Configuration Guide for Cisco NCS 1014, IOS XR Releases 26.x.x

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Configuration Guide for Cisco NCS 1014, IOS XR Releases 26.x.x

Cisco NCS 1014 chassis and line cards

Updated: September 23, 2026

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The Cisco NCS 1014 is an advanced multihaul optical platform supporting transponders and line system cards.

The Cisco NCS 1014 chassis is an advanced multihaul optical platform that supports transponders and line system cards.

  • It is a 2RU chassis,

  • delivers a universal transponder solution, and

  • provides excellent performance for metro, long-haul, and submarine applications.

Cisco NCS 1014 modules and supported line cards

The NCS 1014 chassis includes these modules:

  • Removable controller

  • Removable backup solid state drive (SSD)

  • Two replaceable power supply units (PSU)

  • Three replaceable fan modules

  • Four line cards

The NCS 1014 chassis supports these line cards and modules:

Table 1. NCS 1014 supported line cards and modules

From release

PID

Description

7.11.1

NCS1K14-2.4T-K9

2.4T DWDM transponder card

NCS1K14-CCMD-16-C/L

16-port colorless multiplexer and demultiplexer optical line card.

NCS1K4-1.2T-K9

1.2T DWDM transponder card

24.1.1

NCS1K14-2.4T-X-K9

2.4T-X DWDM transponder and muxponder card

NCS1K4-QXP-K9

3.2T QXP transponder card

25.2.1

NCS1K4-2-QDD-C-K9

2-QDD-C C-band line card

26.1.1

NCS1K14-2.4T-A-K9

NCS1K14-2.4TAL-K9

2.4TA and 2.4TA-L DWDM transponder and muxponder card

26.3.1

NCS1K14-OXP2-K9

OXP2 high-density DWDM coherent coherent optics line card

1.2T line cards

A 1.2T DWDM line card is a transponder that

  • enables high-capacity optical transport for Cisco NCS 1014 chassis,

  • secures client-side data with AES256-based Layer-1 encryption, and

  • delivers flexible client and trunk configurations for 100GE and OTU4 traffic.

Key features

The NCS1K4-1.2T-K9 line card is a single-slot unit.

  • It provides 12 client ports for 100GE and OTU4 traffic and two trunks, which can be configured anywhere from 100G to 600G in 50G steps.

  • It supports C-band traffic.

2.4T line cards

A 2.4T line card is a coherent optics transponder and muxponder that

  • fits a single slot on the Cisco NCS 1014 chassis,

  • supports C-band traffic at trunk ports, and

  • delivers 400GE, 100GE, and OTU4 client traffic over two trunk ports operating at speeds from 400G to 1.2T each.

CCMD-16 line cards

The CCMD-16 optical line card is a type of optical line card designed for multiplexing and demultiplexing functions in an optical network.

  • It features two line ports to transmit and receive using the same LC connectors,

  • includes 16 ports for add/drop functionality with LC connector-based interfaces, and

  • is available in two variants: NCS1K14-CCMD-16-C (C-band) and NCS1K14-CCMD-16-L (L-band).

CCMD-16 optical line card variants and specifications

The CCMD-16 optical line card is available in two main variants, each supporting different wavelength bands:

  • NCS1K14-CCMD-16-C: This is a C-band, 16-port Colorless Direct attach optical line card with EDFA. It can host up to 16 channels and supports any signal distribution between 191250 and 196200 GHz, for example, a 64-channel grid with 75-GHz spacing.

  • NCS1K14-CCMD-16-L: This is an L-band, 16-port Colorless Direct attach optical line card with EDFA. It can host up to 16 channels and supports any signal distribution between 186025 and 191000 GHz, for example, a 64-channel grid with 75-GHz spacing.

2.4TX line cards

The 2.4TX line card (NCS1K14-2.4T-X-K9) is a coherent optics Transponder and Muxponder for the Cisco NCS 1014 chassis.

  • It is a single-slot card that supports C-band traffic at trunk ports,

  • delivers 400GE and 100GE client traffic over two trunk ports operating at speeds ranging from 400G to 1.2T each, and

  • operates in two configurable card modes: Muxponder mode and Muxponder Slice mode.

Table 2. Feature History

Feature Name

Release Information

Feature Description

NCS1K14-2.4T-X-K9 Line Card

 Cisco IOS XR Release 24.1.1

The new NCS1K14-2.4T-X-K9 line card is a single-slot Transponder and Muxponder card that delivers up to 1.2T C-band traffic at each trunk port. It has six QDD client ports that support 400GE and 4x100GE traffic on each port. This card provides two trunk ports that support 1.2T traffic on each port. The mxponder-slice and muxponder keywords in the hw-module command enable this card to operate in the following modes.

  • Muxponder slice mode:The card virtually splits into two slices in this mode. It is possible to configure both trunks to carry different data rates. The supported trunk rates are 400G, 500G, 600G, 800G, 1000G, and 1200G.

  • Muxponder mode:The card acts as one unit in this mode, configuring both trunks to the same data rate. The supported trunk rates are 600G and 1000G. Additionally, the capacity of a specific shared client port is consumed by two trunk ports.

2.4TX line card features and specifications

The card's operation modes are enabled using the mxponder-slice and muxponder keywords in the hw-module command:

  • Muxponder slice mode: The card virtually splits into two slices, allowing both trunks to carry different data rates. Supported trunk rates are 400G, 500G, 600G, 800G, 1000G, and 1200G.

  • Muxponder mode:The card acts as one unit, configuring both trunks to the same data rate. Supported trunk rates are 600G and 1000G. Additionally, the capacity of a specific shared client port is consumed by two trunk ports.

Note

In Release 24.1.1, the 2.4TX line card supports only 400G, 500G, 600G, 800G, 1000G, and 1200G trunk payloads.

The 2.4TX card supports various pluggable form factors and data rates for its client and trunk ports, as detailed in this table:

Table 3. Interfaces and data rates

Interfaces

Form factor

Ports

Data rates

Client

QSFP-DD56

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

400G

QSFP-DD112

2, 5

400, 800G

Trunk

Coherent Interface Module 8 (CIM8)

0, 7

up to 1.2T in each port
Note

In Release 24.1.1, ports 2 and 5 support only up to 400G data rates.

The 2.4TX card has two trunk ports and six client ports, as shown in the this figure:

Figure 1. 2.4TX Line card front view
This image displays the interfaces in the 2.4 terabytes per second line card.
Table 4. 2.4TX line card interfaces

Callout

Interface

1

Client port

2

Trunk port

This figure illustrates the mapping between the client and trunk ports:

Figure 2. 2.4TX card client and trunk mapping
This image displays the client-to-trunk port mapping on the 2.4 terabytes per second line card.
Table 5. Client-to-trunk port mapping

Trunk port

Client ports

0

1, 2, 3

7

4, 5, 6
Note
This client-to-trunk port mapping is only applicable for the mxponder-slice mode.

For more information about the 2.4TX card, refer to the datasheet.

2.4TA line cards

The Cisco NCS 1014 supports a 2.4TA (NCS1K14-2.4T-A-K9) line card or a 2.4TA-L (NCS1K14-2.4TAL-K9) line card from Release 26.1.1. It is a 2.4TA DWDM coherent optics transponder and muxponder single-slot line card that

  • supports up to 2.4 Tbps of payload using two pluggable CIM8 coherent sub-modules,

  • provides six QSFP-DD client ports for various Ethernet and OTN class payloads, and

  • operates on the Peta Linux operating system.

Table 6. Feature History

Feature Name

Release Information

Feature Description

NCS1K14-2.4T-A-K9 and NCS1K14-2.4TAL-K9 Line Card

 Cisco IOS Release 26.1.1

The NCS1K14-2.4T-A-K9 and NCS1K14-2.4TAL-K9 line cards are introduced as 2.4T DWDM coherent optics transponder and muxponder solutions for the NCS 1014 chassis, empowering service providers to deliver ultra-high-capacity transport services while maximizing fiber efficiency.

Key features of the 2.4TA line cards

  • QSFP-DD56 client ports: Three ports that support 100G, 200G, and 400G class payloads.

  • Coherent module trunk ports: Two ports that support CIM8 optics for up to 1.2 Tbps payload each.

  • Mate interface: A 200G (16x28G) interface.

  • Supported payloads: Ethernet (100GE and 400GE)

  • Encryption support: OTNSec encryption for all trunk rates.

  • Operational flexibility: Support for a mix of client and shared client port depending on the cross-section implementation.

  • Mapping support: Client-to-trunk mapping support.

QXP-K9 line cards

A QXP-K9 line card is a high-density QSFP-DD transponder card that

  • provides eight client ports (QSFP-DD) and eight trunk ports (QSFP-DD ZR+),

  • supports up to 3.2T traffic through its eight QSFP-DD trunk ports, and

  • operates each trunk port at speeds up to 400G in 50G increments.

QXP-K9 line card port capabilities

  • Client ports: Eight QSFP-DD client ports. Each client port supports 400GE, 4x100GE, and 100GE without FEC client rates.

  • Trunk ports: Eight QSFP-DD ZR+ trunk ports. Each trunk port operates at speeds up to 400G, configurable in 50G increments, contributing to the card's 3.2T total traffic capacity.

NCS1K4-2-QDD-C-K9 C-band line cards

The NCS1K4-2-QDD-C-K9 C-band line card is supported by the Cisco NCS 1014 from Release 25.2.1. It is a high-performance optical networking card that:

  • offers configurable client and trunk ports,

  • features eight client ports (QSFP28 and QSFP-DD) and two DWDM dual sub-channel module trunk ports, and

  • supports trunk port line rates of 200, 300, and 400 Gbps with fine control over modulation format, baud rate, and forward error correction (FEC).

Key features of the 2-QDD-C line cards

  • Client ports: supports up to eight 100GE or two 400GE client ports.

  • Trunk line rate: configurable between 200G and 400G in 100G increments.

  • Client-to-Trunk mapping: based on the type of configuration and the line rate.

  • Modulation format: supports QPSK, 8 QAM, 16 QAM, and hybrid modulation formats. Hybrid modulation formats can be configured with 1/128 bits/symbol granularity.

  • Forward Error Correction (FEC): soft Decision FEC 27% and Soft Decision FEC 15%.

  • Baud rate: configurable between 28 Gbd/s and 72 Gbd/s.

  • Frequency range: covers 191.25 to 196.1 THz with a default value of 193.1 THz.

  • Support optics for 400GE client ports: includes FR4 and AOC.

OXP2-K9 Line Card

An OXP2-K9 line card, corresponding to PIDs NCS1K14-OXP2-K9 and NCS1K14-OXP2-L-K9, is a double-slot, high-density DWDM coherent optics module designed for the NCS 1014 platform that

  • offers 16 OSFP client ports and 16 OSFP trunk ports with tunable line rates from 400 Gbps to 800 Gbps, supporting flexible modulation formats and baud rates,

  • provides one-to-one mapping between client and trunk ports, allowing ZR and ZR+ OSFP optical modules for versatile deployments, and

  • enables high-performance DWDM coherent optical transport and scalable connectivity options for advanced optical networks.

For further technical details, refer to the datasheet.

Key features

  • Compatible with the NCS 1014-2 chassis, which supports dual-width line cards.

  • Supports up to 16 slices, each with a dedicated client and trunk port.

  • Client ports support 800 Gbps class payloads.

  • Trunk ports support tunable line rates from 400 Gbps to 800 Gbps and flexible modulation formats.

  • Enables high-density connectivity and enhanced spectral efficiency for demanding network architectures.

Figure 3. Front View of the OXP2-K9 card

1

Trunk ports

2

Client ports
Table 7. OXP2-K9 line card interfaces

Interfaces

Form Factor

Ports

Client

OSFP

1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, 19, 21, 23, 25, 27, 29, 31 (all ports in the bottom row)

Trunk

OSFP

0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24, 26, 28, 30 (all ports in the upper row)