Cisco Network Convergence System 4000 Multi-Chassis System Data Sheet

The Cisco^® Network Convergence System 4000 (NCS 4000) is a converged optical service platform providing Dense Wavelength-Division Multiplexing (DWDM), Optical Transport Network (OTN), Multiprotocol Label Switching Transport Profile (MPLS-TP), Carrier Ethernet, and Label Switch Router (LSR) or IP multiservice capabilities. The Cisco Network Convergence System 4000 Multi-chassis System (Fig.1) allows to scale total node capacity to tens of Terabit/s with no differentiation between OTN or Packet services.

Cisco NCS 4016 systems supports up to 6.4Tbps of OTN/MPLS switching functionalities and can be In-service upgraded to Multi-Chassis Configuration leveraging to a Centralized Fabric systems allowing to scale up to more than 100 Tbps of non-blocking OTN/MPLS switching with a configuration of 16+4 with 16 Line Card Chassis (LCC) and 4 Fabric Card Chassis Series (FCC).

Figure 1 shows Fabric Card Chassis of Cisco NCS 4000 Series.

NCS 4000 Multi-Chassis System

NCS 4000 Multi-chassis system consists of two major elements: a Line Card Chassis (LCC) and a Fabric Card Chassis (FCC). The LCC hosts Route Processor (RP) cards, the first and third stages of switch fabric cards, and line cards that provide the physical interface and process data packets. The FCC hosts the second stage of the switch fabric cards. The LCC and FCC are connected by a set of optical cables. Expanding your network capacity is a smooth process for the Cisco NCS 4000, supported by in-service hardware and software upgrades.

NCS 4000 Multi-Chassis System Configurations

NCS 4000 Multi-chassis system can be offered with different configurations pending the required maximum switching capacity. It is possible to start from Single chassis configuration with one single NCS4016 (1+0 configuration) towards up to 16+4 configuration.

It has to be noted that the number of the initial installation of FCC will determine the final configuration that can be supported with a Non-traffic-Affecting Upgrade. If initial installation includes one single FCC the system can be upgraded up to 4+1 in a NTA fashion as the cabling configuration is predetermined on the FCC.

Supported configurations can be summarized in:

1+1, 2+1, 2+3 and 4+1 with single FCC

1+2, 2+2, 3+2, 4+2, 5+2, 6+2, 7+2 and 8+2 with 2 x FCCs

1+3, 2+3, 3+3, 4+3, 5+3, 6+3, 7+3 ….. up to 12+3 with 3 x FCCs

1+4, 2+4, 3+4, 4+4, 5+4, 6+4, 7+4 ….. up to 16+4 with 4 x FCCs

It is required to double-check SW release availability to manage the right configuration.

NCS 4000 Single-Chassis to Multi-Chassis Migration

It is a typical use case to have unplanned demand hitting a node. NCS 4000 platform allows a smooth and not traffic affecting upgrade from a single NCS 4016 chassis system to a NCS 4000 Multi-chassis System as depicted in Figure 3.

Procedures implies insertion of CXP Pluggable on the NCS 4016 fabrics and MPO cable connection between CXP on NCS 4016 and the CXP of the Centralized Fabric of FCC system.

NCS 4000 FCC system

The core of the NCS 4000 Multi-Chassis system is the Fabric Card Chassis (FCC). It is a 40” Rack that can host 8 Centralize Fabrics (Fig. 4) and 2 RP-MC Line Card.

RP-MC (Fig.5) has the role to manage the FCC system and provide management plane connectivity between the different LCC. Two of them are hosted in each FCC providing the highest level of redundancy.

Centralized Fabric Card (Fig.6) acts as S2 fabric in a typical three stage CLOS fabric system. It hosts up to 24 CXP2 pluggable used to interconnect the Centralized Fabric card with the 4 Fabrics in the NCS 4016 system.

Product specification

Table 1 lists specifications for the Cisco NCS 4000 Series FCC System. For more information about the Cisco NCS 4000 Series, visit: https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/optical-networking/network-convergence-system-4000-series/index.html.

Table 1.       Cisco NCS FCC Product specifications

Table 2.       Physical characteristic for the Cisco NCS 4000 Multi-chassis System

Approvals and compliance

Table 3 lists compliance and agency approvals for the Cisco NCS 4000 System.

Table 3.       Compliance and Agency Approvals for Cisco NCS 4016

Ordering information

To place an order, visit the Cisco Ordering Home Page and refer to Table 4 and Table 5. To download software, visit the Cisco Platform Suite.

Table 4.       Orderable HW item list

Table 5.       Orderable SW item list

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For more information

For more information about the Cisco Network Convergence System 4000, visit https://www.cisco.com/go/ncs4000 or contact your local Cisco account representative.