Cisco IOS XE Software for Cisco ASR 900 Series Aggregation Services Routers Data Sheet

Cisco IOS^® Software is always evolving to provide you with more features of higher quality. Cisco IOS XE Software releases provide a modular structure for Cisco^® ASR 900 Series Aggregation Services Routers. Why is this modularity important? It allows the software to significantly enhance quality and performance by taking advantage of the separation of the data plane and the control plane.

Cisco IOS XE Software on the Cisco ASR 902 Router, ASR 903 Router, ASR 907 and ASR 914 Routers, includes licenses for Metro Services, Metro IP Services, and Metro Aggregation Services. Feature sets can be activated as needed. In this way, customers pay only you for what they require and use.

Cisco ASR 902, 903 and 907 Routers

Software Releases and Options

Cisco ASR 900 Series routers are supported in Cisco IOS XE Software. The IOS XE Software Release is designed to provide modular packaging, feature velocity, and powerful resiliency. The Cisco ASR 903 Router is supported as of Cisco IOS XE Software Release 3.5.0S. The Cisco ASR 902 Router is supported as of Cisco IOS XE Software Release 3.12.0S. The Cisco ASR 907 Router is supported as of Cisco IOS XE Software Release 3.16.1aS. The Cisco ASR 914 Router is supported as of Cisco IOS XE Software Release 16.5.1v1.

Consolidated Software Packages

Three consolidated software packages contain a superset of all features. The individual feature sets can be activated once the correct feature licenses are applied to the router. Table 1 describes the Cisco IOS XE universal consolidated packages supported on the Cisco ASR 900 Series Router and the functionality supported in each of these universal images. The functionality is made available through the appropriate technology package licenses.

Table 1.           Universal Cisco IOS XE Software Consolidated Packages for Cisco ASR 900 Series Router

Flexible Software Activation

ASR 900 Series routers support the Cisco IOS software activation feature. With this capability, Cisco IOS Software feature sets can be activated with software licenses, supporting a “pay as services grow” model. This model allows service providers to invest in software resources only when their businesses need it. All Cisco ASR 900 Series software licenses, except OC3/OC12/OC48/OC192 port licenses, are on a per-chassis basis. Cisco ASR 900 Series routers offer three Cisco IOS Software licenses:

●     Metro Services license: Offers advanced Quality of Service (QoS), Carrier Ethernet Layer 2 features, Synchronous Ethernet (SyncE) and Ethernet Operations, Administration, and Maintenance (OAM) capabilities.

●     Metro IP Services license: Offers all capabilities of the Metro Services license with the addition of IEEE 1588-2008 Ordinary Clock and Transparent Clock, Bidirectional Forwarding Detection (BFD), Layer 3 features for advanced IP routing protocols, multi-VPN routing, and Layer 3 Multicast and Forwarding Customer Edge (multi-VRF CE) capabilities.

●     Metro Aggregation Services license: Adds the following capabilities to the Metro IP Services license: Multiprotocol Label Switching Transport Profile (MPLS-TP); MPLS, Ethernet over MPLS (EoMPLS), Circuit Emulation Service over Packet Switched Network (CESoPSN), and Structure Agnostic TDM over Packet (SAToP) pseudowires; Multirouter Automatic Protection Switching (MR-APS); Multichassis Link Aggregation and Control Protocol (mLACP); MPLS Traffic Engineering (MPLS TE); MPLS Fast Reroute (FRR); and MPLS VPN support.

Table 2 lists the main features in the Cisco IOS licenses for ASR 900 Series routers. Availability of features is dependent on software release and implementation schedule.

Table 2.           Feature Sets in Cisco ASR 900 Series Router Licenses

Additional Feature Licenses

The following three Cisco IOS feature-set licenses are used to activate new software functionality for ASR 900 Series routers in addition to the feature-set capabilities.

●     IPSEC License: The IPSEC license allows service providers to provide security for the transmission of sensitive information over unprotected networks such as the Internet. IPSEC acts at the network layer, protecting and authenticating IP packets between participating IPSEC devices (“peers”).

One IPSEC license is required and installed in the router for IPSEC functionality to work. When you enable or disable the IPsec license, a reboot is mandatory for the system to function properly.

Regular IOS-XE Universal Software packages do not support data plane (payload) encryption. However, control plane encryption is supported with these images, with processing done in software.

A separate IOS-XE Software package is available to include payload encryption. This Software package is available for RSP3 only on ASR-903 and ASR-907.

●     ATM license: Allows service providers to activate ATM functionality on Time-Division Multiplexing (TDM) interfaces when required. One license is required for each ASR 900 Series router that needs ATM functionality to be activated in the system. This includes support for ATM pseudowires over MPLS (ATMoMPLS), ATM local switching, ATM interworking, and local ATM termination. This license requires the system to have at least one T1/E1, OC-3/STM-1, or OC-12/STM-4 card installed.

●     IEEE 1588-2008 BC/MC license: Allows service providers to activate IEEE 1588-2008 Boundary Clock (BC) or Master Clock (MC), or both, when required. One license is required for each chassis that needs IEEE 1588-2008 BC or MC functionality to be activated in the system.

Cisco IOS XE Software Release Schedule

The Cisco IOS XE software delivery schedule allows customers to qualify releases more quickly and have a definitive release schedule for new software images. This schedule is summarized in the following highlights.

●     Time-based releases: Releases are planned for delivery three times a year (every four months). New software features and hardware are introduced in each release. Releases have fewer incremental features included when compared with traditional Cisco IOS Software releases, reducing customer qualification time.

●     Two release support durations: Each Cisco IOS XE Software release is classified as either a Standard Support or Extended Support release. A Standard Support release has a total engineering support lifetime of one year or 18 months starting with Release 3.18.0SP, with two or three scheduled rebuilds. The Extended Support release provides a total engineering support lifetime of two or four years, starting with Release 3.18.0SP, with four or up to 10 scheduled rebuilds. For more information about the Cisco IOS XE Software end-of-life policy and associated support milestones for specific Cisco IOS XE Software releases, visit https://www.cisco.com.

●     Rebuilds scheduled at regular intervals: Rebuilds are created only for bug fixes, and no new features are included in a rebuild image. For a release rebuild schedule, visit the Cisco IOS XE Software support timeline for details.

Part Numbers for License Options and Activation Keys

Table 3 lists part numbers for Cisco ASR 900 Series software feature options.

Table 3.           Cisco ASR 900 Series Software Options

Major Features

Table 4 lists the features supported by Cisco IOS XE in Cisco ASR 900 Series routers. Availability of features is dependent on software release, Route Switch Processor (RSP) version, and implementation schedule. Check release notes for additional details.

Table 4.           Cisco ASR 900 Series Router Software Features

Warranty Information

Find warranty information on Cisco.com at the Product Warranties page.

Service and Support

Cisco offers a wide range of services programs to accelerate customer success. These innovative services programs are delivered through a unique combination of people, processes, tools, and partners, promoting high levels of customer satisfaction. Cisco Services help you protect your network investment, optimize network operations, and prepare your network for new applications to extend network intelligence and the power of your business. For more information about Cisco Services, refer to Cisco Technical Support Services or Cisco Advanced Services.

Cisco is committed to reducing your total cost of ownership. Cisco offers a portfolio of technical support services to help ensure that Cisco products operate efficiently, remain highly available, and benefit from the most up-to-date system software. The services and support programs described in Table 5 are available as part of the Cisco Carrier Ethernet Switching Service and Support solution and are available directly from Cisco and through resellers.

Table 5.           Service and Support

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