Understanding PICs

Purpose

Inspect PICs to ensure that data packets are received from and transmitted to the network for supported media types.

What Is a PIC

A PIC is an interface card through which network cables carry data transmissions to and from the network plug. A PIC installs into a Flexible PIC Concentrator (FPC).

PICs are hot-removable and hot-insertable. Removing or inserting a PIC causes a brief interruption of forwarding performance. Each PIC has an ejector lever at the bottom of its faceplate that allows for easy removal from the router.

Table 49 lists some PIC characteristics for each routing platform. A PIC performs framing and line-speed signaling for its media type.

Table 49: PIC Characteristics Per Routing Platform

PIC Characteristic	M5/ M10	M7i	M10i	M20	M40	M40e	M160	M320	T320	T640
Single-wide PICs per FPC	4/8	4	8	16	32	32	32	32	16 (2 PICs per FPC)	32
Accepts Quad-wide PIC	Yes, M10 Internet router only		Yes	Yes, FPC not required	Yes, FPC not required	No	Yes, FPC not required	N/A 2 PICs per FPC3	N/A	N/A

Before transmitting outgoing data packets, the PICs encapsulate packets received from the FPCs. Each PIC is equipped with an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) that performs control functions specific to the PIC's media type.

For a listing of PICs supported for each routing platform, see the appropriate router hardware guide and the router PIC guide.

Figure 65 shows the PIC location in each router and the corresponding row and slot numbering.

Figure 65: PIC Location, Row, and Slot Numbering

See Also

Monitoring FPCs