Full English Description for Cisco 7204

1. Official Short Order Description (Datasheet Standard Format)

Cisco 7204: Cisco 7200 Series Legacy 3RU Modular Mid-Range Multi-Service Edge Router, original non-VXR 4-port-adapter slot chassis with legacy 600 Mbps aggregate PCI midplane, supports NPE-100/NPE-150/NPE-200 Network Processing Engines, one integrated I/O Controller with Console/Aux serial ports, up to four hot-swappable Port Adapter (PA) slots for LAN/WAN multi-media interfaces, dual optional load-sharing hot-swappable 280W AC/DC redundant power supplies and integrated fixed fan tray, runs Cisco IOS 12.x enterprise software suite, delivers MPLS PE aggregation, IPsec VPN, TDM voice gateway, QoS traffic shaping and multi-protocol routing, designed for legacy enterprise branch aggregation, small ISP POP edge, legacy ATM/Frame Relay WAN convergence and voice-over-IP migration deployments (EOL / End-of-Support platform).

2. Complete Detailed Product Overview

Product Line Positioning

The Cisco 7204 is the original baseline 4-slot modular chassis within Cisco’s classic 7200 Series router family, released prior to the upgraded 7204VXR variant. It is a 3RU rack-mount multi-service edge router targeted at small service providers and mid-sized enterprises for mixed voice, data and legacy WAN convergence. Distinguished from the later VXR model by a lower-bandwidth legacy midplane limited to NPE-100/150/200 processing engines, it offers flexible modular port adapter expansion for diverse LAN, T1/E1, ATM, Frame Relay and serial WAN interfaces. Though long end-of-life, it was widely deployed as MPLS provider edge routers, VoIP gateways and remote site aggregation gateways before being replaced by 7204VXR, ISR and ASR series platformsCisco.

Core Modular FRU Hardware Architecture

Single Non-Hot-Swappable Network Processing Engine (NPE) Slot

Rear-mounted NPE slot supporting only legacy low-to-mid performance processing engines: NPE-100, NPE-150, NPE-200. The NPE cannot be replaced online; full chassis power-down is required for removal or upgrade. Each NPE integrates MIPS RISC processor, system DRAM and boot flash storage, handling all routing, switching, security and voice service processing.

Midplane architecture: Dual primary 32-bit 50MHz PCI buses plus one secondary PCI bus, total aggregate bandwidth capped at 600 Mbps (far lower than 1.2–1.8 Gbps on 7204VXR).

Four Hot-Swap Port Adapter (PA) Front Slots (OIR Supported)

Four independent front-facing PA bays with Online Insertion and Removal capability for in-service interface card replacement without chassis power loss. Compatible with all standard 7200 Series port adapters for mixed media convergence:

LAN PAs: 10/100 Fast Ethernet, Gigabit Ethernet, Ethernet Switch PA modules
Serial WAN PAs: HSSI, Serial T1/E1, Multi-channel T3/E3, ISDN PRI/BRI
Optical/ATM PAs: OC-3 ATM, Packet over SONET, Frame Relay DSU integrated modules

All empty slots must be fitted with blank filler panels for proper airflow and EMI compliance.

Integrated I/O Controller (Fixed Front Module)

Permanent built-in I/O controller occupying the front left chassis position, provides essential out-of-band management ports:

RJ45 Console port (RS232) for local CLI configuration via terminal/PC
RJ45 Auxiliary port for external dial-up modem remote access
Single 10 Mbps MII Ethernet management port (select I/O versions add secondary RJ45 Fast Ethernet)

No separate I/O controller FRU upgrades available on original 7204 chassis.

Fixed Integrated Fan Tray & Power Bay Layout

Single non-hot-swappable internal fan tray providing side-to-side cooling airflow; chassis power must cycle for fan replacement.
Dual rear power supply bays supporting identical 280W AC (100–240VAC) or 370W DC (-48VDC) power supplies: single supply runs the router standalone, dual supplies enable load-sharing redundant power protection. Mixed AC/DC power units are unsupported.

Processor, Memory & Storage

NPE Processing Engine Hardware Limits
- NPE-100: 100MHz MIPS, max 128MB DRAM
- NPE-150: 150MHz MIPS, max 256MB DRAM
- NPE-200: 200MHz MIPS, max 512MB DRAM
  
  All NPEs include onboard boot flash for IOS image storage; optional PCMCIA flash memory slots provide external image/log storage expansion.
Storage Options
- Onboard internal flash: 16MB default, upgradable via PCMCIA Type II flash cards up to 128MB for IOS binaries, configuration archives and logging.
- No Compact Flash or SSD support (feature exclusive to later VXR NPE-G1/G2 engines).

Power, Mechanical & Environmental Specifications

Form Factor: Standard 3RU 19-inch four-post rack-mount chassis
Physical Dimensions: 13.34cm H × 42.67cm W × 43.18cm D (5.25 × 16.8 × 17 inches)
Full Load Weight: ~22.7kg (50 lbs) with dual power supplies, full PA slot population and NPE installed
AC Power Spec: 100–240 VAC wide input, 50/60Hz, max 5A draw, 280W single supply output
DC Power Spec: -24V to -60VDC telecom input, max 13A draw at -48VDC, 370W single supply output
Operating Temperature: 0°C ~ +40°C indoor data center / central office environment
Storage Temperature: -40°C ~ +70°C
Humidity: 10%–90% RH non-condensing
Compliance: FCC Class A, CE, UL safety standards for telecom enterprise equipment

Official Performance Benchmarks

Max packet forwarding rate: Up to 300 kpps with top-tier NPE-200 engine
Total midplane aggregate bandwidth: 600 Mbps full-duplex shared across four PA slots
Max concurrent IPsec VPN tunnels: ~1,000 (hardware VPN acceleration PA optional)
Supported simultaneous TDM voice pseudowires / VoIP calls: Up to 192 with voice PA modules
Full hardware offload support: Frame Relay, ATM PVC scheduling, basic MPLS label switching, L2TP tunneling, hierarchical MQC QoS.

Software & Core Supported Capabilities (Cisco IOS 12.x Mainline / T Train)

Multi-Protocol Routing Suite

IPv4/IPv6 dual-stack forwarding, RIP, EIGRP, OSPF, IS-IS, BGP-4, static routing, VRRP gateway redundancy, MPLS L3VPN and L2VPN (VPLS) service provider edge functionality.
Legacy WAN Convergence Stack

Native Frame Relay, ATM, HDLC, PPP, MLPPP, ISDN, TDM over IP pseudowires for migration of legacy circuit-switched voice and data networks.
Integrated Voice-over-IP Gateway Features

T1/E1 PRI voice trunking, H.323, SIP, MGCP call control, dial plan routing, voice QoS prioritization for enterprise PBX and carrier voice aggregation.
Carrier-Grade Security Suite

IPsec DES/3DES/AES VPN tunnel encryption, access control lists (ACL), zone-based firewall, AAA RADIUS/TACACS+, SSH encrypted remote management, anti-spoofing uRPF filtering.
Hierarchical QoS & Traffic Visibility

MQC modular QoS classification, traffic policing/shaping, LLQ low-latency queuing for voice/video, IP SLA performance monitoring, NetFlow v5 traffic analytics for bandwidth planning.
Network Management & Automation

SNMP v1/v2c/v3, Cisco IOS CLI scripting, TFTP configuration backup, CiscoWorks management integration, zero-touch auto-install via DHCP.

Typical Deployment Scenarios (Legacy Use Cases)

Small independent service provider POP MPLS PE aggregation routers, mid-sized enterprise headquarters multi-WAN convergence gateways, legacy ATM/Frame Relay voice-over-IP trunk gateways, remote regional branch aggregation nodes with mixed T1/E1 and Ethernet access, low-density broadband access concentrators for small cable/DSL operators, backup core edge routers for legacy telecom infrastructure upgrade migration projects.

Note: This platform reached End-of-Sale in 2012 and End-of-Support in 2017; no official Cisco bug fixes, security patches or hardware replacement parts are available today.

3. E-commerce Short Marketing Description

Cisco 7204 Legacy 3RU Modular Multi-Service Edge Router, original 4-slot non-VXR chassis with 600 Mbps PCI midplane, supports NPE-100/150/200 network processing engines, four OIR hot-swappable port adapter slots for LAN/ATM/T1/E1 serial WAN interfaces, integrated I/O controller with Console/Aux serial management ports, dual optional 280W AC/DC load-sharing redundant power supplies, runs Cisco IOS 12.x multi-service software with MPLS PE, IPsec VPN, VoIP gateway and hierarchical QoS, legacy EOL platform for small ISP POP and enterprise mixed voice/data WAN convergence deployments.

4. Product Catalog Keyword Tags

Cisco, 7204, Cisco 7200 Series, Legacy 3RU Modular Multi-Service Edge Router, Original Non-VXR 4-Slot Chassis, 600 Mbps Aggregate PCI Midplane, NPE-100/NPE-150/NPE-200 Network Processing Engines, Four OIR Hot-Swap Port Adapter Slots, Integrated I/O Controller with Console/Aux Ports, Dual Redundant AC/DC 280W Power Supplies, Fixed Integrated Fan Tray, Cisco IOS 12.x Software, MPLS Provider Edge Router, ATM/Frame Relay WAN Convergence, VoIP TDM Voice Gateway, IPsec VPN Security, Enterprise Branch Aggregation, Small ISP POP Edge Router, End-of-Sale / End-of-Support Legacy Platform

Naming Rule Explanation

7200 = Cisco’s classic modular multi-service edge router series for enterprise and small service provider markets
7204 = Base 4-port-adapter-slot 3RU chassis (original non-VXR generation, limited to low-bandwidth legacy NPE engines, distinct from upgraded higher-performance 7204VXR variant)
No VXR suffix = Identifies the original low-bandwidth legacy midplane architecture without high-speed PCI bus upgrades and incompatible with modern NPE-G1/G2 processing engines


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