MX480 Switch Control Boards
SCB-MX Description
The MX Switch Control Board (SCB-MX) provides control plane functions, chassis management functions, and switch plane functions for MX960, MX480, and MX240 routers. It is also a carrier for the Routing Engine which installs directly into a slot on the SCB-MX. See Figure 1.

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SCB-MX Functions |
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SCB-MX Components |
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SCB-MX Slot Numbers | For the MX960:
Note: On the MX960, either a SCB-MX or a DPC can be plugged into slot 8. A third SCB-MX is used only for switch fabric redundancy. Therefore, if an application does not require switch fabric redundancy, a DPC can be used in slot 8. For the MX480 and MX240 routers:
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Weight and Dimensions |
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SCB-MX Fabric Planes and Redundancy | For MX960 routers:
For MX240 and MX480 routers:
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Maximum Power Requirements | SCB-MX (applies to MX240, MX480, and MX960) 185 W at 55° C 160 W at 40° C 155 W at 25° C |
SCB-MX LEDs
Three LEDs on the SCB indicate the status of the SCB. The LEDs, labeled FABRIC ACTIVE, FABRIC ONLY, and OK/FAIL, are located directly on the SCB. Table 1 describes the functions of the SCB LEDs.
Table 1: SCB-MX LEDs
Label | Color | State | Description |
---|---|---|---|
| Green | On steadily | Fabric is in active mode. |
| Green | On steadily | SCB-MX operates in fabric-only mode. |
– | Off | SCB-MX operates in fabric/control board mode. | |
| Green | On steadily | SCB-MX is online. |
Red | On steadily | SCB-MX has failed. | |
– | Off | SCB-MX is offline. |
SCB-MX Fabric Plane Scale and Redundancy
Each of the fabric planes on the SCB-MX is able to process 20 Gbps of bandwidth. The MX240 and MX480 use eight fabric planes across two SCB-MXs, whereas the MX960 uses six fabric planes across three SCB-MX’s˙. Because of the fabric plane virtualization, the aggregate fabric bandwidth between the MX240, MX480, and MX960 is different. Refer to Table 2.
Table 2: SCB-MX Fabric Plane Scale and Redundancy Assuming Four PFEs per FPC
SCB-MX | MX240 | MX480 | MX960 |
---|---|---|---|
PFEs | 12 | 24 | 48 |
SCBs | 2 | 2 | 3 |
Switch Fabrics | 4 | 4 | 6 |
Fabric Planes | 8 | 8 | 6 |
Spare Planes | 4 (1+1 SCB-MX redundancy) | 4 (1+1 SCB-MX redundancy) | 2 (2+1 SCB-MX redundancy) |
Fabric Bandwidth Per Slot | 160 Gbps | 160 Gbps | 120 Gbps |
Supported Routing Engines
The SCB-MX supports the following routing engines (REs):
SCBE-MX Description
The MX Enhanced Switch Control Board (SCBE-MX) for MX960, MX480, and MX240 routers serves the carrier Ethernet services router and carrier Ethernet transport markets that require higher-capacity traffic support, demanding greater interface density (slot and capacity scale), as well as improved services. The SCBE-MX provides:
160 Gbps/slot bandwidth with redundant fabric support, and improved fabric performance by using the next-generation fabric (XF) chip
A central clocking module and a centralized clocking architecture that supports clock cleanup and distribution. The Stratum 3 clock module performs clock monitoring, filtering, and holdover in a centralized chassis location
Full performance with fabric redundancy for higher capacity line cards such as 16x10GE and MPC3
The Routing Engine installs directly into a slot on the SCBE-MX (see Figure 2).

Table 3 lists the maximum number of SCBE-MXs you can install in the MX chassis, the corresponding slot labels, and the backup slot used for redundancy. If any slots are empty, you must install a blank panel.
Table 3: SCBE-MX Specifications
Chassis | Maximum SCBE-MXs | Slot Labels | Backup Slot |
---|---|---|---|
MX960 | 3 |
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MX480 | 2 | 0 and 1 | 1 |
MX240 | 2 | 0 and 1 | 1 |
Routing Engines and MPCs for the SCBE-MX
The SCBE-MX supports the routing engines and MPCs in Table 4.
Table 4: Supported Routing Engines and MPCs for the SCBE-MX
Supported Routing Engines | Supported MPCs |
---|---|
RE-S-1300 RE-S-1800 (all variants) RE-S-2000 | MPC3e MPC3e MPC3e |
SCBE-MX LEDs
The FABRIC ACTIVE
, FABRIC ONLY
, and OK/FAIL
LEDs indicate the status of the
SCBE-MX. The BITS
, GPS
,
and UTI
LEDs (next to the EXT CLK
port) indicate the status of the respective clocking interface. Table 5 describes the behavior of the SCBE-MX
LEDs.
Table 5: SCBE-MX LEDs
Label | Color | State | Description |
---|---|---|---|
| Green | On steadily | Fabric is in active mode. |
| Green | On steadily | SCBE-MX operates in fabric-only mode. |
– | Off | SCBE-MX operates in fabric/control board mode. | |
| Green | On steadily | SCBE-MX is online. |
Red | On steadily | SCBE-MX has failed. | |
– | Off | SCBE-MX is offline. | |
Red | On steadily | GPS clocking interface has failed. | |
– | Off | GPS clocking interface is offline. | |
Note:
The LEDs | |||
| Green | On steadily | Building-integrated timing supply (BITS) clocking interface is active. |
Red | On steadily | BITS clocking interface has failed. | |
– | Off | BITS clocking interface is offline. | |
| Green | On steadily | Global positioning system (GPS) clocking interface is active. |
Red | On steadily | GPS clocking interface has failed. | |
– | Off | GPS clocking interface is offline. | |
| Green | On steadily | Universal Timing Interface (UTI) clocking interface is active. |
Red | On steadily | UTI clocking interface has failed. | |
– | Off | UTI clocking interface is offline. |
SCBE2-MX Description
The MX Enhanced Switch Control Board (SCBE2-MX) serves the carrier Ethernet services router and carrier Ethernet transport markets that require higher-capacity traffic support, demanding greater interface density (slot and capacity scale) as well as improved services. The SCBE-MX is supported on MX960, MX480, and MX240 routers.
The SCBE2-MX is installed vertically in the MX960 chassis and horizontally in the MX480 and MX240 chassis. The routing engine is installed directly into a slot on the SCBE2-MX (see Figure 3).

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Requirements | For proper cooling, you must install MX-series high-capacity fan trays in the MX chassis. Additionally, for the MX960, you must install a high-capacity filter tray. |
SCBE2-MX Features |
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SCBE2-MX Components |
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SCBE2-MX Slots | For the MX960:
For the MX480 and MX240 routers:
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SCBE2-MX Fabric Planes and Redundancy | For the MX960:
For the MX240 and MX480 routers:
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Weight and Dimensions |
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Maximum Power Requirements | SCBE2-MX (applies to MX240, MX480, and MX960) 185 W at 55° C 160 W at 40° C 155 W at 25° C |
LEDs |
For more information about the SCBE2-MX LEDs, see SCBE2-MX LEDs. |
SCBE2-MX Interoperability with Existing Hardware
SCBE2 Operating Mode | MX240/480/960 | Supported |
---|---|---|
Enhanced IP/Enhanced Ethernet Mode Only | DPC/MS-DPC | No |
MS-MPC | Yes | |
MPC1 | Yes | |
MPC2 | Yes | |
MPC3 | Yes | |
MPC4 | Yes | |
MPC2-NG | Yes | |
MPC3-NG | Yes | |
16x10GE MPC | Yes | |
MPC5 | Yes | |
MPC6 | No | |
MPC7 (480 Gbps) | Yes | |
MPC8 (960 Gbps) | No | |
MPC9 (1.6 Tbps) | No | |
Routing Engines | RE-S-1300(EOLed) RE-S-2000 (EOLed) RE-S-1800 (all variants) RE-S-X6 (all variants) | yes yes yes yes |
SCBE2-MX LEDs
FABRIC ACTIVE
, FABRIC ONLY
, and OK/FAIL
LEDs indicate the status of the
SCBE2-MX. The BITS
, GPS
,
and UTI
LEDs, located next to the EXT
CLK
port, indicate the status of the respective clocking
interface. The LINK
LED located next to the two
Ethernet ports, indicate the status of the respective SFP+ interface. Table 6 describes the
functions of the SCBE2-MX LEDs.
Table 6: SCBE2-MX LEDs
Label | Color | State | Description |
---|---|---|---|
| Green | On steadily | Fabric is in active mode. |
| Green | On steadily | SCBE2-MX operates in fabric-only mode. |
– | Off | SCBE2-MX operates in fabric or control-board mode. | |
| Green | On steadily | SCBE2-MX is online. |
Red | On steadily | SCBE2-MX has failed. | |
– | Off | SCBE2-MX is offline. | |
| Green | On steadily | Building-integrated timing supply (BITS) clocking interface is active. |
Red | On steadily | BITS clocking interface has failed. | |
– | Off | BITS clocking interface is offline. | |
| Green | On steadily | Global positioning system (GPS) clocking interface is active. |
Red | On steadily | GPS clocking interface has failed. | |
– | Off | GPS clocking interface is offline. | |
| Green | On steadily | Universal Timing Interface (UTI) clocking interface is active. |
Red | On steadily | UTI clocking interface has failed. | |
– | Off | UTI clocking interface is offline. | |
| Green | On steadily | Port is enabled and link is established. |
– | Off | Port is disabled or no link is established. |