Explains what physical interface preconfiguration is, what it requires, and how the router applies preconfigured settings when hardware is installed.
Physical interface preconfiguration is the process of configuring interfaces before they are present in the router.
Before you preconfigure physical interfaces, make sure that preconfiguration drivers and files are installed. Although it might be possible to preconfigure physical interfaces without a preconfiguration driver installed, the preconfiguration files are required to set the interface definition file on the router that supplies the strings for valid interface names.
Preconfiguration enables you to:
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configure line cards before you install them in the router,
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upon installation, the router automatically applies the preconfigured settings, and
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stores this information in a dedicated database tree on the Route Processor, known as the preconfiguration directory, which is separate from the standard interface configuration.
The router supports preconfiguration for these interfaces:
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10-Gigabit Ethernet
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40-Gigabit Ethernet
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100-Gigabit Ethernet
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Management Ethernet
Some preconfiguration data requires the presence of a line card for verification because the verification processes run exclusively on the line card. You can verify this data after inserting the line card and initiating the verification process. The router rejects the configuration if it detects errors during the transfer from the preconfiguration area to the active configuration.