Cisco SPA-IPSEC-2G Full Official Product Description

1. Product Overview & SKU Definition

Official Full Name

SKU Breakdown

1. SPA: Shared Port Adapter, Cisco I-Flex modular service card architecture
2. IPSEC: Hardware dedicated to IPSec VPN encryption, authentication and tunnel processing
3. 2G: Maximum hardware VPN throughput up to2 Gbpsbidirectional
4. SuffixSPA-IPSEC-2G=：Factory-new spare part SKU for replacement deployments

Core Positioning

Supported Hardware Platforms

• Primary compatible chassis: Cisco Catalyst 6500 Series Multilayer Switches, Cisco 7600 Series Edge Service Routers
• Carrier card requirement: SIP-400 or SIP-600 SPA Interface Processor
• Version differentiation note: SPA-IPSEC-2G only works on 6500/7600; XR 12000 Series uses separate variant SPA-IPSEC-2G-2, cross-installation will cause hardware rail damageCisco.

Minimum IOS Software Requirements

• Cisco IOS for Catalyst 6500 / 7600: Release 12.2(18)SXE and later mainstream S train releases
• End-of-Sale Reminder: SPA-IPSEC-2G has reached Cisco EoS/EoL status; IOS 15.4(1)S and newer versions no longer fully initialize this module at bootupCisco.

Standard Factory Packaging Contents

1. SPA-IPSEC-2G single-height IPSec VPN SPA main circuit board module
2. ESD anti-static shielding bag and shock-absorbing OEM foam protective packaging
3. Hardware installation quick reference guide: ESD handling rules, OIR hot-swap operation steps, basic IOS IPSec configuration template
4. Global regulatory compliance document packet (electrical safety, EMC, NEBS Class 3, RoHS certification)

2. Core Hardware & Functional Capabilities

Key Performance Index

• Maximum hardware-accelerated IPSec throughput: 2 Gbps full-duplex
• Supports thousands of concurrent IPSec VPN tunnels (site-to-site + remote user tunnels)
• Hardware offload eliminates route processor CPU consumption during peak VPN traffic loads

Supported Security Encryption & Authentication Algorithms (Hardware Accelerated)

Encryption Ciphers

• DES (56-bit CBC mode)
• 3DES (168-bit triple CBC encryption)
• AES 128-bit, AES 192-bit, AES 256-bit (hardware native acceleration for AES-128)Cisco

Integrity & Authentication Hash Algorithms

• MD5 message digest
• SHA-1 secure hash algorithm
• IKE authentication methods: Pre-shared keys, X.509 digital certificates, RSA signature authentication

Full IPSec & Tunneling Protocol Support

1. IPSec Standards Compliance: Full RFC 2401–2411, RFC 2451 IPSec/IKE v1 specification support
2. Tunnel Modes: IPSec Tunnel Mode (primary for site-to-site VPN), IPSec Transport Mode
3. Encapsulation Combinations: IPSec-protected GRE tunnels, IPSec-protected L2TP tunnels
4. Dual Protocol Stack: Native IPv4 + IPv6 IPSec VPN tunnel support
5. Optional Hardware IPPCP LZS lossless traffic compression for VPN payloadsCisco

Zero-Disruption OIR Hot-Swap Maintenance

Unified CLI & SNMP Network Management

Front Panel LED Status Indicator

1. LED Off: No power supplied to the SPA module or critical hardware fault detected
2. Solid Amber: SPA executing boot firmware initialization or minor operational warning state
3. Solid Green: SPA fully initialized, hardware VPN acceleration active and ready for tunnel traffic
4. Blinking Green: SPA undergoing OIR insertion initialization sequence post hot-swap installation

3. Electrical, Thermal & Physical Specifications

Power Consumption

• Idle power draw (no active VPN tunnels): ~21 Watts
• Medium load power draw (hundreds of concurrent tunnels, moderate traffic): ~24 Watts
• Full peak load power dissipation (2Gbps maximum IPSec throughput): ≤27 Watts
• Power input: 3.3V DC power delivered exclusively via SIP backplane connector; no external auxiliary power ports required

Environmental Operating Parameters

• Continuous standard operating temperature range (datacenter/central office): 5°C ~ 40°C (41°F ~ 104°F)
• Short-term extended operating temperature range (temporary non-standard environment): -5°C ~ 45°C (23°F ~ 113°F)
• Non-operating storage temperature range (inventory transit/spare storage): -40°C ~ 70°C (-40°F ~ 158°F)
• Relative humidity: Operating 5%–85% RH non-condensing; Storage 5%–95% RH non-condensing
• Certified operating altitude: -60m ~ 2000m above sea level
• Cooling architecture: Passive convection cooling with integrated stamped aluminum heatsink, no onboard mechanical cooling fans. Chassis forced airflow provides supplementary thermal dissipation under maximum full-traffic load
• Reliability rating: MTBF (Mean Time Between Failures) approximately 350,000 hours
• NEBS Compliance: Fully meets GR-63-Core and GR-1089-Core NEBS Level 3 environmental and electrical surge immunity standards for permanent carrier central office deployment

Physical Form Factor & Dimensions

• Form Factor: Single-height Shared Port Adapter (SPA), occupies one single-height subslot on SIP-400/SIP-600 carrier cards
• Overall External Dimensions (Width × Depth × Height): 171.5mm × 184.9mm × 20.3mm
• Net module weight (excluding packaging, transceivers, fiber cables): Approximately 0.33 kg

4. Global Regulatory & 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, 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, electrical surge, radiated and conducted immunity compliance
3. Telecommunications Industry Standards: IPSec/IKE RFC suite, ANSI/Bellcore NEBS Level 3
4. 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. Modular I-Flex Architecture Maximizes Chassis Resource Utilization

   As a single-height service SPA without traffic ports, it occupies minimal valuable chassis subslot space, separating security VPN processing from data forwarding ports. Network operators can mix IPSec VPN SPA, ATM SPA, POS SPA and serial SPA modules on one SIP carrier card to customize service density, unifying spare parts inventory across Catalyst 6500 and 7600 platforms and reducing long-term spare capital expenditure.
2. Full Hardware IPSec Acceleration Eliminates Route Processor CPU Bottlenecks

   All encryption, decryption, hash authentication and tunnel encapsulation operations are fully offloaded to dedicated onboard security silicon hardware. This reserves critical route processor CPU resources exclusively for core control-plane functions including BGP, OSPF, IS-IS routing adjacency maintenance, system management and logging services. Hardware offloading prevents routing protocol flapping, excessive VPN packet latency and customer-facing secure connectivity outages during peak full 2Gbps VPN throughput loads.
3. Non-Disruptive OIR Hot-Swap Reduces Mission-Critical Network Downtime

   Built-in full OIR hot-swap capability allows field network technicians to replace faulty VPN acceleration modules without chassis power cycles or traffic interruption on other SPA ports hosted on the same SIP carrier card. This capability eliminates lengthy scheduled maintenance windows for mission-critical inter-branch VPN, remote workforce secure access and carrier customer site-to-site VPN networks, substantially improving overall end-to-end secure service availability metrics and reducing NOC field maintenance labor overhead expenses.
4. Comprehensive Carrier-Grade Multi-Service Secure VPN Feature Suite

   The SPA delivers enterprise and service provider-class full-featured IPSec VPN functionality via dedicated hardware acceleration, supporting end-to-end secure transport of VoIP voice, real-time video conferencing and high-volume IP business data across public internet infrastructure. Native support for all mainstream encryption/hash cipher suites, IKE certificate authentication, LZS payload compression, GRE/L2TP over IPSec tunneling and dual IPv4/IPv6 protocol stacks enables network operators to build unified secure multi-site interconnection architectures while protecting sensitive business data against interception, tampering and unauthorized access over untrusted public networks.
5. Fanless Passive Thermal Design Delivers Long-Term Stable Hardware Reliability

   The SPA adopts a fully passive fanless aluminum heatsink thermal dissipation architecture with zero moving mechanical fan components. This eliminates the most common hardware failure vectors associated with active cooling systems, including fan motor mechanical wear-out, dust accumulation blocking airflow, fan power supply faults and fan noise interference in quiet datacenter environments. The passive cooling design enables stable, reliable 24/7 unattended continuous operation in remote unmanned central office equipment closets, regional service provider POP aggregation router sites and enterprise core datacenter deployments with minimal long-term on-site hardware maintenance requirements. Low idle and peak operational power consumption reduces overall router chassis total power draw and associated datacenter cooling energy expenditure over the multi-year hardware service lifecycle, lowering total cost of ownership (TCO) for large-scale distributed multi-site carrier and enterprise secure VPN network deployments.

Supplementary Product Notes

UNSPSC Classification Code

K9 Secure Software Compliance

Standard Hardware Warranty Terms