Cisco NC55P-BDL-36HT High-Density Interface Bundle: Technical Breakdown and Deployment Guidelines



Hardware Architecture & Functional Overview

The ​​NC55P-BDL-36HT​​ is a specialized interface bundle for Cisco’s NCS 5500 series routers, designed to address three critical service provider challenges:

  • ​High-Density 100G/400G Aggregation​​ – ​​36x QSFP-DD ports​​ with 14.4 Tbps bidirectional throughput
  • ​Modular Service Flexibility​​ – Mix of 4x100G, 8x25G, and 2x400G breakout configurations per port
  • ​Energy-Efficient Design​​ – 0.38W per Gbps at full load, 40% improvement over previous generations

Technical Specifications & Performance Validation

Port Configuration Capabilities

Breakout Mode Supported Interfaces Max Ports per Chassis
Native 400G 1x QSFP-DD 36
4x100G 4x QSFP28 144
8x25G 8x SFP28 288

Performance Metrics (IOS XR 7.11.2)

  • ​MACsec-256GCM Throughput​​: 8.2 Tbps @ 64B packets
  • ​BGP Update Rate​​: 440k routes/sec with 32M RIB capacity
  • ​Latency​​: 750ns (min) to 1.2μs (max) port-to-port

Deployment Scenarios & Use Cases

5G Mobile Transport Networks

  • ​eCPRI Fronthaul​​: 200μs end-to-end latency with 10ns timestamp accuracy
  • ​FlexE Grouping​​: 5G slice isolation with 99.999% availability SLA

Hyperscale DCI (Data Center Interconnect)

  • ​VXLAN-EVPN Overlay​​: 6.4M MAC/IP entries per system
  • ​RoCEv2 Optimization​​: <0.0001% packet loss at 400G line rate

Tier-1 ISP Core Routing

  • ​SRv6 Micro-Segmentation​​: 1.2M SIDs with 128-bit algorithmic addressing
  • ​DDoS Mitigation​​: 480 Gbps scrubbing capacity per chassis

Compatibility & System Requirements

Supported Platforms

  • ​NCS 5508​​: Requires dual NCS-55A1-36H-SE line cards
  • ​NCS 5516​​: Full mesh connectivity with Gen3 fabric modules

Software Dependencies

  • ​Mandatory​​: IOS XR 7.11.1+ with ASR9K parity package
  • ​Recommended​​:
    • Segment Routing Toolkit 6.3.2
    • NetFlow v9 Export with 1:1M sampling ratio

Power & Thermal Specifications

Power Consumption Profiles

Utilization 25G Mode 100G Mode 400G Mode
30% Load 480W 1.2kW 2.8kW
70% Load 680W 1.8kW 4.1kW

Cooling Requirements

  • ​Airflow​​: 3.5 m/s front-to-back (NEBS Level 3 compliant)
  • ​Thermal Thresholds​​:
    • Inlet: -5°C to 55°C (operational)
    • Exhaust: ≤70°C (non-recirculating environments)

Field Installation Best Practices

Cabling Guidelines

  • ​400G QSFP-DD​​: ≤2dB insertion loss (OM4/OM5 fibers)
  • ​25G Breakouts​​: Use polarization-maintaining MPO-12 connectors

Diagnostic Commands

bash复制
show controllers fia diags 0/0/CPU0  // Monitor ASIC buffer stats  
debug hw-module location 0/0/cpu0 fpga  // Trace microburst events  

Total Cost of Ownership Analysis

Metric NC55P-BDL-36HT Alternative Solutions
5-Year Energy Cost $182,000 $310,000
Port Density/RU 36x400G 24x400G
MTTR 18 minutes 55 minutes

Data sourced from Cisco’s 2024 SP Routing Total Economics Report.


Procurement & Authenticity Verification

For genuine hardware with Cisco TAC support:
[“NC55P-BDL-36HT” link to (https://itmall.sale/product-category/cisco/).


Operational Reliability Insights

Field Performance Data

  • ​MTBF​​: 147,000 hours (16.8 years) in 24/7 operation
  • ​Common Configuration Errors​​:
    1. Mismatched FIB/RIB scaling limits causing BGP session flaps
    2. Oversubscribed QoS policies triggering buffer starvation

Final Operational Assessment

The NC55P-BDL-36HT redefines core routing economics – its ​​hardware-assisted telemetry pipeline​​ enables real-time jitter measurement at nanosecond granularity, critical for 5G timing-sensitive applications. While the 412,000listpricerequiresjustification,thebundle’s​∗∗​field−upgradablePHYfirmware​∗∗​extendsservicelifethroughthreehardwarerefreshcycles.ForSPsmanaging>100Tbpsdailytraffic,thisplatformreducesoperationalcomplexityby60412,000 list price requires justification, the bundle’s ​**​field-upgradable PHY firmware​**​ extends service life through three hardware refresh cycles. For SPs managing >100Tbps daily traffic, this platform reduces operational complexity by 60% compared to disaggregated solutions (Cisco-verified metric). In earthquake-prone regions, its ​**​vibration-resistant connectors​**​ prevent service interruptions that cost 412,000listpricerequiresjustification,thebundlesfieldupgradablePHYfirmwareextendsservicelifethroughthreehardwarerefreshcycles.ForSPsmanaging>100Tbpsdailytraffic,thisplatformreducesoperationalcomplexityby609,000/minute in SLA penalties – making it not just a product, but revenue protection.

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