Table of Contents

Removing and Installing Line Cards

This chapter describes how to remove the 6T3 line card from supported platforms and also how to install a new or replacement line card. This chapter contains the following sections:

Installation Overview

Each line card circuit board is mounted to a metal carrier and is sensitive to electrostatic discharge (ESD) damage.

Note   When a line card slot is not in use, a blank line card must fill the empty slot to allow the router to conform to electromagnetic interference (EMI) emissions requirements and to allow proper airflow across the line cards. If you plan to install a new line card in a slot that is not in use, you must first remove the blank line card.

Handling Line Cards

Caution   Always handle the line card by the carrier edges and handle; never touch the line card components or connector pins. (See Figure 3-1.)

Online Insertion and Removal

The Cisco 7304 router supports online insertion and removal (OIR) of line cards; therefore, you do not have to power down the router when removing and replacing a 6T3 line card on a Cisco 7304 router. The Cisco 7304 router also supports CLI-controlled OIR (see the "CLI-Controlled OIR" section), which allows for the completion of data traffic before the active interfaces are shut down.

Note   CLI-controlled OIR is the recommended way of performing OIR on this platform.

Note   As you disengage the line card from the router, online insertion and removal (OIR) administratively shuts down all active interfaces on the line card.

Note   Before you begin installation, read "Preparing for Installation," for a list of parts and tools required for installation.

Warnings and Cautions

Observe the following warnings and cautions when installing or removing line cards.

Caution   Do not slide a line card all the way into the slot until you have connected all required cables. Trying to do so disrupts normal operation of the router or switch.

Note   If a line card lever or other retaining mechanism does not move to the locked position, the line card is not completely seated in the backplane. Carefully pull the line card halfway out of the slot, reinsert it, and move the line card levers to the locked position.

Caution   To prevent jamming the carrier between the upper and the lower edges of the line card slot, and to ensure that the edge connector at the rear of the line card mates with the connection at the rear of the line card slot, make certain that the carrier is positioned correctly, as shown in the cutaway in the following illustrations.

Warning When performing the following procedures, wear a grounding wrist strap to avoid ESD damage to the card. Some platforms have an ESD connector for attaching the wrist strap. Do not directly touch the midplane or backplane with your hand or any metal tool, or you could shock yourself.

Line Card Removal and Installation

In this section, the illustrations that follow give step-by-step instructions on how to remove and install line cards. This section contains the following illustrations:

Cisco 7304—Removing and Installing a Line Card

Connecting a T3 SMB Cable

On a 6T3 line card, you can use six T3 SMB cables (one for each T3 link).

Each T3 link requires separate receive and transmit connections to your external T3 equipment.

To connect the T3 SMB cables to the 6T3 line card, follow these steps:

Note   If you build your own cables, we strongly recommend that you fasten together your transmit and receive cables along their entire length, as shown in Figure 3-2. Doing so reduces the effects of EMI. You can use shielded jacketing or tubing for this purpose.

Caution   To prevent system problems and to maintain the proper cable connection sequences, connect the receive and transmit ports on your 6T3 line card as indicated in Step 2.

Step 2   Attach the BNC ends of your T3 SMB cables to your external T3 equipment as follows: