Cisco A9K-ISM-100 Full Official Product Description

1. Product Overview & SKU Decoding

Official Full Name

SKU Breakdown

1. A9K: Platform identifier for Cisco ASR 9000 Series carrier-grade aggregation service routers
2. ISM: Integrated Service Module, a dedicated service acceleration line card slot for offloading heavy stateful IP transition, CGNAT, and video cache workloads
3. 100: Base generation service module without built-in storage; supports hot-pluggable SAM (Service Acceleration Module) flash storage extensions for video caching use casesCisco

Core Positioning

2. Chassis & IOS XR Software Compatibility

Supported Chassis

Minimum IOS XR Software Requirement

Mixed Hardware Coexistence

3. Hardware Architecture & SAM Storage Expansion

ISM Base Card Hardware Layout

• Dual independent SAM hot-plug bays on front panel
• Dedicated distributed service processors for stateful packet inspection and translation
• Isolated power regulation and thermal control per SAM bay
• No built-in flash storage; all caching capacity provided by external SAM modulesCisco

Supported SAM (Service Acceleration Module) Specifications

• Maximum SAM per ISM: 2 units
• Maximum total video cache capacity per A9K-ISM-100: 3.2 TB
• SAM modules support OIR hot swap; storage upgrades do not disrupt active IP translation services running on the ISM base cardCisco

4. Supported Hardware-Accelerated Service Functions

1. Carrier-Grade NAT (CGNAT / Large-Scale NAT): Massive IPv4 address sharing for residential broadband deployments
2. Dual-Stack Lite (DS-Lite): IPv4 over IPv6 tunneling for IPv6-only access networks
3. Stateful NAT64: IPv6 to IPv4 translation to enable IPv6 subscribers access legacy IPv4 internet resources
4. MAP-T (Mapping of Address and Port Translation): Standardized stateless/stateful IPv4-IPv6 address port mapping
5. IPTV / VoD Video Content Caching: Local streaming media storage via installed SAM flash modules to reduce core network bandwidth consumption

5. Physical & Environmental Specifications

• Form Factor: Double-height, single-width full-size ASR 9000 chassis slot line card
• Net Weight: Approximately 6.1 kg (13.4 lbs)
• Operating Temperature (Data Center): 5°C ~ 40°C (41°F ~ 104°F)
• Short-term extended operating range: -5°C ~ 55°C (23°F ~ 131°F), max 96 consecutive hours, annual cap of 15 days
• Relative Humidity: 10% – 85% non-condensing continuous operation; 5% – 95% non-condensing storage/transit
• Storage & Transit Temperature Range: -40°C ~ 70°C (-40°F ~ 158°F)
• Cooling Design: Front-to-back forced airflow matching ASR 9000 chassis thermal architecture; empty SAM bays must be fitted with blank filler panels to maintain balanced air circulation and prevent thermal overheating.

6. Front Panel LED Indicator System

Global ISM Card Status LED (Bi-color)

• Off: ISM powered off or unrecognized by chassis
• Solid Green: Normal operational state, service processors initialized without critical faults
• Solid Amber: Boot initialization in progress, minor SAM storage warning, or partial power regulation alarm
• Blinking Red: Critical hardware fault, SAM power overload, unrecognized faulty SAM module, or service processor crash

Per-SAM Bay Dual-Color Status LEDs (2 sets for dual bays)

• Off: No SAM installed in bay, SAM administratively disabled
• Solid Green: SAM flash storage detected, healthy, mounted and available for video cache services
• Solid Amber: SAM detected but storage error, flash wear-level threshold warning, or unformatted storage volume
• Blinking Green: Active read/write video cache traffic flowing to/from the installed SAM flash module

7. Carrier-Grade High Availability Features

1. OIR Online Insertion and Removal
   Full hot-swap capability for the entire ISM line card and individual SAM storage modules. Adding, removing, or replacing a SAM module does not disrupt active CGNAT, NAT64 or DS-Lite subscriber sessions running on the ISM base service processor.
2. Independent Hardware Fault Isolation
   Dedicated power supply, clock distribution and service processing plane for each SAM bay and main ISM service processor. A hardware fault on one SAM storage module cannot propagate to the second SAM bay or disrupt core IP translation services on the ISM base card.
3. Multi-ISM Service Redundancy
   Multiple A9K-ISM-100 cards can be deployed within a single chassis to implement service redundancy, load balancing, and session stateful failover for CGNAT and IPv6 transition services.
4. ISSU In-Service Software Upgrade
   Supports non-disruptive IOS XR firmware and service image upgrades for the ISM card. Active subscriber translation sessions and cached video streaming traffic remain uninterrupted during service image loading and activation.
5. Synchronous Timing Support
   Native SyncE and IEEE 1588 PTP precision timing hardware for mobile broadband and IPTV streaming deployments, compatible with external BITS, GPS ToD, 1-PPS and 10MHz timing reference interfaces.

8. Key Deployment Advantages

1. Distributed Service Offload Architecture
   All resource-intensive stateful IP translation and video caching workloads are fully offloaded to dedicated ISM service processors, eliminating RSP CPU saturation risks common in large residential broadband and mobile edge aggregation networks.
2. Modular Storage Scalability
   SAM flash storage modules can be added or upgraded incrementally without replacing the entire ISM line card. Operators start with minimal caching capacity and expand storage as IPTV/VoD streaming traffic grows, optimizing upfront hardware capital expenditure.
3. Multi-Service Dynamic Reconfiguration
   The same A9K-ISM-100 hardware platform supports multiple independent service functions. Operators can switch between CGNAT, NAT64, DS-Lite, MAP-T and video caching workloads by loading different IOS XR service images without hardware replacement.
4. Space & Power Efficient Convergence
   Consolidates separate IP transition gateways and standalone video cache servers into a single router slot, reducing total rack unit space, power consumption and separate device management overhead for service provider edge points of presence (PoPs).
5. Full Carrier-Grade Resilience Toolkit
   Native OIR hot swap, ISSU non-disruptive software upgrades, isolated per-SAM fault domains, and multi-ISM service cluster redundancy deliver uninterrupted always-on services for mission-critical residential broadband, mobile edge and IPTV operator networks.
6. Broad Investment Protection
   Fully compatible with the entire Cisco ASR 9000 / ASR 9900 chassis portfolio and SAM flash storage module family. Existing SAM storage inventory can be reused across multiple ISM cards during network capacity expansion and service migration upgrades.

9. Regulatory & Safety Compliance Certifications

1. Electrical Safety Standards: UL 60950-1, CSA C22.2 No.60950-1, IEC 60950 CB Scheme, EN 60950-1, GB 4943
2. EMC & EMI Electromagnetic Compatibility: FCC Part 15 Class A, ICES-003 Class A, VCCI Class A, CISPR 22 (EN55022) Class A, CISPR 24, full EN 61000 series ESD, surge and radiated immunity compliance
3. Telecom Carrier Industry Standards: NEBS Level 3 (GR-63-Core environmental protection, GR-1089-Core EMC/safety 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-ISM-100 Integrated Service Module base line card
2. ESD anti-static protective transport bag
3. Blank filler panels for unused SAM bays
4. Hardware installation quick reference guide (covers ISM chassis slot insertion, SAM hot-swap installation, LED alarm troubleshooting procedures)
5. Global regulatory compliance documentation packet (safety, EMC, NEBS, RoHS certification documents)
6. Dual ejector lever assemblies pre-installed on the ISM front panel for easy chassis insertion and removal

Supplementary UNSPSC Classification Code

Standard Hardware Warranty