Specifications
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Cisco 7100 Series VPN Router Installation and Configuration Guide
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Chapter 1 Overview
Functional Overview
Network Processor Card
The network processor card resides inside the chassis and is shown in Figure 1-33. The network
processor card provides the following features:
• Senses OIR of the port adapters
• Bridges the PCI buses from the interfaces to packet memory
• Arbitrates traffic across the PCI buses
• Generates the clock signals for the interfaces on each PCI bus
The network processor card also performs the following system management functions:
• Sending and receiving routing protocol updates
• Managing tables, caches, and buffers
• Monitoring interface and environmental status
• Providing Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) management and the console or Telnet
interface
• Accounting and switching of data traffic
• Booting and reloading images
• Managing port adapters (recognition and initialization during OIR)
Note Instructions for removing and replacing memory components on the network processor card, such as the
SDRAM DIMMs, are contained in the Installing Field-Replaceable Units in Cisco 7100 Series VPN
Routers document available online and on the Documentation CD.