cisco IOS Software is Release 12.3(14)T.
Table 5. Supported Platforms
HWIC Product Number
1841
1941
2800
2900
3800
3900
HWIC-4T
No
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
HWIC-4A/S
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
HWIC-8A/S-232
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
HWIC-8A
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
HWIC-16A
No
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Table 6. Minimum IOS release supported
1800, 2800, and 3800 Series
1900, 2900, and 3900 Series
Minimum IOS Release
12.3(14)T
15.0(1)M
Minimum IOS Technology Package
IP Base
IP Base
Specifications
The specifications of the HWICs are listed in Table 7.
Table 7. HWIC Specifications
Specification
HWIC-4T
HWIC-4A/S
HWIC-8A/S-232
HWIC-8A
HWIC-16A
Synchronous Support
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
No
Synchronous Maximum Speed (per port)
8 Mbps
256 kbps
256 kbps
N/A
N/A
Asynchronous Support
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Asynchronous Maximum Speed (per port)
230.4 kbps
230.4 kbps
230.4 kbps
230.4 kbps
230.4 kbps
Bisync Support
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
No
Serial Protocols
EIA-232, EIA-449, EIA-530, EIA-530A, V.35, X.21
EIA-232, EIA-449, EIA-530, EIA-530A, V.35, X.21
EIA-232
EIA-232
EIA-232
Lead Manipulation
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Network Clock Synchronization
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
No
Common Specifications
The specifications listed below are common to all serial and asynchronous HWICs.
Agency Approvals
• UL 1950 (United States)
• CSA-C22.2 #950 (Canada)
• EN60950 (Europe)
• TUV GS (Germany)
• IEC 950 (International)
Immunity
• EN300386
• EN55024/CISPR24
• EN50082-1
Emissions
• FCC Part 15 Class A
• ICES-003 Class A
• EN55022 Class A
• CISPR22 Class A
• AS/NZS 3548 Class A
• VCCI Class A
• EN 300386
• EN61000-3-3
• EN61000-3-2
Physical Specifications
• Single-wide HWIC, no slot restrictions
• Dimensions (H x W x D) 0.8 x 3.1 x 5.6 in. (2.1 x 7.9 x 14.2 cm)
Environmental Specifications
• Operating temperature: 32 to 104°F (0 to 40°C)
• Storage temperature: -4 to 149°F (-20 to 65°C)
• Relative humidity: 10 to 90 percent, noncondensing
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