Cisco Multichannel Port Adapter

Multichannel networking provides the flexibility to connect a central site via leased lines or Frame Relay to many remote sites with a wide range of speed requirements, all over a single interface. Instead of requiring multiple, central site router ports and external DSU/CSUs for each remote site leased-line or Frame Relay access line, multichannel networking enables enterprise networks to use the service provider infrastructure to combine multiple lines into a single connection. “Multichannel” refers to the ability to support individual DS0 (64 kbps) channels, as well as T1/E1 circuits or combinations of both. The multichannel port adapters for the Cisco 7500 and 7200 reduce equipment costs and management complexity, shrink required rack space, simplify sparing, and enable users to better manage WAN costs. They eliminate the requirement for external DSU/CSUs to convert leased lines into serial interfaces, and require far fewer router ports than traditional solutions.

The following table displays Cisco’s family of multichannel port adapters.