Full English Description for Cisco 7603

1. Official Short Order Description (Datasheet Standard Format)

Cisco 7603: Cisco 7600 Series Original 4RU Compact 3-Slot Modular Service Provider Edge Router, non-S variant baseline chassis with fixed 32 Gbps shared backplane, single or dual redundant Supervisor Engine slots (SUP2/SUP32 only, incompatible with SUP720), two horizontal line card slots supporting OSM optical transport modules, FlexWAN, SIP/SPA interface processors, dual optional hot-swappable AC/-48VDC redundant power supplies and single hot-swappable fan tray, runs Cisco IOS 12.2S / 15S service provider software. This EOL/EOS platform delivers MPLS L3VPN/L2VPN PE aggregation, ATM/SONET legacy WAN convergence, hardware QoS, ACL security, broadband access aggregation and metro Ethernet edge services for small ISP POP, enterprise metro core and legacy optical transport migration deployments. Distributed switching is not supported on the original 7603 chassis.

2. Complete Detailed Product Overview

Product Line Positioning

The Cisco 7603 is the baseline compact 3-slot 4RU modular chassis of the classic Cisco 7600 Series multi-service edge router family, separate from the enhanced higher-capacity 7603-S variant. It is designed for space-constrained central office and colocation environments targeting small/mid-tier service providers and large enterprises, combining Layer 3 routing, optical WAN termination and IP service processing in a compact rack footprint. Unlike larger 7606/7609/7613 and the updated 7603-S, the original 7603 uses a limited 32 Gbps shared backplane without dedicated distributed fabric modules, restricting supervisor compatibility to SUP2 and SUP32 only, and lacks support for SUP720 high-performance supervisors. It was widely deployed as MPLS provider edge routers, optical ATM/POS aggregation gateways and DSL broadband concentrators before reaching End-of-Sale and End-of-Support, superseded by 7603-S, ASR 1000 and ASR 9000 carrier platforms.

Modular FRU Slot Architecture (Core Hardware Constraints vs 7603-S)

Dual Supervisor Engine Slots (1+1 Redundancy Optional)

Two rear hot-swappable supervisor bays supporting SUP2 or SUP32 supervisors only; SUP720/SUP720XL are not hardware compatible with baseline 7603 backplane:

SUP2: Equipped with PFC2 policy feature card and MSFC2 multilayer forwarding processor, centralized switching throughput up to 15 Mpps
SUP32: Integrated 8×1GE or 2×10GE uplink ports, upgraded forwarding capacity, onboard crypto for IPsec VPN acceleration

Supports SSO, NSF and hitless ISSU zero-downtime software upgrades when dual supervisors are deployed. All packet switching and policy decisions run on the centralized supervisor complex; distributed per-line-card switching is unavailable on original 7603.

Two Horizontal Hot-Swap Line Card Slots (OIR Supported)

Two front-facing OIR-capable line card slots for mixed-media LAN/WAN convergence, fully compatible with legacy 7600 interface modules:

Optical Service Modules (OSM): OC-3, OC-12, OC-48 POS/ATM optical trunk line cards for long-haul carrier transport
FlexWAN Modules: Reuse Cisco 7200-series port adapters for T1/E1, T3/E3 serial, ATM and Frame Relay WAN access
SPA Interface Processors (SIP-200/400): Host SPA pluggable Gigabit/10GE copper/fiber uplinks for metro Ethernet aggregation
Service Modules: Network Analysis Module (NAM) for traffic monitoring, VPN acceleration modules

Unused slots must be covered with blank filler panels to maintain airflow and EMI compliance. Each line card integrates patented PXF packet processors for hardware-offloaded QoS, ACL and MPLS services at line rate.

Integrated Fixed Management I/O on Supervisor

All out-of-band management ports reside on the supervisor engine:

RJ45 RS232 Console port for local CLI terminal access
RJ45 Auxiliary port for dial-up modem remote maintenance
Out-of-band Fast Ethernet management port for redundant remote monitoring
PCMCIA flash card slots for IOS image storage, configuration archives and logging

Hot-Swap Cooling & Redundant Power Subsystem

Single hot-swappable FAN-MOD-3 fan tray with front-to-back airflow; optional high-speed FAN-MOD-3HS for elevated ambient temperature environments
Dual rear power supply bays supporting interchangeable 950W / 1400W AC (100–240VAC) or -48VDC telecom DC power units; single supply standalone operation, dual supplies enable N+1 load-sharing redundant power protection; mixed AC/DC power modules are unsupported.

Processor, Memory & Storage

Supervisor Memory Scaling
- SUP2: Base 256MB DRAM, max 512MB DRAM; 128MB boot flash
- SUP32: Base 512MB DRAM, upgradable to 1GB DRAM; 256MB boot flash
  
  All supervisors support PCMCIA Type II flash cards for expanded storage of IOS binaries and logs. No Compact Flash native support on SUP2/SUP32.
Storage Media
- Onboard boot flash on supervisor for bootstrap firmware
- PCMCIA flash card slots for storing full IOS images, running-config and system logs

Power, Mechanical & Environmental Specifications

Form Factor: Standard 4RU 19-inch four-post rack-mount chassis
Physical Dimensions: 17.78cm H × 44.12cm W × 55.25cm D (7 × 17.37 × 21.75 inches)
Full-load weight: ~37.65kg (83 lbs) with dual supervisors, two line cards and dual power supplies installed
AC Power Input: 100–240 VAC wide range, 50/60Hz, max 1400W single supply output
DC Power Input: -48VDC telecom standard, -24V ~ -60V wide input range, max 950W single supply output
Operating Temperature: 0°C ~ +40°C indoor central office / data center environment
Storage Temperature: -40°C ~ +70°C
Humidity: 10%–90% RH non-condensing
Compliance: FCC Class A, CE, UL telecom safety, basic NEBS environmental standards

Official Performance Benchmarks

Shared backplane total bandwidth: Fixed 32 Gbps full-duplex (no dedicated fabric cards)
Centralized packet forwarding rate: Max 15 Mpps with SUP2 supervisor; up to 30 Mpps with SUP32
Hardware-offloaded concurrent IPsec VPN tunnels: Thousands with SUP32 integrated crypto
Maximum simultaneous ATM/Frame Relay PVCs: Up to 16,000 with fully populated OSM/FlexWAN modules
Native hardware offload capabilities: Layer 2 switching, MPLS label switching, CBWFQ/LLQ hierarchical QoS, WRED traffic shaping, ACL security filtering, uRPF anti-spoofing

Software & Core Supported Capabilities (Cisco IOS 12.2S / 15S Service Provider Train)

Full Multi-Protocol Routing Suite

IPv4/IPv6 dual-stack forwarding, RIP, EIGRP, OSPF, IS-IS, BGP-4, VRRP/HSRP gateway redundancy, complete MPLS stack including L3VPN, VPLS, EoMPLS for service provider PE deployments.
Legacy Optical WAN Convergence Stack

Native POS/ATM SONET/SDH, Frame Relay, HDLC, PPP/MLPPP, TDM over IP pseudowires for migrating legacy circuit-switched carrier transport infrastructure.
Broadband Access Aggregation Functions

DSL/cable BRAS subscriber termination, PPPoE, PPPoA, large-scale CGNAT, subscriber QoS scheduling and traffic policing.
Integrated Carrier-Grade Security Suite

Hardware-accelerated IPsec DES/3DES/AES encryption, stateful multi-layer ACL filtering, zone-based firewall, AAA RADIUS/TACACS+, SSH encrypted remote management, secure boot for supervisors.
Hierarchical QoS & Traffic Analytics

Class-Based Weighted Fair Queuing (CBWFQ), Low Latency Queuing (LLQ) for voice/video, WRED congestion avoidance, IP SLA performance monitoring, NetFlow v5/v9 traffic collection for bandwidth planning and subscriber billing.
Network Management & Automation

SNMP v1/v2c/v3, IOS CLI scripting, DHCP auto-install zero-touch deployment, TFTP configuration backup, full compatibility with CiscoWorks centralized network management platform.

Typical Deployment Scenarios

Small independent service provider POP MPLS provider edge aggregation routers, medium enterprise metro core multi-WAN convergence gateways, compact optical ATM/POS trunk aggregation nodes, low-density DSL broadband BRAS concentrators, legacy SONET/Frame Relay network migration edge routers, colocation rack-dense edge devices for telecom infrastructure upgrade projects.

Critical Note: The original Cisco 7603 reached End-of-Sale and End-of-Support; Cisco no longer provides official security patches, bug fixes, TAC technical support or genuine spare hardware replacement parts. It is distinct from the upgraded higher-performance 7603-S chassis with expanded backplane and SUP720 supervisor compatibility.

3. E-commerce Short Marketing Description

Cisco 7603 Original 4RU Compact 3-Slot Modular Service Provider Edge Router, baseline 32 Gbps shared backplane (no distributed fabric), supports SUP2/SUP32 redundant supervisors only, two OIR hot-swappable line card slots for OSM optical, FlexWAN and SPA SIP interface modules, dual optional AC/-48VDC load-sharing redundant power supplies and single OIR hot-swap fan tray, runs Cisco IOS 12.2S/15S service provider software supporting MPLS PE, ATM/POS optical convergence, hardware QoS and broadband BRAS aggregation, legacy EOL platform for small ISP POP and compact metro edge optical transport deployments.

4. Product Catalog Keyword Tags

Cisco, 7603, Cisco 7600 Series, Original 4RU 3-Slot Modular Service Provider Edge Router, Fixed 32 Gbps Shared Backplane, SUP2/SUP32 Supervisor Only Compatibility, Two OIR Hot-Swap Line Card Slots, OSM Optical / FlexWAN / SIP-SPA Interface Support, Dual Redundant AC/DC Hot-Swap Power Supplies, Single OIR Hot-Swap Fan Tray, Centralized Switching Architecture (No Distributed Fabric), Cisco IOS 12.2S / 15S Software, MPLS Provider Edge Router, ATM/POS SONET Optical Convergence, DSL Broadband BRAS Aggregation, Compact Metro Edge Aggregation, Small ISP POP Edge Router, End-of-Sale / End-of-Support Legacy Platform

Naming Rule Explanation

7600: Cisco classic modular multi-service carrier edge router series combining Layer 3 routing and optical WAN termination
7603: Baseline compact 4RU three-slot chassis form factor
No "-S" suffix: Identifies original low-bandwidth shared backplane chassis limited to SUP2/SUP32 supervisors, lacking support for SUP720 distributed fabric and higher throughput of the upgraded 7603-S variant; distributed per-slot switching is not available on the original 7603


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