Cisco SPA-4XOC3-ATM Full Official Product Description

1. Product Overview

Official Full Name & SKU

SKU Breakdown

1. SPA: Shared Port Adapter, Cisco I-Flex modular expansion architecture
2. 4XOC3: 4 independent OC-3c / STM-1c physical optical ports
3. ATM: Dedicated clear-channel ATM transport hardware, non-channelized design
4. Standard spare suffix:SPA-4XOC3-ATM=for standalone factory-new spare modules

Supported Router & Switch Platform Compatibility

1. Cisco Catalyst 6500 Series Multilayer Switches (SIP-400 / SIP-600)
2. Cisco 7600 Series Service Provider Edge Routers
3. Cisco XR 12000 Series Internet Backbone Routers
4. Cisco CRS Series Carrier Routing Systems
5. Cisco ASR 1000 Series Aggregation Services Routers

• IOS: 12.2(18)SXE and later for Catalyst 6500 / 7600 platformsCisco
• IOS-XR: 3.4.1 and later for CRS / XR 12000 series routers

Key Deployment Restrictions

1. Single-height form factor: Occupies one single-height subslot on any compatible SIP card; multiple SPA-4XOC3-ATM modules can be populated on one SIP for high-density OC-3 ATM aggregation.
2. Clear-channel only design: Does not support channelized OC-3 tributary splitting (T1/E1/DS0 subrate multiplexing); channelized OC-3 ATM deployments require SPA-1CHOC3-CE-ATM variants.
3. SFP compatibility lock: Only Cisco-certified OC-3 SFP transceivers (MM, SR, IR-1, LR-1, LR-2) are supported; unqualified third-party SFPs cause link flapping, SONET alarm misreporting, and initialization failuresCisco.
4. Bandwidth oversubscription note: Four OC-3 ports deliver total aggregate 622.08 Mbps line rate; the SPA shares SIP backplane fabric bandwidth, and full four-port simultaneous line-rate traffic is fully supported without packet cell loss.

Standard Factory Package Contents

1. SPA-4XOC3-ATM single-height 4-port OC-3 ATM Shared Port Adapter main PCB module
2. ESD anti-static protective storage bag and shock-absorbent OEM foam packaging
3. Hardware installation quick-start guide covering ESD protection, OIR hot-swap procedures, SFP installation, and IOS/IOS-XR ATM/SONET configuration command references
4. Global regulatory compliance documentation packet (electrical safety, EMC, laser safety, NEBS certification)

2. Core Hardware & Functional Capabilities

Four Independent OC-3c / STM-1c Optical ATM Interfaces

Per-Port SONET/SDH Physical Layer Features

• Software-selectable framing: STS-3c SONET or STM-1c SDH framing
• Standard ANSI/ITU-T payload scrambling enabled by default
• Complete SONET overhead byte processing: B1/B2/B3 parity error counting, J1 path trace, C2 payload label, FEAC far-end alarm control maintenance channel
• Independent per-port clock domain: Internal free-running clock or network loop timing (configurable per port)
• Full real-time SONET alarm detection & logging: LOS, LOF, LAIS, PAIS, LRDI, PRDI, LOP, BER TCA threshold crossing alarms
• Built-in diagnostic loopback modes: Local SPA loopback, line-side SONET network loopback, ATM cell loopback
• Supported SFP optical reach options: Multimode MM, Short Reach SR, Intermediate Reach IR-1, Long Reach LR-1 / LR-2 with LC duplex fiber connectorsCisco

ATM Layer Transport & Encapsulation Support

1. ATM Service Class QoS support: CBR, VBR-rt, VBR-nrt, UBR, UBR+ with minimum cell rate guarantees
2. Per-VC / Per-VP independent traffic shaping, policing, CIR/EIR bandwidth metering, and CoS marking
3. AAL5 segmentation/reassembly for IP, Frame Relay, and Ethernet payloads (RFC 1483 / RFC 2684 LLC/SNAP and VC-mux encapsulation)
4. Frame Relay to ATM Service Interworking (FR-ATM IWF) for legacy leased line convergence
5. MPLS over ATM (MPoATM), L3VPN, 6PE/6vPE, MPLS Traffic Engineering and FRR Fast Reroute
6. Virtual connection scaling: Supports up to 8191 simultaneous PVC, SVC, and Soft VC connections across four portsCisco

Full Line-Rate Hardware Offloading

• SONET section/line/path overhead processing, parity error calculation, scrambling/descrambling
• AAL5 ATM cell segmentation and reassembly of variable-length IP packets
• Per-VC hierarchical QoS queuing, traffic shaping, and policing
• MPLS label stack insertion/stripping, IPv4/IPv6 routing lookup, ACL packet filtering
• MAC address accounting and ingress/egress traffic metering

Zero-Disruption Online Insertion and Removal (OIR) Hot-Swap Maintenance

Unified IOS / IOS-XR CLI & SNMP Management

Front Panel LED Status Indicators

1. Global SPA STATUS LED
   • Off: No power or hardware power fault
   • Solid Amber: Boot initialization, firmware download, minor hardware fault
   • Solid Green: Fully initialized, all ports operational
   • Blinking Green: Post-OIR or chassis boot hardware initialization
2. Per-Port C/A (Carrier/Alarm) LED (4 individual port indicators)
   • Off: No SFP installed, port administratively down, LOS signal loss
   • Solid Amber: Optical link present but active SONET/ATM alarm detected
   • Solid Green: Stable error-free OC-3 optical carrier, no active alarms
3. Per-Port A/L (Active/Loopback) LED (4 individual port indicators)
   • Off: No traffic transmission/reception, no loopback enabled
   • Solid Green: Normal active port operation
   • Solid Amber: Diagnostic loopback mode activated
   • Blinking Green: Bidirectional ATM cell/IP packet traffic passing through the port; blink frequency proportional to traffic load

3. Hardware Electrical, Thermal & Physical Specifications

Power Consumption

• Typical idle power draw (no SFPs installed, zero traffic): ~24.8 Watts
• Medium-load power draw (4 OC-3 SFPs installed, moderate mixed voice/data traffic): ~27 Watts
• Maximum full-load peak power dissipation (four ports running full OC-3 line-rate traffic): ≤30 Watts
• Power input: 3.3V DC supplied exclusively via the SIP backplane connector; no external auxiliary power ports

Environmental Operating Parameters

• Continuous operating temperature range: 5°C ~ 40°C (41°F ~ 104°F) standard datacenter / central office environment
• Short-term extended operating range: -5°C ~ 70°C (23°F ~ 158°F) temporary operation
• Non-operating storage temperature: -40°C ~ 70°C (-40°F ~ 150°F)
• Operating relative humidity: 5% ~ 85% RH, non-condensing
• Storage relative humidity: 5% ~ 95% RH, non-condensing
• Operating altitude: -60m ~ 2,000m standard certified range; extended validated altitude up to 4,000m
• Cooling architecture: Passive convection cooling with integrated stamped aluminum heatsink, no onboard cooling fans; chassis forced airflow provides thermal dissipation under full traffic load
• NEBS compliance: Meets GR-63-Core and GR-1089-Core NEBS environmental and surge immunity standards for permanent carrier central office deployment

Physical Form Factor & Weight

• Form factor: Single-height Shared Port Adapter (SPA), occupies one single-height SIP subslot
• External dimensions (Width × Depth × Height): 171.5mm × 184.9mm × 39.6mm
• Net module weight (excluding SFPs, fiber cables, packaging): Approximately 0.576 kg (1.27 lbs)

4. Regulatory & Global Compliance Certifications

1. Electrical Safety Standards: UL 60950-1, CSA C22.2 No.60950-1, IEC 60950 CB Scheme, EN 60950-1, AS/NZS 3260, TS001, GB 4943 China national IT equipment safety standard
2. EMC / EMI Electromagnetic Compatibility: FCC CFR Title 47 Part 15 Class A, ICES-003 Class A, VCCI Class A ITE, EN55022 Class A, CISPR 22 Class A, CISPR 24, full EN 61000 series ESD, surge, radiated immunity compliance
3. Optical Laser Safety: IEC 60825-1 Class 1 laser certification for all OC-3 SFP optical ports
4. Telecommunications Industry Standards: ANSI T1.105 SONET OC-3, ITU-T G.703 / G.707 SDH STM-1, ATM Forum UNI 3.1/4.0, RFC 1483, RFC 2684, RFC 2558 SONET MIB
5. Environmental Directives: Full EU RoHS Restriction of Hazardous Substances compliance, EU WEEE Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment recycling directive compliant

5. Core Deployment Advantages

1. High-Density Modular I-Flex Architecture Optimizes Slot Utilization

   The single-height four-port OC-3 ATM SPA delivers quadruple OC-3 port density in one SIP subslot, maximizing chassis port capacity without consuming multiple valuable router slots. The interchangeable I-Flex SPA design enables unified spare parts inventory across Catalyst 6500, 7600, CRS, XR 12000, and ASR 1000 platforms, drastically reducing long-term operational spare stock costs for multi-site service provider networks.
2. Full Hardware ATM Offloading Eliminates Route Processor CPU Overload

   All ATM SAR cell processing, SONET overhead handling, QoS traffic shaping, and MPLS forwarding are fully offloaded to dedicated SPA onboard silicon. This preserves critical host CPU resources for core control-plane functions (BGP, OSPF, IS-IS routing adjacencies, device management, logging), preventing routing protocol flapping, excessive packet latency, and customer ATM service outages during peak full-line-rate traffic conditions.
3. Non-Disruptive OIR Hot-Swap Minimizes Network Downtime

   Built-in full OIR hot-swap capability allows field technicians to replace faulty SPA modules without shutting down the router chassis or interrupting traffic on other active SPA ports hosted on the same SIP carrier card. This eliminates lengthy planned maintenance windows for mission-critical ATM voice trunk and data aggregation networks, improving overall network service availability and reducing NOC maintenance labor overhead.
4. Comprehensive Carrier-Grade Converged Voice & Data Feature Suite

   The SPA integrates a complete enterprise and service provider-grade feature set fully implemented in hardware acceleration, supporting end-to-end convergence of VoIP voice, video, and IP data services over legacy ATM transport infrastructure. Native support for five standard ATM QoS service classes, per-VC granular bandwidth policing, Frame Relay ATM interworking, and MPLS VPN technology enables operators to migrate legacy leased-line customer services onto modern IP/MPLS core networks while retaining existing ATM access trunk infrastructure, delivering significant capital and operational cost savings.
5. Fanless Passive Thermal Design Delivers Superior Long-Term Hardware Reliability

   The SPA utilizes a fully passive fanless aluminum heatsink thermal dissipation architecture with no moving mechanical fan components. This eliminates all common hardware failure vectors related to fan motor wear, dust accumulation, airflow blockages, and fan power supply faults, enabling stable 24/7 unattended continuous operation in remote unmanned central office equipment closets, regional aggregation router sites, and service provider POP locations with minimal long-term on-site maintenance requirements. Low idle and peak power consumption reduces overall router chassis power draw and datacenter cooling energy expenditure over multi-year hardware service lifecycles, lowering total cost of ownership (TCO) for large-scale distributed multi-site carrier ATM network deployments.

Supplementary Product Notes

UNSPSC Classification Code

K9 Secure Software Compliance

Standard Hardware Warranty Terms