Overview of the A9K-DSLT-LIC-5M=

The Cisco A9K-DSLT-LIC-5M= is a ​​5-year subscription license​​ for advanced data plane services on Cisco ASR 9000 Series routers, specifically designed for networks requiring sustained QoS guarantees and deep packet inspection (DPI) capabilities. This license unlocks ​​Tbps-scale traffic classification​​ and ​​application-aware routing​​ in Carrier Ethernet and 5G transport environments.

Core Technical Capabilities

• ​​Service Chaining​​: Enables ​​dynamic service insertion​​ for NFV workloads like firewalls and load balancers without throughput degradation.
• ​​Bandwidth Reservations​​: Guarantees ​​99.999% SLA compliance​​ for latency-sensitive traffic through hardware-accelerated Hierarchical QoS (HQoS).
• ​​Security Integration​​: Activates ​​MACsec-256 encryption​​ at line rate across all 100G/400G ports when paired with compatible line cards.
• ​​Analytics​​: Provides ​​flow telemetry export​​ at 1-second granularity via Cisco’s Model-Driven Telemetry framework.

Addressing Critical User Concerns

​​Q: Does this license cover hardware maintenance or only software features?​​
Exclusively software-driven capabilities. Hardware support requires separate Cisco SMART Net contracts.

​​Q: Can it be transferred between ASR 9910 and ASR 9922 chassis?​​
Yes, but requires reactivation through Cisco’s license portal and validation of IOS XR 7.9.1+ compatibility.

Deployment Scenarios

• ​​5G Network Slicing​​: Enables per-slice QoS policies with <10μs jitter for URLLC traffic.
• ​​Carrier Cloud Gateways​​: Orchestrates service chains between virtual PE routers and security VNFs at 400G line rates.
• ​​Video Streaming Optimization​​: Implements frame-level prioritization for 8K HDR content delivery networks (CDNs).

Licensing and Procurement

For operators prioritizing long-term traffic engineering flexibility, the “A9K-DSLT-LIC-5M=” is available here. Ensure existing ASR 9000 chassis run Cisco IOS XR 7.8.1+ and have Quantum Flow Processor-enabled line cards before activation.

Final Perspective: The Subscription Model Paradox

While the 5-year term provides cost predictability, operators lose granular control over feature adoption cycles – a critical drawback in fast-evolving 5G/cloud markets. Its true value emerges in networks standardizing on Cisco’s full-stack ASR+NCS architecture, where license portability across platforms justifies the commitment. For multi-vendor environments, shorter-term licenses might better accommodate emerging 800G requirements unaddressed in current ASR roadmaps.