Cisco Cisco 1700 2600 3600 3700 Series VPN Module White Paper
© 2012 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. This document is Cisco Public Information.
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Hardware and Software Requirements
The Virtual Switching System supports a specific subset of hardware compared to what is supported in a
standalone configuration or non-VSS configuration. Therefore it is important to understand these requirements
when planning the configuration of a VSS.
Supervisor Engines
The initial release of the Virtual Switching System on the Cisco Catalyst 6500 was in January 2008, with the
Supervisor Engine 720-10G. In 2011, the Supervisor Engine 2T was released, which also supports VSS.
Each supervisor engine is available in two different forwarding configurations, XL and non-XL. The XL configuration
provides higher capacity hardware forwarding tables and forwarding engine-related resources. Therefore, there are
a total four different supervisor engine model numbers capable of supporting VSS. These are based on the
Supervisor Engine 2T and the Supervisor Engine 720-10G.
The four Supervisor Engine Model Numbers supporting VSS are:
VS-S2T-10G
VS-S2T-10G-XL
VS-S720-10G-3C
VS-S720-10G-3CXL
Table 1.
VSS Capable Supervisor Comparison
Supervisor Engine/
Feature
Feature
VS-S2T-10G
VS-S2T-10G -XL
VS-S720-10G-3C
VS-S720-10G-3CXL
Routes
256K (IPv4)
128K (IPv6)
1024K (IPv4)
512K (IPv6)
256K (IPv4)
128K (IPv6)
1024K (IPv4)
512K (IPv6)
IPv4 Forwarding Rate
In hardware; up to 720
Mpps
Mpps
*
In hardware; up to 720
Mpps
Mpps
*
In hardware; up to 450
Mpps
Mpps
*
In hardware; up to 450
Mpps
Mpps
*
IPv6 Forwarding Rate
In hardware; up to 390
Mpps
Mpps
*
In hardware; up to 390
Mpps
Mpps
*
In hardware; up to 225
Mpps
Mpps
*
In hardware; up to 225
Mpps
Mpps
*
Switch Fabric Capacity
2 Tbps (80 Gbps per slot
including the 6513-E
chassis)
including the 6513-E
chassis)
2 Tbps (80 Gbps per slot in
all chassis including the
6513-E chassis)
all chassis including the
6513-E chassis)
720 Gbps (40 Gbps per
slot in all chassis except
the 6513 and 6513-E)
slot in all chassis except
the 6513 and 6513-E)
720 Gbps (40 Gbps per
slot in all chassis except
the 6513 and 6513-E)
slot in all chassis except
the 6513 and 6513-E)
MPLS
Layer 3 VPNs and
EoMPLS tunneling. Up to
8192 VRFs with a total of
up to 256K
EoMPLS tunneling. Up to
8192 VRFs with a total of
up to 256K
*
forwarding
entries per system.
Layer 3 VPNs and
EoMPLS tunneling. Up to
8192 VRFs with a total of
up to 1024K
EoMPLS tunneling. Up to
8192 VRFs with a total of
up to 1024K
*
forwarding
entries per system.
Layer 3 VPNs and
EoMPLS tunneling. Up to
1024 VRFs with a total of
up to 256K
EoMPLS tunneling. Up to
1024 VRFs with a total of
up to 256K
*
forwarding
entries per system.
Layer 3 VPNs and
EoMPLS tunneling. Up to
1024 VRFs with a total of
up to 1024K
EoMPLS tunneling. Up to
1024 VRFs with a total of
up to 1024K
*
forwarding
entries per system.
VPLS
Any Ethernet LAN port in
hardware (up to 390
Mpps
hardware (up to 390
Mpps
**
)
Any Ethernet LAN port in
hardware (up to 390
Mpps
hardware (up to 390
Mpps
**
)
Supported with SIP and
SPA modules
SPA modules
Supported with SIP and
SPA modules
SPA modules
NetFlow Entries
512 K
1024 K
128 K
256 K
Layer-3 classification
and marking access
control entries (ACEs)
and marking access
control entries (ACEs)
64 K shared for
QOS/Security
QOS/Security
256 K shared for
QOS/Security
QOS/Security
32 K QoS entries
32 K Security entries
32 K Security entries
32 K QoS entries
32 K Security entries
32 K Security entries
Chassis Supported
6500 E-series chassis only 6500 E-series chassis only 6500 E-series and 6500
non E-series
6500 E-series and 6500
non E-series
non E-series
*
Requires fully populated 6513-E chassis with DFC-enabled line cards