United States
Q
What is the Cisco Router 12000 Series?
A
The Cisco 12000 Series is a modular core router providing carrier-grade performance, high port density, and advanced services for service provider and enterprise backbones.
Q
What key features define the Cisco 12000 Series?
A
Key features include up to 120 Gbps per line-card slot, multi-chassis clustering, MPLS, QoS, integrated security services, and hot-swappable fabric and control cards.
Q
What throughput can the Cisco 12000 Series deliver?
A
The Cisco 12000 Series delivers up to 2.4 Tbps of total system throughput, scalable across multiple line-card slots in a single chassis.
Q
Which interface modules are supported by the Cisco 12000 Series?
A
Supported interface modules include OC-48/STM-16, OC-192/STM-64, Gigabit Ethernet, 10 Gigabit Ethernet, ATM, POS, and LAN/WAN service modules.
Q
How many line-card slots are available in a Cisco 12000 router?
A
The Cisco 12000 Series offers three chassis options—12004, 12008, and 12016—with 4, 8, and 16 line-card slots respectively.
Q
What routing protocols does the Cisco 12000 Series support?
A
It supports OSPF, BGP, IS-IS, EIGRP, MPLS, and multicast routing, all hardware-accelerated for optimal forwarding performance.
Q
Does the Cisco 12000 Series support hardware-based forwarding?
A
Yes, the Cisco 12000 Series uses Cisco Express Forwarding with dedicated ASICs to provide wire-speed packet forwarding and ultra-low latency.
Q
What redundancy and high-availability options are available?
A
High-availability features include redundant route processors, power supplies, fabric cards, and in-service software upgrades (ISSU) for non-stop operations.
Q
How do I upgrade memory and performance on the Cisco 12000 Series?
A
Memory and performance upgrades are achieved by installing higher-capacity DRAM and Compact Flash on route processors and by deploying enhanced line cards and fabric modules.
Q
Is virtualization supported on the Cisco 12000 Series?
A
Yes, the Cisco 12000 Series supports virtualization through Cisco IOS XR and logical system segmentation for secure multi-tenant deployments.
Q
How does the Cisco 12000 Series compare to the ASR 9000 Series?
A
The 12000 Series offers higher slot density and broad legacy interface support, while the ASR 9000 Series provides greater scale, 100 Gbps readiness, and advanced IPv6 features.
Q
What management tools work with the Cisco 12000 Series?
A
Management options include Cisco IOS XR CLI, Cisco Prime Infrastructure, SNMP, NetFlow, and XML/REST-based APIs for automation and monitoring.
Q
Is the Cisco 12000 Series still supported by Cisco?
A
The Cisco 12000 Series reached end-of-sale in 2010 but remains supported under Cisco maintenance contracts with ongoing software updates and hardware replacement.
Q
What are the power and cooling requirements for the Cisco 12000 Series?
A
It requires redundant AC or DC power supplies, front-to-back airflow, and consumes between 4 kW and 12 kW per chassis depending on configuration.
Q
What are the typical use cases for the Cisco 12000 Series?
A
Typical use cases include ISP backbone routing, large-scale enterprise WAN aggregation, multi-service edge deployments, and MPLS VPN core networks.
