Cisco ASR 9000 A9K-MOD400-SE: 400G Service Edge Module for Service Provider Networks

Product Overview

The Cisco ASR 9000 A9K-MOD400-SE is a high-performance 400G service edge module designed for the Cisco ASR 9000 Series routers. This advanced line card delivers carrier-class IP/MPLS routing performance with 400G capacity per slot, optimized for 5G transport, edge computing, and cloud-scale service provider networks.

Key Specifications

✔ Port Configuration:

• 1x 400G QSFP-DD port (breakout to 4x100G)

• Supports 400GBASE-DR4/FR4/LR4 optics

• Flexible Ethernet/OTN encapsulation

✔ Performance Characteristics:

• 400G line-rate throughput

• Sub-microsecond latency

• 950Mpps forwarding capacity

✔ Routing Capabilities:

• Full BGP/IS-IS/OSPF support

• Segment Routing (SR-MPLS, SRv6)

• EVPN/VXLAN for network virtualization

✔ Compatibility:

• Works with ASR 9904/9906/9910/9912/9920 chassis

• Requires IOS-XR 7.0.1 or later

• Supports all ASR 9000 system features

Advanced Features

5G Transport Optimized

• FlexE support for fronthaul/midhaul

• Precision timing (IEEE 1588v2, SyncE)

• Low-latency QoS for URLLC

Cloud-Scale Networking

• Network slicing capability

• Telemetry streaming (gRPC, GPB)

• Model-driven programmability

Carrier-Class Reliability

• 1+1 redundancy support

• Non-stop routing (NSR)

• In-service software upgrades (ISSU)

Advanced Security

• MACsec 256-bit encryption

• ACL with 50K+ entries

• uRPF and BGP Flowspec

Next-Generation Evolution: Cisco A9K-MOD800-XE (Projected 2026)

Key Upgrades & Innovations

Higher Capacity Interfaces

• 1x 800G QSFP-DD port (breakout to 8x100G or 2x400G)

• 1.6Tbps slot capacity

• FlexO and OTUCn support

AI-Driven Network Optimization

• ML-based traffic engineering

• Predictive congestion control

• Self-healing network capabilities

Quantum-Secure Routing

• Post-quantum cryptography

• QKD (Quantum Key Distribution) interface

• Hardware-based encrypted routing

Sustainability Features

• 50% lower power-per-bit

• Dynamic thermal management

• Carbon footprint analytics

Why Upgrade to A9K-MOD800-XE?

✔ 2x capacity increase for 800G networks
✔ AI-powered autonomous routing
✔ Quantum-safe infrastructure
✔ Sustainable operations with energy optimization
✔ Cloud-native operational model

Conclusion

The A9K-MOD400-SE delivers carrier-class 400G routing for next-generation service provider networks, while the A9K-MOD800-XE represents the future of edge routing with 800G capacity, AI-driven operations, and quantum security. Together, they provide service providers with a complete evolution path to meet exponentially growing bandwidth demands while ensuring operational efficiency and security.