Cisco A9K-8X10GE-SE Full Official Product Description

1. Product Overview & SKU Definition

Official Full Name

SKU Breakdown

1. A9K: Cisco ASR 9000 Series carrier-grade aggregation router platform identifier
2. 8X10GE: 8 independent 10-Gigabit Ethernet ports on the line card
3. SE: Service Edge Optimized variant, equipped with expanded hierarchical QoS queues, advanced traffic policing, shaping and service processing for broadband edge, MPLS VPN, subscriber aggregation and enterprise service gateway deploymentsCisco.

Core Positioning

2. Chassis Compatibility

• Supported Hardware Chassis: ASR 9006, ASR 9010, ASR 9904, ASR 9910, ASR 9912, ASR 9922Cisco.
• Incompatible Platforms: ASR 9001 compact single-slot chassis.
• Coexistence Support: Mixed deployment with other ASR 9000 line card generations (1G, 10G, 40G, 100G) within the same chassis midplane.
• Minimum IOS XR Software Requirement: IOS XR Release 3.9.0 and later stable software trains.

3. Hardware Port & Physical Specifications

Port Details

• Port Count: 8 x SFP+ 10 Gigabit Ethernet hot-pluggable interfaces
• Supported Transceiver Types (SFP+): SR, LR, ER, ZR, DWDM, CWDM 10G optical modules; 10G copper SFP+ transceivers
• Port Speed: Wire-rate 10 Gbps full-duplex per port, no oversubscription on the line card fabric
• Ethernet Standards Compliance: IEEE 802.3ae 10GE, IEEE 802.1Q VLAN tagging, 802.1ad QinQ double tagging
• Per-Port Monitoring: Real-time PHY status, LOS/LOL optical alarm, CRC error counters, unicast/multicast/broadcast packet statistics, policy drop countersCisco.

Physical & Environmental Parameters

• Form Factor: Single-slot full-height ASR 9000 line card
• Dimensions (H × W × D): 35.56 cm × 4.37 cm × 52.07 cm (14 in × 1.72 in × 20.5 in)
• Net Weight: Approximately 8.4 kg (18.5 lb)
• Operating Temperature (Nominal Data Center): 5°C ~ 40°C (41°F ~ 104°F)
• Short-Term Extended Operating Temperature: -5°C ~ 55°C (23°F ~ 131°F), maximum 96 consecutive hours, annual limit of 15 daysCisco.
• Relative Humidity: 5% – 90% non-condensing during continuous operation; 5% – 93% non-condensing for storage/transit.
• Storage Temperature: -40°C ~ 70°C (-40°F ~ 158°F)
• Cooling: Front-to-back forced airflow, compliant with ASR 9000 chassis thermal design; blank filler panels required for empty chassis slots to maintain airflow balance.

4. SE (Service Edge) Optimized Hardware Feature Set

1. Expanded Hierarchical QoS Queues
   Massive per-port and global queue resource pool supporting LLQ low-latency queuing for voice, video and 5G backhaul traffic; multi-level hierarchical policing, traffic shaping, bandwidth reservation for thousands of subscriber sessions.
2. Advanced Traffic Policing & Access Control
   Hardware offloaded multi-rate two-color/three-color policers, large-scale ingress/egress ACL, MAC filtering, IPv4/IPv6 packet classification without route processor CPU consumption.
3. Carrier-Grade Multi-Service Offloading
   Wire-speed offload for MPLS label switching, L2VPN (VPLS, EoMPLS), L3VPN, NAT44/NAT64, IPsec VPN encryption, multicast replication, NetFlow v9/IPFIX traffic analytics.
4. Subscriber Session Scalability
   Optimized hardware forwarding pipeline for large-scale broadband subscriber aggregation, supporting tens of thousands of independent subscriber policy profiles.

5. Carrier-Grade Reliability & High Availability Features

1. OIR Online Insertion and Removal
   Full hot-swap capability; line card can be inserted, removed or replaced without chassis power cycle, RSP reboot or traffic outage on other installed line cards.
2. Hardware Fault Isolation
   Independent line card power, clock and forwarding plane; single port or line card hardware failure will not impact other line cards or chassis route switch processors (RSP).
3. Chassis Redundancy Compatibility
   Works seamlessly with ASR 9000 1+1 redundant RSP, redundant power supplies and redundant fan trays for end-to-end five-nines (99.999%) carrier-grade availability.
4. ISSU In-Service Software Upgrade
   Supports non-disruptive IOS XR firmware upgrades for the line card without interrupting live subscriber traffic and service sessions.

6. Supported Software & Network Services (IOS XR)

Core Routing & Switching Protocols

MPLS & VPN Services

Broadband & Mobile Transport

Integrated Security & Traffic Monitoring

7. Front Panel LED Indicator System

1. Global Line Card STATUS LED: Power supply status, boot initialization progress, critical hardware fault alarm.
2. Per-Port Dual-Color LED (8 ports):
   • Off: SFP+ transceiver absent, port administratively shutdown, or optical signal loss (LOS).
   • Solid Amber: Link established with active Layer 1 alarms (excessive BER, LOF).
   • Solid Green: Stable error-free 10GE link active.
   • Blinking Green: Bidirectional packet traffic transmitting/receiving over the port.

8. Key Deployment Advantages

1. Service Edge Optimized Hardware Architecture
   The SE variant’s expanded QoS and traffic processing resources eliminate CPU bottlenecks in subscriber aggregation, enterprise PE and broadband edge deployments, outperforming TR transport line cards for multi-service subscriber workloads.
2. Wire-Speed 10GE Port Density Without Oversubscription
   8 independent non-oversubscribed 10G ports provide high-density 10GE access/aggregation for DCI, mobile backhaul and carrier Ethernet services, reducing total chassis slot consumption.
3. Unified Layer 2 / Layer 3 Multi-Service Convergence
   Single line card supports simultaneous Layer 2 switching and Layer 3 routing services, enabling operators to consolidate broadband, voice, video and mobile transport workloads on a single ASR 9000 chassis to lower CapEx and OpEx.
4. Full Carrier-Grade High Availability Toolkit
   OIR hot swap, ISSU, hardware fault isolation and chassis redundant component support deliver uninterrupted service for mission-critical subscriber-facing edge networks with strict uptime requirements.
5. Broad Transceiver & Chassis Compatibility
   Compatible with the full Cisco SFP+ 10G optical/copper transceiver portfolio and all modern ASR 9000 series chassis models, enabling flexible network expansion and investment protection for existing ASR 9000 deployments.

9. Regulatory & Safety Compliance Certifications

1. Electrical Safety: UL 60950-1, CSA C22.2 No.60950-1, IEC 60950 CB Scheme, EN 60950-1, GB 4943.
2. EMC & EMI Compatibility: FCC Part 15 Class A, ICES-003 Class A, VCCI Class A, EN55022 Class A, CISPR 22, CISPR 24, full EN 61000 series ESD, electrical surge, radiated and conducted immunity compliance.
3. Telecommunications & Carrier Standards: NEBS Level 3 (GR-63-Core, GR-1089-Core), IEEE 802.3ae 10GE, ITU-T MPLS and OTN transport specifications.
4. Environmental Directives: EU RoHS hazardous substance restriction compliance, EU WEEE waste electrical and electronic equipment recycling directive compliant.

10. Standard Factory Packaging Contents

1. A9K-8X10GE-SE 8-port 10GE Service Edge line card
2. ESD anti-static protective bag
3. Hardware installation quick reference guide (OIR hot-swap procedure, SFP+ transceiver installation, chassis slot assembly instructions)
4. Global regulatory compliance documentation packet (safety, EMC, NEBS, RoHS certification documents)
5. Line card ejector lever assembly pre-installed.

Supplementary UNSPSC Classification Code

Standard Hardware Warranty