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This chapter describes the PA-4E port adapter and contains the following sections:
The PA-4E provides up to four IEEE 802.3 Ethernet 10BaseT interfaces. (See Figure 1-1.) Each Ethernet 10BaseT interface allows a maximum bandwidth of 10 Mbps, for a maximum aggregate bandwidth of 40 Mbps. All four ports run at line (wire) speed.
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Note Although the VIP2 and Catalyst RSM/VIP2 support online insertion and removal (OIR), individual port adapters do not. To replace port adapters, you must first remove the VIP2 or Catalyst RSM/VIP2 from the chassis, and then replace port adapters as required. Cisco 7100 series, Cisco 7200 series, and Cisco uBR7200 series routers support OIR of all port adapter types. |

The term Ethernet is commonly used for all carrier sense multiple access/collision detection (CSMA/CD) local-area networks (LANs) that generally conform to Ethernet specifications, including IEEE 802.3. Ethernet Version 2 and IEEE 802.3 were based on, and developed shortly after, Ethernet Version 1. The slight differences between Ethernet and IEEE 802.3 are implemented in hardware, and both are supported automatically by the PA-4E without any hardware configuration changes. Together, Ethernet and IEEE 802.3 are the most widely used LAN protocols. They are well suited to applications where a local communication medium must carry sporadic, occasionally heavy traffic at high-peak data rates.
Stations on a CSMA/CD LAN can access the network at any time. Before sending data, the station listens to the network to see if it is already in use. If it is, the station waits until the network is not in use, and then transmits. A collision occurs when two stations listen for network traffic, hear none, and transmit simultaneously. When this happens, both transmissions are damaged, and the stations must retransmit. The stations detect the collision and use backoff algorithms to determine when they should retransmit.
Both Ethernet and IEEE 802.3 are broadcast networks, which means that all stations see all transmissions. Each station must examine received frames to determine whether it is the intended destination and, if it is, pass the frame to a higher protocol layer for processing. IEEE 802.3 specifies several different physical layers, and Ethernet defines only one.
Each IEEE 802.3 physical layer protocol has a name that summarizes its characteristics in the format speed/signaling method/segment length, where speed is the LAN speed in Mbps, signaling method is the signaling method used (either baseband or broadband), and segment length is the maximum length between stations in hundreds of meters.
Table 1-1 summarizes the characteristics of IEEE 802.3 Ethernet and Ethernet Version 2 for 10BaseT.
| Parameter | IEEE 802.3 Ethernet | 10BaseT Ethernet |
|---|---|---|
Data Rate (Mbps) | 10 | 10 |
Signaling method | Baseband | Baseband |
Maximum segment length (m) | 500 | 100 (UTP) |
Media | 50-ohm coax (thick) | Unshielded twisted-pair (UTP) |
Topology | Bus | Star |
Table 1-2 lists the cabling specifications for 10-Mbps transmission over UTP and FTP cables.
| Parameter | RJ-45 |
|---|---|
Cable specification | |
Maximum segment length | 328 ft (100 m) for 10BaseT |
Maximum network length | 9,186 ft (2,800 m) (with 4 repeaters) |
| 1We do not supply Category 3 and Category 5 UTP RJ-45 cables; these cables are available commercially. 2AWG = American Wire Gauge. This gauge is specified by the EIA/TIA-568 standard. |
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Note The IEEE 802.3 Ethernet specifications call the 4E device an end station, and the 4E has a built-in transceiver. The 4E interfaces connect directly to a hub or repeater. |
The PA-4E contains four status LEDs (one for each port), called the link LEDs and one enabled LED. (See Figure 1-2.)
The following conditions must be met before the PA-4E is enabled:
If any of the above conditions are not met, or if the initialization fails for other reasons, the enabled LED does not go on.

Table 1-3 lists LED colors and indications.
| LED Label | Color | State | Meaning |
ENABLED | Green | On | Port adapter is enabled for operation. |
LINK 0 through 4 | Green | On | 10BaseT port is active and is receiving a carrier signal from the network. |
The interface connectors on the PA-4E are four individual RJ-45 receptacles. You can use all four simultaneously. Each connection supports IEEE 802.3 and Ethernet 10BaseT interfaces compliant with appropriate standards. The RJ-45 connections require external transceivers. We do not supply Category 5 UTP RJ-45 cables; these cables are available commercially.
Figure 1-3 shows the RJ-45 connectors. Table 1-4 lists the pinouts and signals for the RJ-45 connectors.
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Caution The ports labeled "Ethernet," "10BaseT," "Token Ring," "Console," and "AUX" are safety extra-low voltage (SELV) circuits. SELV circuits should only be connected to other SELV circuits. Because the BRI circuits are treated like telephone-network voltage, avoid connecting the SELV circuit to the telephone network voltage (TNV) circuits. |
| Pin | Description |
|---|---|
1 | Transmit data + (TxD+) |
2 | TxD- |
3 | Receive data + (RxD+) |
6 | RxD- |
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Note Referring to the RJ-45 pinout in Table 1-4, proper common-mode line terminations should be used for the unused Category 5, UTP cable pairs 4/5 and 7/8. Common-mode termination reduces the contributions to electromagnetic interference (EMI) and susceptibility to common-mode sources. Wire pairs 4/5 and 7/8 are actively terminated in the RJ-45 port circuitry in the PA-4E. |
Depending on your 4E RJ-45 interface cabling requirements, use the pinouts in Figure 1-4 and Figure 1-5.


This section discusses port adapter slot locations on the supported platforms. The illustrations that follow summarize slot location conventions on each platform.
The Catalyst RSM/VIP2 can be installed in any slot except the top slots, which contain the supervisor engine modules. The Catalyst RSM/VIP2 in a Catalyst 5000 family switch does not use interface processor slot numbering; therefore, slots are not numbered in Figure 1-6. The PA-4E can be installed into either port adapter slot 0 or slot 1 on a Catalyst RSM/VIP2. Figure 1-6 shows a Catalyst RSM/VIP2 with two port adapters installed.
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Note The Catalyst 5500 switch has 13 slots. Slot 1 is reserved for the supervisor engine module. If a redundant supervisor engine module is used, it would go in slot 2; otherwise, slot 2 can be used for other modules. Slot 13 is a dedicated slot, reserved for the ATM Switch Processor (ASP) module. Refer to the Catalyst 5000 Series Route Switch Module Installation and Configuration Note for any additional slot restrictions for the Catalyst RSM/VIP2. |

The PA-4E can be installed in port adapter slot 3 in Cisco 7120 series routers, and in port adapter slot 4 in Cisco 7140 series routers. Figure 1-7 shows a Cisco 7120 with a port adapter installed in slot 3. Figure 1-8 shows a Cisco 7140 with a port adapter installed in slot 4.


Figure 1-9 shows a Cisco 7206 with port adapters installed. In the Cisco 7206 (including the Cisco 7206 and Cisco 7206VXR as router shelves in a Cisco AS5800 Universal Access Server), port adapter slot 1 is in the lower left position, and port adapter slot 6 is in the upper right position. (The Cisco 7202 and Cisco 7204 are not shown; however, the PA-4E can be installed in any available port adapter slot.)

Figure 1-10 shows the slot numbering of port adapters in a Cisco uBR7246 or Cisco uBR7246 VXR router. The port adapter slots are numbered slot 1 and slot 2 for the Cisco uBR7246 and Cisco uBR7246 VXR and slot 1 for the Cisco uBR7223. (Slot 0 is always reserved for the Fast Ethernet port on the I/O controller---if present.)

Figure 1-11 shows a partial view of a VIP motherboard with installed port adapters. With the motherboard oriented as shown in Figure 1-11, the left port adapter is in port adapters slot 0, and the right port adapter is in port adapter slot 1. The slot numbering is the same for the Catalyst RSM/VIP2. The slots are always numbered 0 and 1.

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Note In the Cisco 7000, Cisco 7507, and Cisco 7513 chassis, the VIP2 is installed vertically. In the Cisco 7010 and Cisco 7505 chassis, the VIP2 is installed horizontally. |

This section describes how to identify interface addresses for the PA-4E in supported platforms. Interface addresses specify the actual physical location of each interface on a router or switch.
Interfaces on the PA-4E installed in a router maintain the same address regardless of whether other port adapters are installed or removed. However, when you move a port adapter to a different slot, the first number in the interface address changes to reflect the new port adapter slot number.
Interfaces on a PA-4E installed in a VIP2 maintain the same address regardless of whether other interface processors are installed or removed. However, when you move a VIP2 to a different slot, the interface processor slot number changes to reflect the new interface processor slot.
See Table 1-5 for the interface address format.
| Platform | Interface Address Format | Numbers | Syntax |
|---|---|---|---|
Catalyst RSM/VIP2 in Catalyst 5000 family switches | Port-adapter-slot-number/interface-port-number | Port adapter slot-always 0 or 1 Interface port-0 through 3 | 0/1 |
Cisco 7120 series routers | Port-adapter-slot-number/interface-port-number | Port adapter slot-always 3 Interface port-0 through 3 | 3/1 |
Cisco 7140 series routers | Port-adapter-slot-number/interface-port-number | Port adapter slot-always 4 Interface port-0 through 3 | 4/0 |
Cisco 7200 series routers | Port-adapter-slot-number/interface-port-number | Port adapter slot-0 through 61 Interface port-0 through 3 | 3/1 |
Cisco uBR7223 router | Port-adapter-slot-number/interface-port-number | Port adapter slot- always 1 Interface port-0 through 3 | 1/0 |
Cisco uBR7246 and Cisco uBR7246 VXR routers | Port-adapter-slot-number/interface-port-number | Port adapter slot- always 1 or 2 Interface port-0 through 3 | 1/0 |
VIP2 in Cisco 7000 series or Cisco 7500 series routes | Interface-processor-slot-number/port-adapter-slot- number/interface-port-number | Interface processor slot-0 through 12 (depends on the number of slots in the router) Port adapter slot-always 0 or 1 Interface port-0 through 3 | 3/1/0 |
| 1Port adapter slot 0 is reserved for the Fast Ethernet port on the I/O controller (if present). |
This section describes how to identify interface addresses used for the PA-4E on the Catalyst RSM/VIP2 in Catalyst 5000 family switches. The interface addresses is composed of a two part number in the format port-adapter-slot-number/interface-port-number.
See Table 1-5 for the interface address format.
This section describes how to identify the interface addresses used for the PA-4E in Cisco 7100 series routers. The interface address is composed of a two-part number in the format port-adapter-slot-number/interface-port-number. See Table 1-5 for the interface address format.
This section describes how to identify the interface addresses used for the PA-4E in Cisco 7200 series routers or Cisco uBR7200 series routers. The interface address is composed of a two-part number in the format port-adapter-slot-number/interface-port-number. See Table 1-5 for the interface address format.
In Cisco 7200 series routers, port adapter slots are numbered from the lower left to the upper right, beginning with port adapter slot 1 and continuing through port adapter slot 2 for the Cisco 7202, slot 4 for the Cisco 7204 and Cisco 7204VXR, and slot 6 for the Cisco 7206 and Cisco 7206VXR. (Port adapter slot 0 is reserved for the optional Fast Ethernet port on the I/O controller---if present.)
The interface addresses of the interfaces on the PA-4E in port adapter slot 1 are 1/0 through 1/3 (port adapter slot 1 and interfaces 0 through 3). If the PA-4E was in port adapter slot 2, these same interfaces would be numbered 2/0 through 2/3 (port adapter slot 2 and interfaces 0 through 3).
In the Cisco uBR7200 series routers, port adapter slots are numbered slot 1 and slot 2 for the Cisco uBR7246 and Cisco uBr7246 VXR, and slot 1 for the Cisco uBR7223 (slot 0 is always reserved for the Fast Ethernet port on the I/O controller---if present). The number of additional ports depends on the number of ports on a port adapter.
The interface addresses of the interfaces on a PA-4E in port adapter slot 2 are 2/0, 2/1, 2/2, and 2/3. (port adapter slot 2 and interfaces 0 through 3). If the PA-4E was in port adapter slot 1, these same interfaces would be numbered 1/0 through 1/3 (port adapter slot 1 and interfaces 0 through 3).
This section describes how to identify the interface addresses used for the PA-4E on a VIP2 in Cisco 7000 and Cisco 7500 series routers.
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Note Although the processor slots in the 7-slot Cisco 7000 and Cisco 7507 and the 13-slot Cisco 7513 are vertically oriented and those in the 5-slot Cisco 7010 and Cisco 7505 are horizontally oriented, all Cisco 7000 series and Cisco 7500 series routers use the same method for slot and port numbering. |
See Table 1-5 for the interface address format. The interface address is composed of a three-part number in the format interface-processor-slot-number/port-adapter-slot-number/interface-port-number.
If the VIP2 is inserted in interface processor slot 3, then the interface addresses of the PA-4E are 3/0/0 through 3/0/3 (interface processor slot 3, port adapter slot 0, and interfaces 0 through 3). If the port adapter was in port adapter slot 1 on the VIP2, these same interface addresses would be numbered 3/1/0 through 3/1/3.
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Note If you remove the VIP2 with the PA-4E from interface processor slot 3 and install it in interface processor slot 2, the interface addresses become 2/0/0 through 2/0/3. |
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Posted: Fri Jan 7 16:36:55 PST 2000
Copyright 2000©Cisco Systems Inc.