Cisco Catalyst 6500 Series DFC and DFC3A Distributed Forwarding Cards (CEF256 based)

Available Languages

Download Options

PDF (75.9 KB)
View with Adobe Reader on a variety of devices

Updated:April 23, 2008

Document ID:1518436700572607

Bias-Free Language

The documentation set for this product strives to use bias-free language. For the purposes of this documentation set, bias-free is defined as language that does not imply discrimination based on age, disability, gender, racial identity, ethnic identity, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, and intersectionality. Exceptions may be present in the documentation due to language that is hardcoded in the user interfaces of the product software, language used based on RFP documentation, or language that is used by a referenced third-party product. Learn more about how Cisco is using Inclusive Language.

EOL5755-Amended

Cisco® announces the end-of-sale and end-of life dates for the Selected Cisco Catalyst 6500 Series Distributed Forwarding Cards. The last day to order the affected product(s) is March 30, 2008. Customers with active service contracts will continue to receive support from the Cisco Technical Assistance Center (TAC) as shown in Table 1 of the EoL bulletin. Table 1 describes the end-of-life milestones, definitions, and dates for the affected product(s). Table 2 lists the product part numbers affected by this announcement. For customers with active and paid service and support contracts, support will be available until the termination date of the contract, even if this date exceeds the Last Date of Support shown in Table 1.

Table 1. End-of-Life Milestones and Dates for the Select Cisco Catalyst 6500 Series Distributed Forwarding Cards


Milestone	Definition	Date
End-of-Life Announcement Date	The date the document that announces the end of sale and end of life of a product is distributed to the general public.	September 30, 2007
End-of-Sale Date	The last date to order the product through Cisco point-of-sale mechanisms. The product is no longer for sale after this date.	March 30, 2008
Last Ship Date: HW	The last-possible ship date that can be requested of Cisco and/or its contract manufacturers. Actual ship date is dependent on lead time.	June 28, 2008
End of SW Maintenance Releases Date: HW	The last date that Cisco Engineering may release any final software maintenance releases or bug fixes. After this date, Cisco Engineering will no longer develop, repair, maintain, or test the product software.	March 30, 2009
End of Routine Failure Analysis Date: HW	The last-possible date a routine failure analysis may be performed to determine the cause of product failure or defect.	March 30, 2009
End of New Service Attachment Date: HW	For equipment and software that is not covered by a service-and-support contract, this is the last date to order a new service-and-support contract or add the equipment and/or software to an existing service-and-support contract.	March 30, 2009
End of Service Contract Renewal Date: HW	The last date to extend or renew a service contract for the product.	June 25, 2012
Last Date of Support: HW	The last date to receive service and support for the product. After this date, all support services for the product are unavailable, and the product becomes obsolete.	March 29, 2013

HW = Hardware OS SW = Operating System Software App. SW = Application Software

Table 2. Product Part Numbers Affected by This Announcement


End-of-Sale Product Part Number	Product Description	Replacement Product Part Number	Replacement Product Description
WS-F6K-DFC	Dist Fwd Card for 65xx, 6816 Modules used with SUP2	See the Product Migration Options section below for detailed information on replacing this product.
WS-F6K-DFC3A	Dist Fwd Card-3A for 65xx, 6816 Modules used with SUP720	See the Product Migration Options section below for detailed information on replacing this product.
WS-F6K-DFC3A=	Dist Fwd Card-3A for 65xx, 6816 Modules used with SUP720	See the Product Migration Options section below for detailed information on replacing this product.
WS-F6K-DFC3B	Catalyst 6500 Dist Fwd Card-3B for 65xx, 6816 modules	See the Product Migration Options section below for detailed information on replacing this product.
WS-F6K-DFC3B=	Catalyst 6500 Dist Fwd Card-3B for 65xx, 6816 modules	See the Product Migration Options section below for detailed information on replacing this product.
WS-F6K-DFC3BXL	Catalyst 6500 Dist Fwd Card-3BXL for 65xx, 6816 modules	See the Product Migration Options section below for detailed information on replacing this product.
WS-F6K-DFC3BXL=	Catalyst 6500 Dist Fwd Card-3BXL for 65xx, 6816 modules	See the Product Migration Options section below for detailed information on replacing this product.
WS-F6K-DFC=	Dist Fwd Card for 65xx, 6816 Modules used with SUP2	See the Product Migration Options section below for detailed information on replacing this product.

Note: WS-F6700-DFC3B/3BXL and WS-F6700-DFC3C/3CXL are used only on CEF720 or WS-67xx series line cards

WS-F6K-DFC3A(=),WS-F6K-DFC3B(=),WS-F6K-DFC3BXL(=) are supported till 12.2(33)SXH release. WS-F6K-DFC(=) is supported till 12. 2(18)SXF.

Product Migration Options

Line cards associated with product WS-F6K-DFC3x are WS-6548-RJ-45, WS-6548-RJ-21,WS-X6516-GE-TX,WS-X6516A-GBIC,and WS-X6816-GBIC are reaching their end-of-sale dates. All of these line cards with the exception of WS-X6516A-GBIC are End-of-Sale. Please visit http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/hw/switches/ps708/prod_eol_notice0900aecd8069af87.html for more details.

Table 3. Options for customers with WS-X6516A-GBIC


Scenarios for WS-X6516A-GBIC customers	Effect/Migration options due to WS-F6k-DFC3x EoS
Existing customers an dnew deployments with WS-X6516A-GBIC in a Sup32 system	No change
Existing customers with WS-X6516A-GBIC alone (without WS-F6K-DFC3x daughter card) in a sup720 system	No change
Existing customers with WS-X6516A-GBIC and WS-F6K-DFC3x daughter card in a sup720 system	The DFC will be supported as per the timeline provided above. After this timeline, Cisco encourages customers to move towards WS-X6724-SFP with WS-F6700-DFC3x daughter card
New deployments considering WS-X6516A-GBIC and WS-F6K-DFC3x in a sup720 system	Cisco encourages customers to move towards WS-X6724-SFP with WS-F6700-DFC3x daughter card

For cards with WS-F6K-DFC3X daughter card and announced End of Sale, please see below for replacement options (source is line card EoS announcement at http://www.cisco.com/en/US/prod/collateral/switches/ps5718/ps708/prod_end-of-life_notice0900aecd8069af87.html ):

Customers are encouraged to migrate to Cisco 6700 Series line cards with DFC3B/DFC3C and DFC3BXL/DFC3CXL versions of Catalyst 6500 Series Distributed Forwarding Cards. Information about the 6700 Series line cards can be found at http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/hw/switches/ps708/products_data_sheets_list.html.

For information on the DFC3B and DFC3BXL distributed forwarding cards for these line cards, see http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/hw/switches/ps708/prod_bulletin0900aecd8017a5db.html.

The most popular 6500 and 6800 Series line cards with WS-F6K-DFC3x options are noted below with product end-of-life timeline and replacements.


Line Card PID	Description	Replacement Line Card PID (Support for DFC if applicable)	Line Card Description	Replacement Line Card Benefit
WS-X6516-GE-TX	Catalyst 6500 16-port 10/100/1000 GE Module,cross-bar	WS-X6548-GE-TX	Catalyst 6500 48-port fabric-enabled 10/100/1000 Module	Higher port density Deeper buffers
WS-X6516-GE-TX	Catalyst 6500 16-port 10/100/1000 GE Module,cross-bar	WS-X6748-GE-TX (Has support for WS-F6700-DFC3x)	Cat6500 48-port 10/100/1000 GE Mod: fabric enabled, RJ-45	Higher port density Deeper buffers
WS-X6548-RJ-21	Catalyst 6500 48-port 10/100, RJ-21, fabric enabled	WS-X6148-RJ-21	Catalyst 6500 48-Port 10/100 Upgradable to Voice, RJ-21	PoE Upgradeability
WS-X6548-RJ-45	Catalyst 6500 48-port 10/100, RJ-45, x-bar	WS-X6748-GE-TX (Has support for WS-F6700-DFC3x)	Cat6500 48-port 10/100/1000 GE Mod: fabric enabled, RJ-45	Higher bandwidth (10/100/1000)
WS-X6816-GBIC	Cat6500 16-port GigE mod, 2 fab I/F, (Req GBICs, DFC/DFC3)	WS-X6724-SFP	Catalyst 6500 24-port GigE Mod: fabric-enabled (Req. SFPs)	Higher port density Deeper buffers
WS-X6816-GBIC	Cat6500 16-port GigE mod, 2 fab I/F, (Req GBICs, DFC/DFC3)	WS-X6748-SFP	Catalyst 6500 48-port GigE Mod: fabric-enabled (Req. SFPs)	Higher port density Deeper buffers

Customers can use the Cisco Technology Migration Plan (TMP) to trade in products and receive credit toward the purchase of new Cisco equipment. For more information about Cisco TMP, go to: http://www.cisco.com/go/tradein/. The Cisco TMP application requires all users to have a Cisco.com user ID.

Customers may be able to continue to purchase the Selected Cisco Catalyst 6500 Series Distributed Forwarding Cards through the Cisco Certified Refurbished Equipment program. Refurbished units may be available in limited supply for sale in certain countries on a first-come, first-served basis until the Last Date of Support has been reached. For information about the Cisco Certified Refurbished Equipment program, go to: www.cisco.com/go/eos

Service prices for Cisco products are subject to change after the product End of Sale date.

For More Information

For more information about the Cisco Catalyst 6500 Series Distributed Forwarding Cards for 6700 Series Line Cards, visit http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/hw/switches/ps708/prod_bulletin0900aecd8017a5db.html, or contact your local account representative.

For more information about the Cisco End-of-Life Policy, go to:
http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/prod_end_of_life.html

To subscribe to receive end-of-life/end-of-sale information, go to:
http://www.cisco.com/cgi-bin/Support/FieldNoticeTool/field-notice

Contact Cisco

Was this Document Helpful?

Feedback