Data sheet

Cisco public

Cisco Network Convergence

System 540 Router

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Contents
Overview 3
Key product highlights 3
Model comparison 4
Supported transceiver modules 8
Environment 8
Regulatory standards compliance 8
Ordering information 9
Service and support 11
Cisco Capital 11
Warranty 12
For more information 12

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Overview
The Cisco Visual Network Index™ forecasts that global IP traffic will increase threefold by 2021, driven by both mobile and
wireline traffic.

This explosion will be driven by next generation technologies such as 5G for mobile, Remote PHY for cable and Carrier
Ethernet evolution. The service provider network of the future will not just provide exponentially higher bandwidth at
lower operating costs but will also be capable of enabling new applications such as pervasive mobile broadband, massive
IoT, tactile Internet, smart cities, and virtual reality. A growing number of M2M applications, such as smart meters, video
surveillance, healthcare monitoring, transportation, and package or asset tracking, are contributing in a major way to the
growth of devices and connections.

The Cisco® Network Convergence System 540 Routers (NCS 540) are designed for cost-effective delivery of next-
generation services and applications. These routers are temperature-hardened, high-throughput, small form factor, low-
power-consumption devices suitable for both outdoor and indoor deployments. They are powered by the industry-
leading carrier-class version of Cisco IOS XR Software designed for operational efficiency and service agility. Cisco IOS XR
Software offers advanced features such as programmability, application awareness, network visibility, and automation.
The Cisco NCS 540 series of routers is an intelligent converged access platform which enables service providers to deliver
next-level business and entertainment experiences.

Key product highlights

● 1 RU small form factor with depth <300mm
● Side-to-side or front-to-back airflow
● Environmental hardened, suitable for deployments in indoor or outdoor cabinets
● Low power consumption, minimum <100W, typical <200W, maximum 250W
● Versatile Ethernet interface options: 10/100/1000M, 1/10/25/40/100G
● Low latency forwarding, typically <10 s
● Precise frequency and phase/time synchronization using the latest industry standards
● Integrated GNSS receiver
● Rich Quality of Service capabilities for different SLAs
● MEF 3.0 Compliant
● Excellent manageability
● Flexible consumption model

© 2019 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Page 3 of 12

Figure 1.
Cisco NCS 540 Family

Model comparison
Chassis PID N540-24Z8Q2C-SYS N540-ACC-SYS N540X-16Z4G8Q2C -A N540X-12Z16G- N540-28Z4C- N540-12Z20G-SYS
SYS-A SYS -A -A
N540-24Z8Q2C-M N540X-ACC-SYS N540X-16Z4G8Q2C –D
(Conformal Coated) N540X-12Z16G- N540-28Z4C- N540-12Z20G-SYS
SYS-D SYS –D -D

CPU 4-core 1.5Ghz x86 CPU 4-core 1.5Ghz x86 CPU 8-core 1.7GHz x86 CPU 4-core 1.6GHz x86 8-core 1.7GHz 4-core 1.6GHz x86
Memory 32GB DRAM 16GB DRAM 8GB DRAM CPU x86 CPU CPU
128GB storage 128GB storage 32GB storage 8GB DRAM 8GB DRAM 8GB DRAM
Storage
32GB storage 32GB storage 32GB storage

Interfaces 24x 1GE/10GE 24x 1GE/10GE 4x 1GE RJ-45 4x 1GE RJ-45 28x 1GE/10GE 20x 1GE
* *
8x 1GE/10GE/25GE 8x 1GE/10GE/25GE (10/100M) (10/100M) *
4x 40GE /100GE 12x 1GE/10GE
2x 40GE/100GE 2x 40GE/100GE 16x 1GE/10GE 12x 1GE
* *
8x 1GE /10GE /25GE 12x 1GE/10GE
*
2x 40GE /100GE

Performance Up to 300 Mpps Up to 300 Mpps Up to 300 Mpps Up to 160 Mpps Up to 300 Mpps Up to 160 Mpps

Power Supplies 2 hot-swappable 2 hot-swappable Fixed dual redundant Fixed dual Fixed dual Fixed dual
Fans AC/DC power supplies AC/DC power supplies DC power supplies redundant DC redundant DC redundant DC
Airflow provide 1+1 provide 1+1 power supplies power supplies power supplies
Fixed single AC power
redundancy redundancy supply Fixed single AC Fixed single AC Fixed single AC
4 modular fans provide 4 modular fans provide Modular Fan Tray with power supply power supply power supply
3+1 redundant system 3+1 redundant system redundant fans Fixed redundant Fixed redundant Fixed redundant
cooling cooling fans fans fans
Side-to-side Airflow
Front-to-back airflow Front-to-back airflow (right to left) Side-to-side Airflow Front-to-back Front-to-back
(right to left) airflow airflow

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 Chassis PID N540-24Z8Q2C-SYS N540-ACC-SYS N540X-16Z4G8Q2C -A N540X-12Z16G- N540-28Z4C- N540-12Z20G-SYS
SYS-A SYS -A -A
N540-24Z8Q2C-M N540X-ACC-SYS N540X-16Z4G8Q2C –D
(Conformal Coated) N540X-12Z16G- N540-28Z4C- N540-12Z20G-SYS
SYS-D SYS –D -D

Temperature I-Temp: -40°C to I-Temp: -40°C to I-Temp: -40°C to +70°C I-Temp: -40°C to C-Temp: -5°C to C-Temp: -5°C to
Range +70°C at 1,000ft +70°C at 1,000ft at 1,000ft +70°C at 1,000ft +55°C at 6,000ft +55°C at 6,000ft
+65°C at 6,000ft +65°C at 6,000ft +65°C at 6,000ft +65°C at 6,000ft +40°C at 13,000ft +40°C at 13,000ft
+55°C at 13,000ft +55°C at 13,000ft +55°C at 13,000ft +55°C at 13,000ft
Conformal coated SKU Conformal coated SKU Conformal coated
option for hot humid for hot humid SKU for hot humid
conditions conditions conditions

Surge Rating AC: 1kV DM, 2kV CM AC: 1kV DM, 2kV CM AC: 2KV DM, 2KV CM AC: 2KV DM, 2KV AC: 2KV DM, 2KV AC: 2KV DM, 2KV
DC: 1kV DM, 1kV CM DC: 1kV DM, 1kV CM DC: 1KV DM, 2KV CM CM CM CM
As per IEC
61000-4-5 DC: 1KV DM, 1KV DC: 1KV DM, 1KV DC: 1KV DM, 1KV
CM CM CM

Timing SyncE, PTP SyncE, PTP SyncE, PTP SyncE, PTP SyncE, PTP SyncE, PTP
Internal GNSS receiver Internal GNSS receiver Internal GNSS receiver Internal GNSS Interfaces: BITS, Interfaces: BITS,
* * * *
SW SW SW receiver SW 1pps, 10MHz, 1pps, 10MHz, ToD,
Interfaces: 1pps, Interfaces: 1pps, Interfaces: BITS, 1pps, Interfaces: BITS, ToD, antenna for antenna for GNSS
10MHz, ToD, antenna 10MHz, ToD, antenna 10MHz, ToD, antenna 1pps, 10MHz, ToD, GNSS Class B/C
*

*
for GNSS for GNSS for GNSS antenna for GNSS Class B/C
Class B Class B Class C Class C

Physical 1RU 1RU 1RU 1RU 1RU 1RU

Specification Depth: 26 cm Depth: 26 cm Depth: 28 cm Depth: 25 cm Depth: 25 cm Depth: 25 cm
1.72 in. x 17.3 in. x 10.1 1.72 in. x 17.3 in. x 10.1 1.72 in. x 17.3 in. x 11.02 1.72 in. x 17.3 in. x 1.72 in. x 17.3 in. x 1.72 in. x 17.3 in. x
in. in. in. 9.84 in. 9.84 in. 9.84 in.
Weight: 5.9 kg Weight: 5.9 kg Weight: 5.5 kg Weight: 6.0 kg Weight: 4.7 kg Weight: 4.7 kg

*
Post FCS

Software feature support on NCS 540 in Cisco IOS XR:

Description Specification

Layer 2 Layer 2 forwarding and bridging

Bridge Domains (BD)
Ethernet Flow Point (EFP)
IEEE 802.1Q VLANs and Q-in-Q
Ethernet Link Aggregation Group (LAG)
Link Aggregation Control Protocol (LACP) 802.3ad
G.8032
Jumbo frames on all ports

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 Description Specification

Layer 3 IPv4 and IPv6 unicast routing

Layer 3 interfaces: physical interfaces and sub-interfaces
Virtual Routing and Forwarding (VRF)
Open Shortest Path First (OSPFv2, OSPFv3)
Intermediate System to Intermediate System (ISIS, ISISv6)
Multiprotocol Border Gateway Protocol (MP-BGP)
Equal-Cost Multipath (ECMP)
Bidirectional Forwarding Detection (BFD)
Virtual Router Redundancy Protocol (VRRP)
Integrated Routing Bridging (IRB) with Bridge Virtual Interface (BVI)
Generic Routing Encapsulation (GRE)

MPLS Label switching (LER, LSR)

Label Distribution Protocol (LDP)
BGP Labeled Unicast (BGP-LU)
MPLS Traffic Engineering with RSVP-TE
Point-to-point L2VPN – Static, T-LDP, EVPN-VPWS
Multipoint L2VPN – VPLS, EVPN
L2/L3 EVPN with Anycast IRB
6PE, 6VPE
IP Loop-Free Alternate (LFA) Fast Reroute (FRR)
RSVP-TE Fast Reroute (FRR)

Segment Routing (SR) Segment Routing with MPLS data plane (SR-MPLS)
Segment Routing with IPv6 data plane (SRv6)
ISIS, OSPF, BGP extensions to segment routing
BGP Egress Peering Engineering (BGP-EPE)
Segment Routing Traffic Engineering (SRTE)
Segment Routing Path Computation Element (SR-PCE)
Topology Independent Loop-Free Alternate (TI-LFA)
Segment Routing On-Demand Next-hop (SR-ODN)

Multicast IPv4 and IPv6 multicast routing

PIM-SM, PIM-SSM
IGMPv3, MLDv2
mLDP
mVPN
P2MP-TE

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 Description Specification

Quality of Service (QoS) Class-based 3-level Hierarchical QoS

Virtual Output Queueing (VOQ)
Policing, Shaping
Multi-level priority queuing
Classification based on L2/L3/L4 fields
Remarking
Weighted Random Early Detection (WRED)
Deep packet buffer

Timing SyncE with ESMC

Integrated GNSS receiver
IEEE 1588-2008 PTP T-GM, T-BC, T-TSC
G.8265.1, G.8275.1, G.8275.2
G.8273.2 Class B/C

Security Control-plane and management plane protection

Local Packet Transport Services (LPTS)
Authentication, Authorization, and Accounting (AAA)
Terminal Access Controller Access-Control System Plus (TACACS+)
Secure Shell (SSH)
Layer 3 ingress and egress ACLs for IPv4 and IPv6
Layer 2 ingress ACLs
Unicast Reverse Path Forwarding (Unicast RPF)

OAM CDP, LLDP, ICMP, DHCP Relay

IP SLA
MPLS OAM
Ethernet OAM: CFM, Y.1731 DM/SLM
TWAMP
Model/Event Driven Telemetry
Netflow
SPAN/ERSPAN

Manageability CLI
SNMP MIB
NETCONF/gRPC (XML, JSON, GPB)
YANG models (native, open: OpenConfig, IETF)
RPM-based SW infrastructure
Zero-Touch Provisioning (ZTP) with iPXE
3rd party application hosting on N540-24Z8Q2C-SYS

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Supported transceiver modules
Please refer to Transceiver Module Group (TMG) Compatibility Matrix for the NCS 540 Series supported transceivers.

Environment
● Environmental properties for NCS 540 fixed systems

Normal operating temperature Industrial temperature: –40°C to +70°C (1,000 ft.), +65°C (6,000 ft.), +55°C (13,000 ft.)
Commercial temperature: –5°C to +55°C (6,000 ft.), +40°C (13,000 ft.)

Nonoperating (storage) –40 to 70°C (–40 to 158°F)

temperature

Operating humidity All variants of NCS 540: 5% to 95% (noncondensing) except

N540-28Z4C-SYS-A/D, N540-12Z20G-SYS-A/D: 15% to 85% (noncondensing)

Storage (relative) humidity 5% to 95% at 40°C per NEBS GR-63-Core

Altitude 0 to 13,000 ft.

Power Worldwide ranging AC (90–265V; 50–60 Hz)

Worldwide ranging DC (–40V to –72V)

Regulatory standards compliance

● Regulatory standards compliance: safety and EMC

Specification Description

Regulatory compliance Products should comply with CE markings according to directives 2004/108/EC and 2006/95/EC

Network Equipment Building Designed to meet GR-63-CORE and GR-1089-CORE

Standards (NEBS)

Safety UL 60950-1 Second Edition

CAN/CSA-C22.2 No. 60950-1 Second Edition
EN 60950-1 Second Edition
IEC 60950-1 Second Edition
AS/NZS 60950-1
GB4943

EMC standards 47CFR Part 15 (CFR 47) Class A

AS/NZS CISPR22 Class A
CISPR22 Class A
EN55022 Class A
ICES003 Class A
VCCI Class A
EN61000-3-2
EN61000-3-3
KN22 Class A

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 Specification Description

CNS13438 Class A

EMC immunity EN55024

CISPR24
EN300386
KN 61000-4 series

ETSI ETS/EN 300 119 Part 4

ETS/EN 300 019 - Storage: Class 1.2, Transportation: Class 2.3, In-Use/Operational: Class 3.2
ETS/EN 300 753

RoHS The product is RoHS-6 compliant with exceptions for leaded-ball grid-array (BGA) balls and lead press-
fit connectors

Ordering information
Router PID N540-24Z8Q2C- N540-ACC-SYS N540X-ACC-SYS N540X- N540X-12Z16G- N540-28Z4C-SYS- N540-12Z20G-SYS-
SYS 16Z4G8Q2C-A SYS-A A A

N540X- N540X-12Z16G- N540-28Z4C-SYS- N540-12Z20G-SYS-

16Z4G8Q2C-D SYS-D D D

Description NCS 540 24x1/10GE, NCS 540 24x1/10GE, NCS 540 24x1/10GE, Cisco NCS 540 Cisco NCS 540 Cisco NCS 540 Cisco NCS 540
8x10/25GE, 8x10/25GE, 8x10/25GE, System with System with 12x1G System with System with
2x100GE chassis 2x100GE chassis 2x100GE conformal 16x10G+4x1G SFP + 4x1G Cu + 28x10G+4x100G, AC 20x1G+12x10G, AC
coated chassis Cu+8x25G+2x100G, 12x10G AC Cisco NCS 540 Cisco NCS 540
AC Cisco NCS 540 System with System with

Cisco NCS 540 System with 12x1G 28x10G+4x100G, 20x1G+12x10G, DC

System with SFP + 4x1G Cu + DC

16x10G+4x1G 12x10G, DC

Cu+8x25G+2x100G,
DC

GE, 2x100G chassis

Power Supplies Power Supply: Power Supply: Power Supply: Fan Tray: Rackmounts for DC Rackmounts for DC Rackmounts for DC

N540-PWR400-A N540-PWR400-A N540-PWR400-A N540-X-BB-FAN variant: variant: variant:

Fans
N540-PWR400-D N540-PWR400-D N540-PWR400-D Rackmounts for DC N540-RCKMT-19- N540-RCKMT-19- N540-RCKMT-19-
Accessories ACD CLD CLD
Fan: Fan: Fan: variant:

N540-RCKMT-19- N540-RCKMT-23- N540-RCKMT-23- N540-RCKMT-23-

N540-FAN N540-FAN N540-X-FAN
EGD ACD CLD CLD
Rackmount for AC Rackmount for AC Rackmount for AC
N540-RCKMT-23- N540-RKMT-ETSI- N540-RKMT-ETSI- N540-RKMT-ETSI-
variant: variant: variant:
EGD ACD CLD CLD
N540-RCKMT-19 N540-RCKMT-19 N540-RCKMT-19
N540-RKMT-ETSI- Rackmounts for AC Rackmounts for AC Rackmounts for AC
N540-RCKMT-23 N540-RCKMT-23 N540-RCKMT-23 variant: variant: variant:
EGD
N540-RKMT-ETSI N540-RKMT-ETSI N540-RKMT-ETSI N540-RCKMT-19- N540-RCKMT-19- N540-RCKMT-19-
Rackmounts for AC
Cable Brackets: Cable Brackets: Cable Brackets: variant: ACA CLA CLA

N540-CBL-GD-19 N540-CBL-GD-19 N540-CBL-GD-19 N540-RCKMT-19- N540-RCKMT-23- N540-RCKMT-23- N540-RCKMT-23-

EGA ACA CLA CLA

N540-RCKMT-23- N540-RKMT-ETSI- N540-RKMT-ETSI- N540-RKMT-ETSI-

EGA ACA CLA CLA

N540-RKMT-ETSI- Cable Brackets: Cable Brackets: Cable Brackets:

© 2019 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Page 9 of 12

 Router PID N540-24Z8Q2C- N540-ACC-SYS N540X-ACC-SYS N540X- N540X-12Z16G- N540-28Z4C-SYS- N540-12Z20G-SYS-
SYS 16Z4G8Q2C-A SYS-A A A

N540X- N540X-12Z16G- N540-28Z4C-SYS- N540-12Z20G-SYS-

16Z4G8Q2C-D SYS-D D D

EGA N540-CBL-BRKT- N540-CBL-BRKT-CL N540-CBL-BRKT-

Cable Brackets: AC N540-WALLMT- DN

N540-CBL-BRKT- CLA N540-WALLMT-

EG CLA

Software XR-6.5-AC-TRK XR-6.5-AC-TRK XR-6.5-AC-TRK XR-7.0-AC-TRK XR-7.0-AC-TRK XR-7.0-AC-TRK XR-7.0-AC-TRK

TRK-6.5-54 TRK-6.5-54 TRK-6.5-54 TRK-7.0-54 TRK-7.0-54 TRK-7.0-54 TRK-7.0-54

Ordering information for software licenses available on NCS 540

Part number Description

ESS-AC-10G-RTU-1 Essentials SW Right-to-Use per 10G

ADV-AC-10G-RTU-1 Advanced SW Right-to-Use per 10G

ESS-10G-SIA-3 Essentials SW Innovation Access per 10G 3-year subscription

ESS-10G-SIA-5 Essentials SW Innovation Access per 10G 5-year subscription

ADV-10G-SIA-3 Advanced SW Innovation Access per 10G 3-year subscription

ADV-10G-SIA-5 Advanced SW Innovation Access per 10G 5-year subscription

Ordering information for power cables supported on NCS 540

Part number Description

CAB-AC-SA Power Cord - South Africa, 16/10A,250V,1830mm, -40C to +85C

CAB-AC-ARG Power Cord - Argentina, 10A,250V,2500mm, -40C to +85C

CAB-AC-ISR Power Cord - Israel, 16/10A,250V,2500mm, -40C to +85C

CAB-AC-TAI Power Cord - Taiwan, 15/10A,125V,2500mm, -40C to +85C

CAB-AC-CHI Power Cord - China, 10A,250V,2500mm, -40C to +85C

CAB-AC-KOR Power Cord - Korea, 16/10A,125V,2500mm, -40C to +85C

CAB-AC-EUR Power Cord - Europe, 16/10A,250V, 2500mm, -40C to +85C

© 2019 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Page 10 of 12

 Part number Description

CAB-AC-ITL Power Cord - Italy, 10A,250V, 2500mm, -40C to +85C

CAB-AC-UK Power Cord - UK, 13/10A, 250V, 2500mm, -40C to +85C

CAB-AC-AUS Power Cord - Australia, 10A,250V,2500mm, -40C to +85C

CAB-AC-US Power Cord - US, 15A,125V,2500mm, -40C to +85C

CAB-AC-BRA Power Cord - Brazil, 10A,250V,2500mm, -40C to +85C

CAB-AC-IND Power Cord - India, 16/10A,250V,2500mm, -40C to +85C

CAB-AC-SUI Power Cord - Swiss, 10A,250V,2500mm, -40C to +85C

CAB-AC-SA Power Cord - South Africa, 16/10A,250V,1830mm, -40C to +85C

CAB-AC-ARG Power Cord - Argentina, 10A,250V,2500mm, -40C to +85C

CAB-AC-ISR Power Cord - Israel, 16/10A,250V,2500mm, -40C to +85C

Service and support

Cisco offers a wide range of services to help accelerate your success in deploying and optimizing the Cisco NCS 540. These
innovative Cisco Services offerings are delivered through a unique combination of people, processes, tools, and partners,
and they are focused on helping you increase operating efficiency and improve your network operation. Cisco Advanced
Services uses an architecture-led approach to help you align your data center infrastructure with your business goals and
achieve long-term value. Cisco Services helps you resolve mission-critical problems with direct access at any time to Cisco
network experts and award-winning resources. With this service, you can take advantage of the Cisco Smart Call Home
service, which offers proactive diagnostics and real-time alerts on your Cisco NCS 540. Spanning the entire network
lifecycle, Cisco Services offerings help increase investment protection, optimize network operations, support migration
operations, and strengthen your IT expertise.

Cisco Capital
Flexible payment solutions to help you achieve your objectives
Cisco Capital makes it easier to get the right technology to achieve your objectives, enable business transformation
and help you stay competitive. We can help you reduce the total cost of ownership, conserve capital, and accelerate
growth. In more than 100 countries, our flexible payment solutions can help you acquire hardware, software, services and
complementary third-party equipment in easy, predictable payments. Learn more.

© 2019 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Page 11 of 12

Warranty
The Cisco NCS 540 has a 1-year limited hardware warranty. The warranty includes hardware replacement with a 10-day
turnaround from receipt of a Return Materials Authorization (RMA).

For more information

For more information about the Cisco NCS 540, contact your Cisco representative.

Printed in USA C78-740296-02 09/19

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