Configuration Guide for Cisco NCS 1004, IOS XR Release 25.x.x

QXP cards

Updated: July 31, 2026

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This section explains the NCS1K4-QXP-K9 3.2T QSFP-DD DCO Transponder line card, which provides eight 400G slices and supports 400GE, 4x100GE, 3x100GE, and 2x100GE operating modes.

A QXP card is a 3.2T QSFP-DD DCO transponder line card that

provides eight client ports (QSFP-DD) and eight trunk ports (QSFP-DD ZR+),
supports up to 3.2 Tbps of traffic per line card, and
operates in transponder and muxponder modes with 400GE, 4x100GE, 3x100GE, 2x100GE, and 100GE client rates.

Table 1. Feature History
Feature Name	Release Information	Description
Digital-to-Analog (DAC) support for NCS1K4-QXP-K9 card	Cisco IOS XR Release 7.8.1	DAC support is now enabled on NCS1K4-QXP-K9 card for 2x100G, 3x100G, 4x100G, and 400G operating modes. DAC helps in the optimization of digital-to-analog signal conversion.
Forward Error Correction (FEC) support on QXP card for Ethernet controllers	Cisco IOS XR Release 7.8.1	FEC is now supported by the 100GE Ethernet controller on the NCS1K4-QXP-K9 card. FEC is supported for all pluggables except QSFP-100G-LR4-S and ONS-QSFP28-LR4.
Idle insertion on NCS1K4-QXP-K9 card	Cisco IOS XR Release 7.8.1	Idle insertion refers to the idles that are inserted in the traffic stream from the trunk port to the client port for the duration of the configured holdoff-time. Whenever a fault occurs on the trunk port, you can hold the propagation of local faults using idle insertion. Idle insertion is now enabled on 100GE or 400GE controllers for the NCS1K4-QXP-K9 card.
NCS1K4-QXP-K9 card support for 2x100GE and 3x100GE operating mode configurations	Cisco IOS XR Release 7.8.1	Support is enabled for 2x100GE and 3x100GE operating mode configurations through Open Config and CLI on NCS1K4-QXP-K9 card.
Cisco 400G QSFP-DD High-Power (Bright) Optical module support on QXP card	Cisco IOS XR Release 7.10.1	The QXP card now supports Cisco 400G QSFP-DD High-Power (Bright) Optical module. This pluggable provides higher output power compared to other ZR Pluggables (QDD-400G-ZR-S and QDD-400G-ZRP-S). This allows users to interconnect directly to add/drop ports without additional amplifiers which improves performance and saves cost for end to end services.
OTN Datapath on QXP card trunk ports	Cisco IOS XR Release 7.10.1	The QXP line card now supports OTN standard based trunk transmission with Cisco 400G QSFP-DD High-Power (Bright) Optical Module. This allows trunk connections from the QXP card to be connected to other OpenROADMcompliant trunk devices.

The NCS1K4-QXP-K9 3.2T QSFP-DD DCO Transponder Line Card has eight client ports (QSFP-DD) and eight trunk ports (QSFP-DD ZR+). Each line card supports up to 3.2 Tbps traffic. The client rates that are supported are 400GE, 4x100GE, and 100GE Ethernet only. The modulation formats supported are 16 QAM for 400GE Txp/4x100GE Mxp and QPSK for 100GE Txp.

The QXP line card provides up to 16 QSFP-DD ports (eight QSFP-DD client ports and eight QSFP-DD trunk ports). The supported operating modes are:

400GE-TXP
4X100GE MXP
100GE TXP

From Release 7.8.1, the operating modes listed below are supported.

3x100GE MXP
2x100GE MXP

The QXP card has 8 slices. Each slice consists of one client and one trunk port with a slice capacity of 400G. The total capacity is 3.2T.

Table 2. Slice and port mapping on the QXP card
Slice	Trunk port	Client port
0	0	1
1	2	3
2	4	5
3	6	7
4	8	9
5	10	11
6	12	13
7	14	15

Note

The QXP card uses only the first 6 client and trunk ports (first 6 slices) when installed in an NCS1004 chassis.

Note

When you use OPENROADM trunk mode by configuring the trunk-mode OR command, use only alternate slices on the QXP card. Either use slices 0, 2, 4, 6 or 1, 3, 5, 7.

Supported data rates for QXP card

This table displays the client and trunk ports that are enabled for transponder and muxponder modes.


Operating mode	Card support	Client data rate	Client optics	Trunk ports	Client ports
400GE-TXP	QXP Card	400G	QDD-400G-DR4-S, QDD-400G-FR4-S, QDD-AOCxM, QDD-4X100G-FR-S	0,2,4,6,8,10,12,14	1,3,5,7,9,11,13,15
4X100GE MXP	QXP Card	4X100G Break out	QDD-400G-DR4-S, QDD-4X100G-LR-S, QDD-4X100G-FR-S	0,2,4,6,8,10,12,14	1,3,5,7,9,11,13,15
3X100GE MXP	QXP Card	3X100G Break out	QDD-400G-DR4-S, QDD-4X100G-LR-S, QDD-4X100G-FR-S	0,2,4,6,8,10,12,14	1,3,5,7,9,11,13,15
2X100GE MXP	QXP Card	2X100G Break out	QDD-400G-DR4-S, QDD-4X100G-LR-S, QDD-4X100G-FR-S	0,2,4,6,8,10,12,14	1,3,5,7,9,11,13,15
100GE TXP	QXP Card	100G	QSFP28-100G-LR4, QSFP28-100G-LR-S, QSFP28-100G-DR-S, QSFP28-100G-FR-S	0,2,4,6,8,10,12,14	1,3,5,7,9,11,13,15

FEC support on QXP card

From Release 7.8.1, FEC support is enabled on 100GE Ethernet controller for all pluggables except the LR4 pluggables such as QSFP-100G-LR4-S and ONS-QSFP28-LR4 for the NCS1K4-QXP-K9 card.

Configure the 400G transponder mode on QXP card

Enable 400G transponder functionality on the NCS1K4-QXP-K9 card, allowing efficient mapping between a single 400GE client port and a dedicated 400G QSFP-DD ZR+ trunk port per slice.

Follow these steps to configure 400G transponder mode on the QXP card:

Procedure

	1.	Run the hw-module location location mxponder-slice slice-number trunk-rate 400G trunk-mode [ZR \| OR] client-port-rate port-number client-type 400GE command to configure and provision 400G TXP. Example: This is a sample configuration of configuring a 400G TXP. `RP/0/RP0/CPU0:ios#configure Tue Apr 11 19:29:20.132 UTC RP/0/RP0/CPU0:ios(config)#hw-module location 0/1 mxponder-slice 0 RP/0/RP0/CPU0:ios(config-hwmod-mxp)#trunk-rate 400G RP/0/RP0/CPU0:ios(config-hwmod-mxp)#client-port-rate 1 client-type 400GE` This is a sample output of show hw-module location location mxponder-slice slice-number when configured in 400G Transponder Mode. `RP/0/RP0/CPU0:ios#sh hw-module location 0/0 mxponder-slice 0 Sat Jun 25 21:32:58.799 UTC Location: 0/0 Slice ID: 0 Client Bitrate: 400GE Trunk Bitrate: 400G Status: Provisioned LLDP Drop Enabled: FALSE ARP Snoop Enabled: FALSE Client Port Mapper/Trunk Port CoherentDSP0/0/0/0 Traffic Split Percentage FourHundredGigECtrlr0/0/0/1 - 100` Note The trunk-mode command allows you to choose between OTN and ethernet traffic on the trunk port.
	2.	Run the commit command to save and apply the 400G transponder configuration. Example: `RP/0/RP0/CPU0:ios(config-hwmod-mxp)#commit`

The NCS1K4-QXP-K9 card is configured in 400G transponder mode. A single 400GE client port is mapped to one 400G QSFP-DD ZR+ trunk per slice.

Configure the 400G muxponder mode on QXP card

Set up the QXP card to operate in 400G muxponder mode, enabling high-throughput optical data transport.

Follow these steps to configure and provision the 400G muxponder mode on the QXP card:

Procedure

Run the hw-module location location mxponder-slice slice-number trunk-rate 400G client-port-rate port-number lane lane-number client-type 100GE command to configure and provision 400G MXP.

This is a sample configuration of configuring a 400G MXP.


RP/0/RP0/CPU0:ios#configure
Tue Apr 11 19:29:20.132 UTC
RP/0/RP0/CPU0:ios(config)#hw-module location 0/0 mxponder-slice 0 
RP/0/RP0/CPU0:ios(config-hwmod-mxp)#trunk-rate 400G
RP/0/RP0/CPU0:ios(config-hwmod-mxp)#client-port-rate 1 lane 1 client-type 100GE 
RP/0/RP0/CPU0:ios(config-hwmod-mxp)#client-port-rate 1 lane 2 client-type 100GE 
RP/0/RP0/CPU0:ios(config-hwmod-mxp)#client-port-rate 1 lane 3 client-type 100GE 
RP/0/RP0/CPU0:ios(config-hwmod-mxp)#client-port-rate 1 lane 4 client-type 100GE

This is a sample output of show hw-module location location mxponder-slice slice-number when configured in 400G MXP Mode.

RP/0/RP0/CPU0:ios#sh hw-module location 0/3 mxponder-slice 1
Sat Jun 25 23:03:20.823 UTC

Location:             0/3
Slice ID:             1
Client Bitrate:       100GE
Trunk  Bitrate:       400G
Status:               Provisioned
LLDP Drop Enabled:    FALSE
ARP Snoop Enabled:    FALSE
Client Port                     Mapper/Trunk Port          CoherentDSP0/3/0/2   
                                Traffic Split Percentage

HundredGigECtrlr0/3/0/3/1                -                            100
HundredGigECtrlr0/3/0/3/2                -                            100
HundredGigECtrlr0/3/0/3/3                -                            100
HundredGigECtrlr0/3/0/3/4                -                            100

Run the commit command to save and apply the 4x100G muxponder configuration.

Example:

RP/0/RP0/CPU0:ios(config-hwmod-mxp)#commit

The NCS1K4-QXP-K9 card is configured in 400G muxponder mode.

Configure the 2x100G muxponder mode on QXP card

Set up the NCS1K4-QXP-K9 card to operate in 2x100G muxponder mode, enabling a 200G trunk rate with two 100GE client connections

Follow these steps to configure 2x100G muxponder mode on the QXP card:

Procedure

Run the hw-module location location mxponder-slice slice-number trunk-rate 200G client-port-rate port-number lane lane-number client-type 100GE command to configure and provision 2x100G MXP.

Example:

RP/0/RP0/CPU0:ios#configure

Run the hw-module location mxponder-slice command to navigate to the mxponder-slice for the QXP card location and slice number.

Example:

This is a sample configuration of configuring a 2x100G MXP.


RP/0/RP0/CPU0:ios#configure
Tue Apr 11 19:29:20.132 UTC
RP/0/RP0/CPU0:ios(config)#hw-module location 0/0 mxponder-slice 0 
RP/0/RP0/CPU0:ios(config-hwmod-mxp)#trunk-rate 200G
RP/0/RP0/CPU0:ios(config-hwmod-mxp)#client-port-rate 1 lane 1 client-type 100GE 
RP/0/RP0/CPU0:ios(config-hwmod-mxp)#client-port-rate 1 lane 2 client-type 100GE

This is a sample output of show hw-module location location mxponder-slice slice-number when configured in 2x100G MXP Mode.


RP/0/RP0/CPU0:ios#sh hw-module location 0/3 mxponder-slice 1
Sat Jun 25 23:03:20.823 UTC

Location:             0/3
Slice ID:             1
Client Bitrate:       100GE
Trunk  Bitrate:       200G
Status:               Provisioned
LLDP Drop Enabled:    FALSE
ARP Snoop Enabled:    FALSE
Client Port                     Mapper/Trunk Port          CoherentDSP0/3/0/2   
                                Traffic Split Percentage

HundredGigECtrlr0/3/0/3/1                -                            100
HundredGigECtrlr0/3/0/3/2                -                            100

Run the commitcommand to save and apply the 2x100G muxponder configuration.

Example:

RP/0/RP0/CPU0:ios(config-hwmod-mxp)#commit

The NCS1K4-QXP-K9 card is configured in 2x100G muxponder mode.

Configure the 3x100G muxponder mode on QXP card

Configure the QXP card to operate in 3x100G muxponder mode, enabling a 300G trunk rate with three 100GE client lanes.

Follow these steps to configure the 3x100G muxponder mode:

Procedure

Run the hw-module location location mxponder-slice slice-number trunk-rate 300G client-port-rate port-number lane lane-number client-type 100GE command to configure and provision 3x100G MXP.

Example:

This is a sample configuration of configuring a 3x100G MXP.


RP/0/RP0/CPU0:ios#configure
Tue Apr 11 19:29:20.132 UTC
RP/0/RP0/CPU0:ios(config)#hw-module location 0/0 mxponder-slice 0 
RP/0/RP0/CPU0:ios(config-hwmod-mxp)#trunk-rate 300G
RP/0/RP0/CPU0:ios(config-hwmod-mxp)#client-port-rate 1 lane 1 client-type 100GE 
RP/0/RP0/CPU0:ios(config-hwmod-mxp)#client-port-rate 1 lane 2 client-type 100GE 
RP/0/RP0/CPU0:ios(config-hwmod-mxp)#client-port-rate 1 lane 3 client-type 100GE

This is a sample output of show hw-module location location mxponder-slice slice-number when configured in 3x100G MXP Mode.

RP/0/RP0/CPU0:ios#sh hw-module location 0/3 mxponder-slice 1
Sat Jun 25 23:03:20.823 UTC

Location:             0/3
Slice ID:             1
Client Bitrate:       100GE
Trunk  Bitrate:       300G
Status:               Provisioned
LLDP Drop Enabled:    FALSE
ARP Snoop Enabled:    FALSE
Client Port                     Mapper/Trunk Port          CoherentDSP0/3/0/2   
                                Traffic Split Percentage

HundredGigECtrlr0/3/0/3/1                -                            100
HundredGigECtrlr0/3/0/3/2                -                            100
HundredGigECtrlr0/3/0/3/3                -                            100

Run the commit command to save and apply the 3x100G muxponder configuration.

Example:

RP/0/RP0/CPU0:ios(config-hwmod-mxp)#commit

The NCS1K4-QXP-K9 card is configured in 3x100G muxponder mode. Three 100GE client lanes are aggregated onto a 300G trunk per slice.

DAC supported modes for NCS1K4-QXP-K9 card

A DAC supported mode for NCS1K4-QXP-K9 cards is an operating-mode capability that

is available from Release 7.8.1,
supports 2x100G, 3x100G, 4x100G, and 400G operating modes, and
provides supported DAC rates based on the trunk rate and modulation format.

DAC rates for NCS1K4-QXP-K9 card

This table provides the details of the respective DAC rates for the different trunk rates for NCS1K4-QXP-K9 card.

Table 3. DAC supported data rates for NCS1K4-QXP-K9 card
Trunk rate	Modulation format	Default value	Modified DAC supported
100G	QPSK	1x1.50	Not applicable
200G	QPSK	1x1	1x1.50
200G	8QAM	1x1.25	Not applicable
200G	16-QAM	1x1.25	Not applicable
300G	8-QAM	1x1	1x1.25, 1x1.50, 1x2
400G	16-QAM	1x1	1x1.50

Note

Changing the DAC rate turns the optics laser off and then back on. This operation impacts traffic.

Note

The DAC rate configuration must match on both ends of a connection.

This example changes the DAC rate to 1x1.5 on an optics controller.


RP/0/RP0/CPU0:ios(config)#controller optics 0/0/0/0
RP/0/RP0/CPU0:ios(config-Optics)#dac-Rate 1x1.50
RP/0/RP0/CPU0:ios(config-Optics)#commit

Configure Cisco 400G QSFP-DD high-power optical module support on QXP card

Configure the QXP card to use Cisco 400G QSFP-DD high-power Bright ZR+ optical modules as Ethernet or OTN transponders.

From Release 7.10.1, QXP card supports Cisco 400G QSFP-DD High-Power (Bright) Optical Modules. The Bright QSFP-DD operates as Ethernet or OTN transponder.

Follow these steps to configure Cisco 400G QSFP-DD high-power Bright ZR+ optical modules on the QXP card:

Procedure

Run the hw-module location location mxponder-slice 1 slice-number trunk-mode OR trunk-rate rate command to configure OTN data path on the Bright ZR+ pluggable optical modules. The trunk-mode OR refers to OpenROADM.

Example:

This is a sample configuration of configuring a 4x100G OTN trunk on a Bright ZR+ pluggable.


RP/0/RP0/CPU0:ios#configure
Tue Apr 11 19:29:20.132 UTC
RP/0/RP0/CPU0:ios(config)#hw-module location 0/0
RP/0/RP0/CPU0:ios(config-hwmod)#mxponder-slice 4
RP/0/RP0/CPU0:ios(config-hwmod-mxp)#trunk-mode OR
RP/0/RP0/CPU0:ios(config-hwmod-mxp)#trunk-rate 400G
RP/0/RP0/CPU0:ios(config-hwmod-mxp)#  client-port-rate 9 lane 1 client-type 100GE
RP/0/RP0/CPU0:ios(config-hwmod-mxp)#  client-port-rate 9 lane 2 client-type 100GE
RP/0/RP0/CPU0:ios(config-hwmod-mxp)#  client-port-rate 9 lane 3 client-type 100GE
RP/0/RP0/CPU0:ios(config-hwmod-mxp)#  client-port-rate 9 lane 4 client-type 100GE

Run the hw-module location location mxponder-slice 1 slice-number trunk-mode ZR trunk-rate rate to configure Ethernet data path on the Bright ZR+ pluggable optical modules.

Example:

This is a sample configuration of configuring Ethernet trunk on a Bright ZR+ pluggable.


RP/0/RP0/CPU0:ios#configure
Tue Apr 11 19:29:20.132 UTC
RP/0/RP0/CPU0:ios(config)#hw-module location 0/0
RP/0/RP0/CPU0:ios(config-hwmod)#mxponder-slice 4
RP/0/RP0/CPU0:ios(config-hwmod-mxp)#trunk-mode ZR
RP/0/RP0/CPU0:ios(config-hwmod-mxp)#trunk-rate 400G

This is a sample configuration of setting 0dBm transmit power on a Bright ZR+ pluggable.


RP/0/RP0/CPU0:ios#configure
RP/0/RP0/CPU0:ios(config)#controller optics 0/0/0/2
RP/0/RP0/CPU0:ios(config-Optics)#transmit-power 0
Thu Mar  9 13:02:30.662 UTC
WARNING! Changing TX power can impact traffic
RP/0/RP0/CPU0:ios(config-Optics)#commit 
Thu Mar  9 13:02:31.566 UTC

Run the commit command to save and apply the configuration changes.

Example:

RP/0/RP0/CPU0:ios(config-Optics)# commit

Run the show controllers optics command to verify the optics controller status.

Example:


RP/0/RP0/CPU0:ios#show controllers optics 0/0/0/8
Thu Apr 13 13:54:33.163 UTC
 Controller State: Up
 Transport Admin State: In Service
 Laser State: On
 LED State: Green
 Optics Status
         Optics Type:  QSFP-DD DWDM
         DWDM carrier Info: C BAND, MSA ITU Channel=49, Frequency=193.70THz,
         Wavelength=1547.715nm
         Alarm Status:
         -------------
         Detected Alarms: None
         LOS/LOL/Fault Status:
         Alarm Statistics:
         -------------
         HIGH-RX-PWR = 0            LOW-RX-PWR = 4
         HIGH-TX-PWR = 0            LOW-TX-PWR = 1
         HIGH-LBC = 0               HIGH-DGD = 0
         OOR-CD = 0                 OSNR = 4
         WVL-OOL = 0                MEA  = 0
         IMPROPER-REM = 0
         TX-POWER-PROV-MISMATCH = 0
         Laser Bias Current = 0.0 %
         Actual TX Power = 0.00 dBm
         RX Power = -10.50 dBm
         RX Signal Power = -10.35 dBm
         Frequency Offset = 199 MHz

         Performance Monitoring: Enable

         THRESHOLD VALUES
         ----------------

         Parameter                 High Alarm  Low Alarm  High Warning  Low Warning
         ------------------------  ----------  ---------  ------------  -----------
         Rx Power Threshold(dBm)          3.0      -24.5           0.0          0.0
         Tx Power Threshold(dBm)          0.0      -16.0           0.0          0.0
         LBC Threshold(mA)                N/A        N/A          0.00         0.00

         LBC High Threshold = 90 %
         Configured Tx Power = 0.00 dBm
         Configured CD High Threshold = 52000 ps/nm
         Configured CD lower Threshold = -52000 ps/nm
         Configured OSNR lower Threshold = 21.10 dB
         Configured DGD Higher Threshold = 67.00 ps

This table lists the supported operating modes for Bright ZR+ pluggable modules on the QXP card.

Table 4. Supported operating modes for Bright ZR+ modules on QXP card
Operating mode	Modulation	FEC
4x100GE MXP	16-QAM	CFEC
4x100GE MXP	16-QAM	OFEC
3x100GE MXP	8QAM	OFEC
2x100GE MXP	QPSK	OFEC
400GE TXP	16-QAM	CFEC
400GE TXP	16-QAM	OFEC
100GE TXP	QPSK	OFEC

The Bright ZR+ pluggable optical module is configured with the selected data path, trunk rate, and transmit power.

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