Interface Types and Configurations

Physical Interface Types

The ACX7000 family of routers supports various physical interface types to provide flexibility for different deployment scenarios in metro access and aggregation networks.

Table 1: Physical Interface Types Supported on ACX7000 Routers

Interface Type	Speed	Description
SFP	1 Gbps	Standard 1GbE Ethernet interface commonly used for access links, customer premises equipment (CPE) connectivity, and low-bandwidth aggregation.
SFP+	10 Gbps	Widely deployed 10GbE interface for metro aggregation.
SFP28	25 Gbps	Used in high-capacity metro and access designs.
SFP56	50 Gbps	Used in high-capacity metro access, cell-site aggregation, and incremental upgrades from 25GbE.
QSFP+	40 Gbps	Can be used in native 40GbE mode or can be channelized into four 10GbE interfaces.
QSFP28	100 Gbps	Can be used in native 100GbE mode or can be channelized into four 25GbE interfaces.
QSFP56	400 Gbps	Used in links facing high-capacity metro-core interconnect and data centers. Supports breakout to multiple 100GbE and 50GbE lanes depending on the model.

Built-In Interfaces

The ACX7000 family of routers supports a wide range of interface types that are available as built-in ports. Several of these high-speed interfaces also support breakout operation, enabling channelization of a single physical port into multiple lower speed lanes. For example, you can have 4x25GbE, 4x10GbE, 2x50GbE, or 4x100GbE lanes depending on the transceiver and platform capabilities. These port features offer significant flexibility in how bandwidth is provisioned, enabling you to optimize port utilization, scale capacity incrementally, and support a mix of access, aggregation, and uplink requirements across diverse deployment scenarios.

Table 2: Built-In Interface Options for ACX7000 Routers

Model	1GbE (SFP)	10GbE (SFP+)	25GbE (SFP28)	40GbE (QSFP+)	50GbE (SFP56)	100GbE (QSFP28)	400GbE (QSFP56-DD)
ACX7100-32C	No	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
ACX7100-48L	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
ACX7024 and ACX7024X	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No
ACX7332 (fixed FPC)	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No
ACX7348 (fixed FPC)	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No
ACX7300-16Y	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	No
ACX7300-2DC4C	No	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
ACX7020	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
ACX7509‑FPC‑20Y	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	No
ACX7509‑FPC‑16Y	No	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	No
ACX7509‑FPC‑4CD	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes

For more information about the supported transceivers on ACX7000 routers, see Hardware Compatibility Tool.

Breakout and Channelization

Breakout options on the ACX7000 routers enable network operators to adapt to diverse access and aggregation requirements, and scale services efficiently without additional hardware.

Table 3: Breakout Options for ACX7000 Routers

Platform	4x25GbE	4x10GbE	4x100GbE	2x100GbE	2x50GbE	8x50GbE
ACX7100-32C	Ports 0–31 and 32–35	Ports 0–31 and 32–35	Ports 32–35	Ports 32–35	Ports 0–31 and 32–35	Ports 32–35
ACX7100-48L	Ports 48–53	Ports 48–53	Ports 48–53	Ports 48–53	Ports 48–53	Ports 48–53
ACX7024 and ACX7024X	Ports 0–3	Ports 0–3	–	–	Ports 0–3	–
ACX7332 (Fixed FPC)	Ports 24–31	Ports 24–31	–	–	–	–
ACX7K3-FPC-2CD4C (FPC supported on ACX7332 and ACX7348)	Ports 0–5	Ports 0–5	Ports 0 and 2	Ports 0 and 2	–	–
ACX7348	Ports 24–31	Ports 24–31	–	–	–	–
ACX7509‑FPC‑16Y	Ports 0,1,4,5,8,9,12, and 13	Ports 0,1,4,5,8,9,12, and 13	–	–	–	–
ACX7509‑FPC‑4CD	–	–	Ports 0–3	Ports 0–3	–	Ports 0–3
ACX7509‑FPC‑20Y	–	–	–	–	–	–

To validate supported port speeds and breakout options for your ACX7000 platform, see Port Checker Tool.

For more information, see Configure Port Speed for Channelized Interfaces.

Aggregated Ethernet Interfaces

Aggregated Ethernet (ae-) interfaces on ACX7000 routers provide link bundling capabilities by combining multiple physical interfaces into a single logical interface. Link bundling increases bandwidth, enhances resiliency, and simplifies network design by presenting multiple links as one logical entity.

These interfaces support both Layer 2 (L2) and Layer 3 (L3) operations and can leverage Link Aggregation Control Protocol (LACP) for dynamic link management. These features support scalable deployments across access and aggregation roles while ensuring redundancy and load balancing.

For more information about aggregated Ethernet interfaces and how to configure them, see Aggregated Ethernet Interfaces Overview.

Configuring Interfaces

This section introduces multiple approaches to VLAN-based L2 and L3 design, ranging from service‑provider-style encapsulations to enterprise configurations. This section compares flexible Ethernet services, VLAN trunking models, and different methods of delivering L3 connectivity over VLANs using IRB and physical interfaces.

• Service Provider–Style Configurations Using Flexible Ethernet Services Encapsulation
• Enterprise‑Style Flexible VLAN Trunk Interface Configuration
• Layer 3 over VLAN Using an IRB Interface
• Layer 3 over VLAN Using a Physical Interface