Cisco WS-F6K-MSFC2A
Multi Layer Switch Feature Card for SUP32
Product Highlights
What's Included
Maintaining a Cisco Catalyst 6500 Series deployment means keeping critical supervisor engine components on hand — especially the routing brain of the system. The Cisco WS-F6K-MSFC2A is the Multilayer Switch Feature Card 2A (MSFC2A), a daughter card that installs directly onto the Supervisor Engine 32 base board within Catalyst 6500 and 7600 Series chassis.
The MSFC2A serves as the Layer 3 switching engine and route processor for the Supervisor Engine 32. It runs a dedicated Cisco IOS Software image and is responsible for control plane functions including routing protocol processing, Cisco Express Forwarding (CEF) FIB table generation, inter-VLAN routing, spanning tree protocol, and security services such as access control lists. The MSFC2A builds the CEF FIB table in software and downloads it to the hardware ASICs on the companion Policy Feature Card 3B (PFC3B) for wire-speed forwarding.
This daughter card is a component of the WS-SUP32-GE-3B and WS-SUP32-10GE-3B supervisor engine assemblies, as well as the SUP32 PISA variants. It is an essential spare for organizations running Catalyst 6500 infrastructure that need to maintain or restore Layer 3 routing capability on their Supervisor Engine 32 modules. Note that the Cisco Catalyst 6500 platform and Supervisor Engine 32 have reached End-of-Life status — this card is ideal for sustaining existing deployments.
Features & Benefits
Layer 3 Route Processing
The MSFC2A is the dedicated route processor for the Supervisor Engine 32, running a full Cisco IOS Software image. It processes Layer 3 routing protocols (OSPF, EIGRP, BGP, etc.), maintains the routing table, and builds the CEF Forwarding Information Base (FIB) that drives hardware-accelerated switching on the PFC3B.
Control Plane Intelligence
Beyond routing, the MSFC2A handles critical control plane functions including spanning tree protocol, VLAN Trunking Protocol, access control lists, and services like NAT and policy-based routing. This offloads complex decision-making from the data plane, ensuring consistent and predictable network behavior.
Daughter Card Architecture
The WS-F6K-MSFC2A is a compact daughter card that mounts directly onto the Supervisor Engine 32 base board alongside the PFC3B. This integrated design keeps the entire supervisor engine — switching fabric, policy enforcement, and routing intelligence — within a single chassis slot, maximizing density and simplifying sparing.
Memory Expandability
The MSFC2A supports DRAM upgrades to accommodate larger routing tables and more complex network topologies. The optional MEM-MSFC3-1GB module provides 1 GB of DRAM, giving headroom for environments with extensive BGP tables or heavy control plane workloads.
Deployment Scenarios
Supervisor Engine 32 Spare / Replacement
Organizations running Catalyst 6500 switches with Supervisor Engine 32 modules can stock the WS-F6K-MSFC2A as a critical spare. If the MSFC2A daughter card fails, a replacement can restore full Layer 3 routing capability without replacing the entire supervisor engine assembly.
Catalyst 6500 Campus Core / Distribution Maintenance
Enterprise campus networks that still rely on Catalyst 6500 chassis at the core or distribution layer depend on the MSFC2A for inter-VLAN routing and protocol processing. Keeping a tested spare on hand minimizes downtime during hardware failures in these mission-critical roles.
Lab and Test Environments
Network engineers building lab environments for Cisco IOS training, certification study, or configuration testing can use the WS-F6K-MSFC2A to complete a Supervisor Engine 32 assembly at a fraction of the cost of a new supervisor bundle.
General
Compatibility
Lifecycle
Included Items
Compatibility Notes
Compatible Supervisor Engine 32 Assemblies
The WS-F6K-MSFC2A is a daughter card component of the following Supervisor Engine 32 models:
- WS-SUP32-GE-3B — Supervisor Engine 32 with 8× GE SFP uplinks + 1× 10/100/1000 RJ-45
- WS-SUP32-10GE-3B — Supervisor Engine 32 with 2× 10GE XENPAK uplinks + 1× 10/100/1000 RJ-45
- WS-S32-GE-PISA — Supervisor Engine 32 PISA with 8× GE SFP uplinks
- WS-S32-10GE-PISA — Supervisor Engine 32 PISA with 2× 10GE uplinks
All SUP32 variants pair the MSFC2A with the WS-F6K-PFC3B (Policy Feature Card 3B).
Compatible Chassis
Cisco Catalyst 6500 Series chassis (6503, 6503-E, 6504-E, 6506, 6506-E, 6509, 6509-E, 6509-V-E, 6513, 6513-E) and Cisco 7600 Series routers.
Optional Memory Upgrade
- MEM-MSFC3-1GB — 1 GB DRAM for MSFC2A
Downloads & Resources
Frequently Asked Questions
| Part Number | Product | Key Difference |
|---|---|---|
| WS-F6K-MSFC2 | Cisco MSFC2 Daughter Card | Earlier-generation MSFC2 for Supervisor Engine 1A and Supervisor Engine 2 — not compatible with SUP32 |
| WS-F6K-MSFC3 | Cisco MSFC3 (Integrated in SUP720) | Next-generation MSFC3 integrated into Supervisor Engine 720 — higher forwarding rates (up to 500 Kpps) |
| WS-F6K-PFC3B | Cisco PFC3B Daughter Card | Companion Policy Feature Card 3B that pairs with the MSFC2A on Supervisor Engine 32 — handles hardware-based forwarding |
| VS-S2T-10G | Cisco Supervisor Engine 2T | Cisco-recommended migration path from SUP32 — latest-generation supervisor for Catalyst 6500-E with integrated routing engine |
