The Cisco NCS 6000 switch fabric is a three-stage cell based architecture with six fabric planes. The Universal Fabric Card (UFC) in the Cisco NCS 6008 Line Card Chassis LCC implements all 3 stage. The following figure shows a simplified view of the relationship between the line cards and the fabric. The Cisco NCS 6000 back-to-back system has six fabric planes that support data traffic between the lines connected to the LCCs. The fabric planes are numbered 0 through 5.

Figure 1. Relationship of Line Cards and Fabric Planes

The Line Card Chassis (LCC) has eight line cards (LCs), six UFCs, and 16 CXP modules that connect to the UFCs on the second LCC. The planes do not interconnect with each other but operate independently. Because there are a total of six UFCs in the LCC, the fabric is referred to as having six planes. For example: Slot 0 in LCC0 and LCC1 are all part of plane 0.

The following figure shows the location of the UFCs in the LCC and how the CXP connectors are labeled. The fabric planes are numbered S0 through S5 and are installed in slot numbers 0 through 5. Each fabric cable connects to one of the UFC connectors (0 through 15), and to a single UFC connector in the second LCC.

Figure 2. How Fabric Cards are Numbered in the LCC (0 through 5)

Before you perform any procedures, review the safety guidelines in this section to avoid injuring yourself or damaging the equipment. The following guidelines are for your safety and to protect equipment. The guidelines do not include all hazards. Be alert.

• Review the safety warnings listed in the Regulatory and Compliance Guide for the Cisco NCS 6000 Series Routers before installing, configuring, or troubleshooting any installed card.

• Never attempt to lift an object that might be too heavy for you to lift by yourself.

• Keep the work area clear and dust free during and after installation. Do not allow dirt or debris to enter into any laser-based components.

• Keep tools and router components away from walk areas.

• Do not wear loose clothing, jewelry, or other items that could get caught in the router while working with cards, modules, and their associated components.

• Cisco equipment operates safely when used in accordance with its specifications and product-usage instructions.

• Do not work alone if potentially hazardous conditions exist.

• The installation must follow national and local electrical codes: in the United States, National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 70, United States National Electrical Code; in Canada, Canadian Electrical Code, part I, CSA C22.1; in other countries, International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) 60364, part 1 through part 7.

• Before cabling the system, install each line card chassis (LCC) in the planned location. Ensure that you have adequate floor space to cable the back-to-back configuration and an environment that meets the recommended specifications. For more information, see the Cisco Network Convergence System 6000 Series Routers Site Planning Guide.

• Verify that both single chassis routers (RACK0 and RACK1) are running Cisco IOS XR release 6.2.1 or later (with all applicable SMUs and packages).

• From each chassis, use the show chassis command from SysAdmin VM and make note of each chassis serial number.

  Note	The chassis serial number can also be found on the label on the chassis front/rear face plate.

• Perform the Router Health check on both routers to ensure that any errors or exception are resolved prior to migrating to back-to-back mode. See Commands for Router Health Check.

• Verify that field-programmable device (FPD) upgrades are completed for all FPDs on both routers by using the show hw-module fpd command. For any FPD components that show status as NEED UPGD, use the upgrade hw-module location location fpd command. For any FPD components that show status as RLOAD REQ, use the hw-module location location reload command.

• Create a backup of the RACK0 running configuration using the copy running-config command in both System Admin EXEC mode and XR EXEC mode.

For a fully-loaded back-to-back configuration, the following Cisco NCS6000 hardware is required:

• 2 Cisco NCS 6000 routers (NCS-6008)

• 4 Fan Trays (NC6-FANTRAY or NC6-FANTRAY-2)

  Caution

  Both fan trays installed in a chassis must be the same type. Do not install NC6-FANTRAY and NC6-FANTRAY-2 fan trays in the chassis.

• 4 Power Trays, with 6 PEM for each Power Tray (NCS-AC-PWRTRAY)

• 4 Route Processors (NC6-RP)

  For the Route Processor Ethernet Control connections between RACK0 and RACK1:

  • 8 SFP+ optics (SFP-10G-SR)

  • 4 LC-to-LC OM3 Multimode cables

• 12 Universal Fabric Cards (NC6-FC2-U)

  For the Fabric Card connections between RACK0 and RACK1:

  • 2 optical module set that includes 96 CXP-100G-SR12 modules each (NCS-FAB-OPT)

  • 96 MTP-24 100G Multimode cables

    Note	Install a CXP transceiver module or an EMI/dust plug (supplied) in all CXP ports. Do not operate the FC with an open port.

• Supported line cards:

  • NC6-10X100G-M-P—10-port 100Gbps CXP

  • NC6-10X100G-L-P—10-port 100Gbps CXP

  • NC6-10X100G-M-K—10-port 100Gbps CPAK

  • NC6-2/10X100G-L-K—10-port 100Gbps CPAK

  • NC6-60X10GE-L-S—60-port 10Gbps SFP+

  • NC6-60X10GE-M-S—60-port 10Gbps SFP+

  Note	The 20-port 100Gbps Line Card (NC6-20X100GE-L-C, NC6-20X100GE-M-C) is not supported in back-to-back configuration.

Additional required tool and equipment:

• ESD (Electrostatic Discharge) wrist strap (for inserting a CXP module)

• Number-2 Phillips screwdriver

• Cable Director (P/N 2123610-1), to provide support and strain relief for fabric cable connections (provided by Cisco approved vendor Tyco Electronics)

• Supply of Velcro tie wraps (to bundle cables)

• Ladder

Note	This procedure must be completed for each fabric plane, one at a time, on RACK0.

To migrate to back-to-back mode using the Universal Fabric Cards (UFC), perform the following steps on RACK0:

To add RACK1 to back-to-back mode, perform the following steps: