At last, service providers can provision the services their customers want in a cost effective and reliable platform that will scale to keep up with the tremendous growth in the Internet market. The Cisco 10000 ESR dedicates two slots for active and redundant processor modules and eight slots for interface modules. Interface modules can be configured in any of the eight available slots.
All modules require a single slot and are hot swappable.
Two PREs can be configured in a single chassis for redundancy. The PRE handles all Layer 2 and Layer 3 packet manipulation and is architected with advanced PXF technology to support high-performance throughput with IP services enabled on every port. The PRE is based on standard Cisco IOS 12.0S system software. The 12.0S release is focused specifically on the requirements of Tier 1 and Tier 2 ISPs and includes a comprehensive set of core IP routing protocols, configuration and administration features, security, and other standard features uniquely targeted to meet the needs of ISPs. This architecture eliminates the issue of backplane oversubscription and ensures backplane availability by maintaining links to both the active and redundant PREs.