PRODUCT OVERVIEW

The Cisco ® Interface Flexibility (I-Flex) design combines shared port adapters (SPAs) and SPA interface processors (SIPs), taking advantage of an extensible design that helps enable service prioritization for voice, video, and data services. Enterprise and service provider customers can take advantage of improved slot economics resulting from modular port adapters that are interchangeable across Cisco routing platforms.

The Cisco 2-, 5-, 8-, and 10-Port Gigabit Ethernet SPAs are available on high-end Cisco routing platforms, offering the benefits of network scalability with lower initial costs and ease of upgrades. The Cisco SPA/SIP portfolio continues the company's focus on investment protection along with consistent feature support, broad interface availability, and the latest technology. The Cisco SPA/SIP portfolio allows deployment of different interfaces (Packet over SONET/SDH [PoS], ATM, Ethernet, etc.) on the same interface processor.

Gigabit Ethernet interfaces are commonly used for interconnecting routers or other devices within a central office or data center or in a metropolitan-area network (MAN). Cisco offers an extensive variety of 1000BASE-X Gigabit Ethernet SPAs to meet customers' needs for various applications. With Cisco Gigabit Ethernet SPAs, you can mix-and-match SPA ports with other types of interfaces in the same slot. Each SPA provides standards-based Gigabit Ethernet implementation for compatibility and interoperability.