Cisco 7600-ES+3CXL
7600 ES+ DFC 3CXL Daughter card
Product Highlights
As service provider and enterprise networks scale, the forwarding capacity of each line card becomes a critical bottleneck. The Cisco 7600-ES+3CXL is a Distributed Forwarding Card 3CXL (DFC-3CXL) daughter card designed to be installed on Cisco 7600 Series Ethernet Services Plus (ES+) line cards, enabling hardware-accelerated, line-rate distributed forwarding directly on the line card.
By offloading packet forwarding decisions from the central supervisor engine, the DFC-3CXL dramatically scales aggregate system throughput — delivering up to approximately 48 million packets per second (Mpps) per line card with services enabled. The "XL" (Extra Large) designation reflects its expanded forwarding table capacity: up to 1 million hardware-based forwarding entries and 256,000 NetFlow entries, making it ideal for environments with large routing tables such as IP/MPLS provider edge nodes.
The DFC-3CXL is optimized for service providers delivering Layer 3 VPNs, IPv6, and triple- or quadruple-play services (data, voice, video, and mobility). It is compatible with Cisco 7600 Series router chassis when paired with Supervisor Engine 720-3B, 720-3BXL, or RSP720 and later. Note that the Cisco 7600 Series platform has reached End-of-Life status; this daughter card is available as a replacement or spare for existing deployments.
Features & Benefits
Distributed Forwarding Architecture
The DFC-3CXL enables localized forwarding decisions on each ES+ line card, eliminating the need to send every packet to the central supervisor engine for processing. This distributed architecture scales aggregate chassis throughput linearly as line cards are added, reducing supervisor CPU load and improving overall system resilience.
Extra-Large Forwarding Table Capacity
With support for up to 1 million hardware-based forwarding entries — four times the 256,000 entries of the standard DFC-3C — the DFC-3CXL accommodates large-scale routing tables commonly found in IP/MPLS provider edge environments. Up to 256,000 NetFlow entries provide deep traffic analytics without impacting forwarding performance.
IP/MPLS & Multi-Service Optimization
Purpose-built for service provider edge deployments, the DFC-3CXL is optimized for Layer 3 VPNs, IPv6 forwarding, and converged triple- or quadruple-play service delivery (data, voice, video, and mobility). This makes it the right choice for mid-size and small service providers offering multiple IP services on the Cisco 7600 platform.
Field-Upgradeable Daughter Card
As a daughter card that installs directly onto compatible ES+ line cards, the 7600-ES+3CXL allows operators to upgrade forwarding capacity without replacing the entire line card. This reduces capital expenditure and minimizes downtime during upgrades.
Deployment Scenarios
Service Provider IP/MPLS Edge
Service providers running Layer 3 VPN services, IPv6, or converged voice/video/data on Cisco 7600 routers benefit from the DFC-3CXL's 1 million-entry forwarding table and line-rate distributed forwarding. It ensures PE routers can handle large BGP/VPNv4 tables without performance degradation.
Large Enterprise WAN Aggregation
Enterprise networks using Cisco 7600 Series routers as WAN aggregation points can leverage the DFC-3CXL to offload forwarding from the supervisor engine, improving packet throughput and reducing latency for business-critical applications across distributed sites.
Spare/Replacement for Existing 7600 Deployments
With the Cisco 7600 Series at End-of-Life, maintaining existing infrastructure requires access to genuine replacement parts. The 7600-ES+3CXL serves as a critical spare for operators who have not yet migrated to next-generation platforms like the Cisco ASR 9000 Series.
General
Performance
Compatibility
Compatibility Notes
Chassis Compatibility
- Compatible with all Cisco 7600 Series Router chassis except the Cisco 7603 (which is End-of-Sale/End-of-Life). The Cisco 7603-S is supported.
- Supported chassis include: Cisco 7604, 7606, 7606-S, 7609, 7609-S, and 7613.
Supervisor Engine Compatibility
- Requires Supervisor Engine 720-3B, 720-3BXL, Route Switch Processor 720 (RSP720), or later.
- ES+ line cards require dual-channel switch fabric connectivity; therefore, they are not supported with Supervisor Engine 32 or in slots 1–8 of the Cisco 7613 chassis.
Software Requirements
- Minimum: Cisco IOS Software Release 12.2(33)SRD or later.
Important Note
- A system with mixed DFC versions (e.g., DFC-3C and DFC-3CXL) will operate at the capability level of the least-capable forwarding engine in the chassis.
Downloads & Resources
Frequently Asked Questions
| Part Number | Product | Key Difference |
|---|---|---|
| 7600-ES+3C | 7600 ES+ DFC 3C Daughter Card | Standard DFC-3C with 256K forwarding entries and 128K NetFlow entries — suited for Carrier Ethernet; the 3CXL offers 4× the FIB and 2× the NetFlow capacity. |
| 7600-ES+20G3CXL | 7600 ES+ 20-Port GE SFP Line Card with DFC-3CXL | Complete 20-port GE SFP line card that ships with the DFC-3CXL pre-installed — buy this if you need the full line card, not just the daughter card. |
| 7600-ES+40G3CXL | 7600 ES+ 40-Port GE SFP Line Card with DFC-3CXL | High-density 40-port GE SFP line card with DFC-3CXL pre-installed — ideal for access-layer aggregation requiring maximum port density. |
| 7600-ES+2TG3CXL | 7600 ES+ 2-Port 10GE XFP Line Card with DFC-3CXL | 2-port 10 Gigabit Ethernet XFP line card with DFC-3CXL — designed for high-bandwidth uplinks rather than GE access ports. |