Cisco 7600-ES+3C
7600 ES+ DFC 3C Daughter card
Product Highlights
Maintaining distributed forwarding performance across your Cisco 7600 Series infrastructure is critical — especially when a daughter card failure or capacity upgrade can mean the difference between line-rate processing and a forwarding bottleneck.
The Cisco 7600-ES+3C is the DFC 3C (Distributed Forwarding Card 3C) daughter card designed for installation on Cisco 7600 Series Ethernet Services Plus (ES+) line cards. As a dedicated forwarding engine, the DFC 3C offloads packet processing from the central supervisor engine, enabling line-rate distributed forwarding with services enabled on each line card. It supports up to 256,000 hardware-based forwarding entries and up to 128,000 NetFlow entries, making it well-suited for Carrier Ethernet-based infrastructures that demand large routing tables and detailed traffic analytics.
This daughter card is a spare or replacement component — it does not function as a standalone line card. It mounts onto compatible ES+ line cards within Cisco 7600 Series routers and works in conjunction with the Supervisor Engine 720-3B, 720-3BXL, or Route Switch Processor 720 (RSP720). For organizations sustaining legacy Cisco 7600 deployments, the 7600-ES+3C provides a cost-effective path to restore or maintain distributed forwarding capability without replacing the entire line card.
Note: The Cisco 7600 Series platform has reached End-of-Life. Cisco recommends migration to the ASR 9000 Series for new deployments.
Features & Benefits
Distributed Forwarding Engine
The DFC 3C enables line-rate distributed forwarding directly on the line card, offloading processing from the central supervisor engine. This architecture reduces latency and prevents the supervisor from becoming a bottleneck in high-throughput environments.
Large-Scale Forwarding Table
With support for up to 256,000 hardware-based forwarding entries, the DFC 3C accommodates large and complex routing tables typical of Carrier Ethernet and service provider edge deployments. This capacity ensures that forwarding decisions remain in hardware rather than falling back to slower software paths.
NetFlow Visibility
Up to 128,000 NetFlow entries provide granular, flow-level traffic visibility. Network operators can leverage this data for capacity planning, security analysis, and billing in service provider environments.
Carrier Ethernet Optimization
The DFC 3C is specifically designed for Carrier Ethernet-based infrastructures. It delivers the forwarding scale and feature processing needed for metro Ethernet, E-Line, E-LAN, and E-Tree service delivery.
Spare & Replacement Flexibility
As a field-replaceable daughter card, the 7600-ES+3C allows operators to restore or upgrade distributed forwarding on existing ES+ line cards without replacing the entire module. This reduces repair costs and minimizes downtime during maintenance windows.
Deployment Scenarios
Service Provider Carrier Ethernet Edge
Service providers running Cisco 7600 Series routers at the metro Ethernet edge can use the 7600-ES+3C to maintain or restore distributed forwarding on ES+ line cards. The 256K forwarding entry capacity supports large-scale Carrier Ethernet service delivery.
Legacy Network Maintenance & Sparing
Organizations with existing Cisco 7600 Series deployments that have not yet migrated to the ASR 9000 can stock the 7600-ES+3C as a critical spare. Having replacement DFC 3C daughter cards on hand ensures rapid recovery from hardware failures without waiting for extended lead times on EOL components.
Enterprise WAN Aggregation
Large enterprises using Cisco 7600 routers for WAN aggregation benefit from the DFC 3C's distributed forwarding to maintain line-rate performance across high-density ES+ line cards, ensuring consistent application delivery across branch and campus interconnects.
General
Performance
Compatibility
Lifecycle
Compatibility Notes
Platform Compatibility
- Routers: All Cisco 7600 Series Router chassis (7603-S, 7604, 7606, 7606-S, 7609, 7609-S, 7613) — the original Cisco 7603 is not supported (end of sale/end of life).
- Line Cards: Cisco 7600 Series Ethernet Services Plus (ES+) line cards (e.g., 7600-ES+20G3C, 7600-ES+40G3C, 7600-ES+2TG3C, 7600-ES+4TG3C).
- Supervisor Compatibility: Requires Cisco Supervisor Engine 720-3B, 720-3BXL, or Route Switch Processor 720 (RSP720) and later. Not supported with Supervisor Engine 32.
- Fabric Requirement: ES+ line cards require dual-channel switch fabric connectivity; not supported in slots 1–8 of the Cisco 7613 chassis.
- Software: Minimum Cisco IOS Release 12.2(33)SRB with Supervisor Engine 720 or RSP720.
Note: This is a daughter card component — it is not a standalone line card and must be installed on a compatible ES+ line card baseboard.
Downloads & Resources
Frequently Asked Questions
| Part Number | Product | Key Difference |
|---|---|---|
| 7600-ES+3CXL | 7600 ES+ DFC 3CXL Daughter Card | DFC 3CXL variant offers up to 1M forwarding entries and 256K NetFlow entries — optimized for IP/MPLS PE with L3 VPN, IPv6, and multi-play services. |
| 7600-ES+20G3C | ES+ 20G Line Card with DFC 3C (20-port GE SFP) | Complete ES+ line card with 20 GE SFP ports and DFC 3C pre-installed — choose this if you need the full line card, not just the daughter card. |
| 7600-ES+40G3C | ES+ 40G Line Card with DFC 3C (40-port GE SFP) | Complete ES+ line card with 40 GE SFP ports and DFC 3C pre-installed — higher port density option for large-scale deployments. |
| 7600-ES+2TG3C | ES+ 20G Line Card with DFC 3C (2-port 10GE XFP) | Complete ES+ line card with 2x 10GE XFP ports and DFC 3C — suited for 10 Gigabit Ethernet uplink or backbone connectivity. |