Cisco 7600-PFC3CXL
3CXL Policy Feature card for RS720
Product Highlights
What's Included
Maintaining carrier-grade routing infrastructure demands forwarding engines that can keep pace with ever-growing Internet routing tables and complex service policies. The Cisco 7600-PFC3CXL is the 3CXL Policy Feature Card — a critical daughter card that installs onto the RSP720 Route Switch Processor inside Cisco 7600 Series routers.
As the switching engine sub-module of the RSP720, the PFC3CXL provides the ASIC-based forwarding engine responsible for hardware-accelerated Layer 2 and Layer 3 packet processing, including QoS policy enforcement, ACL evaluation, MPLS label operations, and NetFlow data collection. The "XL" designation indicates expanded memory and TCAM resources compared to the standard PFC3C, enabling significantly larger FIB tables — essential for routers carrying full Internet BGP tables or large-scale MPLS/VPN deployments.
The 7600-PFC3CXL is sold as a standalone daughter card (with mounting screws) and is intended as a replacement spare or upgrade component for existing RSP720-based Cisco 7600 deployments. Note that the Cisco 7600 platform has reached End-of-Life status, making verified replacement parts critical for organizations still operating this infrastructure.
Features & Benefits
Extended TCAM & FIB Capacity
The PFC3CXL's XL-class memory provides expanded TCAM resources supporting up to 1 million IPv4 routes and 512K IPv6 routes in hardware. This is critical for service provider and enterprise edge routers that must carry full Internet BGP routing tables without software-based forwarding penalties.
Hardware-Accelerated Policy Enforcement
As the ASIC-based forwarding engine of the RSP720, the PFC3CXL accelerates QoS policies, security ACLs, traffic policing, MPLS label switching, and NetFlow collection in hardware. This offloads processing from the supervisor engine, delivering consistent, predictable forwarding performance.
Seamless RSP720 Integration
The 7600-PFC3CXL is designed as an integrated daughter card for the RSP720 Route Switch Processor. It works alongside the MSFC4 (Multilayer Switch Feature Card) to provide the complete control-plane and data-plane processing stack for Cisco 7600 Series routers.
PFC Mode Interoperability
The PFC3CXL can interoperate with line cards equipped with lower-version Distributed Forwarding Cards (DFC3B, DFC3BXL, DFC3C). The system automatically negotiates the lowest common operating mode across all installed cards, ensuring compatibility while preserving as many advanced features as possible.
Deployment Scenarios
Replacement Spare for Existing Cisco 7600 Deployments
With the Cisco 7600 platform at End-of-Life, sourcing verified replacement PFC3CXL daughter cards is essential for maintaining uptime on production routers. This standalone card allows operators to restore or maintain RSP720 supervisor functionality without replacing the entire module.
Service Provider IP/MPLS Edge Routing
Cisco 7600 routers equipped with RSP720 and PFC3CXL are widely deployed at service provider edges carrying full Internet BGP tables. The PFC3CXL's expanded TCAM ensures hardware-based forwarding even as global routing tables grow, avoiding costly software-switched traffic.
Enterprise WAN Core with Advanced QoS
Large enterprise networks running Cisco 7600 routers at the WAN core benefit from the PFC3CXL's hardware-accelerated QoS, ACL processing, and NetFlow. These capabilities enable granular traffic management and visibility without impacting forwarding performance.
General
Compatibility
Forwarding Capacity (with RSP720)
What's Included
Compatibility Notes
Parent Module Compatibility: The 7600-PFC3CXL is a daughter card designed for installation on the Cisco RSP720 Route Switch Processor (e.g., RSP720-3CXL-GE, RSP720-3CXL-10GE). It is not a standalone module and cannot be installed directly into a chassis slot.
Chassis Support (via RSP720): Cisco 7604, 7606, 7606-S, 7609, 7609-S, and 7613. The Cisco 7603 chassis is generally not supported with the RSP720.
Software Requirement: Cisco IOS Release 12.2SRB or later is required for RSP720 support.
DFC Interoperability: When installed alongside line cards with DFC3B, DFC3BXL, or DFC3C, the system will negotiate down to the lowest common PFC operating mode. For full PFC3CXL functionality, pair with DFC3CXL-equipped line cards.
Note: This is an End-of-Life (EOL) product. Verify current Cisco Last Date of Support for service contract eligibility.
Downloads & Resources
Frequently Asked Questions
| Part Number | Product | Key Difference |
|---|---|---|
| 7600-PFC3CXL-10GE | PFC3CXL for RSP720-10GE | PFC3CXL variant specifically paired with the 10GE version of the RSP720 (RSP720-3CXL-10GE) |
| WS-F6K-PFC3CXL= | Catalyst 6500 PFC3CXL Upgrade Kit | PFC3CXL upgrade kit for Catalyst 6500 Supervisor Engine 720; includes 1 GB DRAM DIMMs for SP and RP |
| RSP720-3CXL-GE | RSP720-3CXL-GE Route Switch Processor | Complete RSP720 supervisor module with integrated PFC3CXL, MSFC4, and GE uplinks — buy this if you need the full assembly |
| RSP720-3CXL-10GE | RSP720-3CXL-10GE Route Switch Processor | Complete RSP720 supervisor with PFC3CXL, MSFC4, and dual 10GE XENPAK uplinks for high-speed connectivity |