MX Hardware Components Overview

MX Series Router Hardware Breakdown

MX Series routers are highly modular, and configurations feature several different types of modules, cards and components. Understanding what each component is and what they are used for can be helpful when validating MX builds.

MX Hardware Components
All MX builds begin with the chassis, obviously. Chassis units are available in many different bundle configurations, use the configurator to determine which components are included with a selected bundle.

• Chassis
  
• SCB, or Switch Control Board
  
• RE, or Routing Engine
  
• MPC, or Modular Port Concentrators
  
• MIC, or Modular Interface Cards
  
• Operating System
  
• Software Licenses
  
• Fan Tray
  
• Fan Filter
  
• Power Supplies
  

Function of MX Hardware Components
To break these components down further, it is helpful to think of them in functional groups.

• SCBs and REs affect the system backplane and routing performance.
  
• MPCs and MICs determine the interfaces and ports available on the unit.
  
• The Operating System and Software Licenses affect the router's technical capabilities.
  
• Fan Trays, Fan Filters and Power Supplies affect the physical operation of the device.
  

Physical Relationships Between Hardware Components
With these components outlined it is important to understand the physical relationship between them. Components like the OS, Fan Tray/Filter and Power Supplies are obviously not modular and have dedicated "slots" on the config. Parts like the MPCs, MICs, etc, however, are modular and relate to each other a bit differently

• MPCs are large modules that often contain individual module slots. These connect directly to the chassis.
  
• MICs connect to the module slots within the MPCs. These do not interface directly to the chassis hardware.
  
• SCBs are the primary modules on the unit and feature slots for the REs. These connect directly to the chassis.
  
• REs interface directly with the SCBs. These do not connect directly to the chassis.