The Switch Interface Boards (SIBs) provide the switching function to the destination FPC (see Figure 1).
The SIBs create the switch fabric for the router, providing up to a total of 640 million packets per second (Mpps) of forwarding. Five SIBs are installed in the router. The SIBs are located at the center rear of the chassis in the slots labeled SIB0 through SIB4 (top to bottom).
SIBs are hot-insertable and hot-removable.
One of the five SIBs—usually SIB4—acts as a backup to the remaining four SIBs. If a SIB fails, the backup SIB becomes active and traffic forwarding continues without any degradation. When the failed SIB is replaced, it becomes the new backup.
Each SIB consists of the following components:
Each T640-SIB also has a fiber-optic adapter for connection
to a TX Matrix router. See the TX Matrix Router Hardware Guide
.
Table 1: Links to the SIBs From the FPCs
FPC Type | Links to SIBs |
|---|---|
Type 1 FPC | Each FPC has one dedicated ASIC with five high-speed links that connect to the SIBs (one link per SIB) |
Type 2 FPC | Each FPC has one dedicated ASIC with five high-speed links that connect to the SIBs (one link per SIB) |
Type 3 FPC | Each FPC has two dedicated ASICs, and each ASIC has five high-speed links that connect to the SIBs (a total of 10 links). |
Type 4 FPC | Each FPC has one dedicated ASIC with ten high-speed links that connect to the SIBs (two links per SIB). |
The T640 router supports these types of SIBs:
Figure 1: Standard SIB and Standard SIB Version B

Figure 2: T640 SIB
