The Brocade MLXe is a chassis router built from parts: a chassis, switch fabric modules, management modules, power supplies and interface modules, each with its own part number. The NetIron CES 2000 and CER 2000 are the 1U models of the same NetIron line. This guide walks through the chassis sizes and the parts each one takes, then the CES and CER models. Every figure comes from Brocade and Extreme technical specifications, installation guides, release notes and licensing guides, listed under Sources.
The short answer
Choose the chassis by slot count: 4, 8, 16 or 32. Then match the fabric modules, management modules and power supplies to that size, and check whether the interface modules you want need high speed switch fabric modules. For a 1U router with gigabit ports and 10 GbE uplinks, look at the CER 2000; the CES 2000 is the switch version.
The chassis side by side
| Chassis | Size | Power supplies | Airflow | Weight (empty) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BR-MLXE-4-S | 5U | Four 1200 W or 1800 W | Side to back | 27 kg (60 lb) |
| BR-MLXE-8-S | 7U | Four 1200 W or 1800 W | Side to back | 36 kg (78 lb) |
| BR-MLXE-16-S | 14U | Eight 1200 W or 1800 W | Front to back | 42 kg (100 lb) |
Chassis and power
The 4 and 8 slot chassis take four 1200 W or 1800 W AC or DC supplies and the 16 slot chassis eight, with 1+1 redundancy. The MLXe-4 measures 22.1 x 43.7 x 58.4 cm (8.7 x 17.2 x 23.0 in), the MLXe-8 31.0 x 43.7 x 61.0 cm (12.2 x 17.2 x 24.0 in) and the MLXe-16 62.2 x 44.3 x 61.4 cm (24.5 x 17.5 x 24.2 in). The BR-MLXE-8-AC bundle ships with 2 high speed switch fabric modules (NI-X-16-8-HSF), 2 1200 W AC supplies (NI-X-ACPWR) with room for four, 2 BR-MLXE-8-FAN exhaust fan kits and an air filter; management modules are ordered separately. The BR-MLXE-DCPWR-1800 is an 1800 W DC supply, -48 VDC nominal, for the 4, 8 and 16 slot MLXe and the 8 and 16 slot XMR and MLX; the BR-MLXE-ACPWR-1800 is listed in the MLXe-4 AC bundle; the BR-MLXE-32-ACPWR-3000 is a 3000 W AC supply for 32 slot MLXe, XMR and MLX routers, with no low line AC input.
Switch fabric and NI-X parts
The NI-X-SF1 and NI-X-4-HSF fabrics fit the 4 slot routers and draw 19 W; the NI-X-SF3 and NI-X-16-8-HSF fit the 8 and 16 slot routers and draw 53 W; the NI-X-32-SF fits the MLXe-32 and MLX-32 and draws 60 W. The NI-X-ACPWR and NI-X-DCPWR are 1200 W AC and DC supplies for the MLXe-4, MLXe-8 and MLXe-16 and the 8 and 16 slot XMR and MLX, and the NIBI-32-DCPWR is a 2400 W DC supply for 32 slot MLXe, XMR and MLX routers.
Management modules
The NI-MLX-MR fits the MLXe-4, 8 and 16 and the MLX-4, 8 and 16, and the NI-MLX-32-MR fits the MLXe-32 and MLX-32. Each has 1 GB of SDRAM, dual auxiliary flash slots and EIA or TIA-232 and 10/100/1000 Ethernet ports for out-of-band management; the NI-MLX-MR draws 30 W and the NI-MLX-32-MR 35 W. The BR-MLX-MR2-M is the MR2 management module and draws up to 40 W.
Interface modules
At 1 and 10 GbE, the BR-MLX-10GX24-DM has 24 10 GbE SFP+ ports at up to 200 Gbps per module and 256,000 IPv4 routes in its FIB; the BR-MLX-10GX20-X2 has 20 10/1 GbE SFP+ and SFP ports; the BR-MLX-10GX10-X2 has 10 such ports with up to 2M IPv4 and 800K IPv6 routes and MACsec; the BR-MLX-10GX4-X has 4 10 GbE XFP ports with 1 million IPv4 routes in hardware and draws 240 W; the BR-MLX-1GCX24-X has 24 10/100/1000 RJ-45 ports with 1 million IPv4 routes and draws 160 W; the NI-MLX-1GX48-T-A has 48 10/100/1000BASE-T ports on MRJ21 connectors. The BR-MLX-10GX4-XUPG is a software license that brings the 4 port 10 GbE (ML) module to the (X) level.
At 40 and 100 GbE, the BR-MLX-100GX1-X has 1 100 GbE CFP port and the BR-MLX-100GX2-X 2; the BR-MLX-100GX2-CFP2-X2 has 2 100 GbE CFP2 ports and draws 425 W; these ship without optics. The BR-MLX-40GX4-M has 4 40 GbE QSFP+ ports, up to 512,000 IPv4 or 128,000 IPv6 routes and draws 320 W, and the 40G-QSFP-LR4 optic is listed for it with 10 km of reach.
The BR-MLX-10GX8-X, BR-MLX-10GX4-IPSEC-M and BR-MLX-10GX20-X2 need high speed switch fabric modules, and so do the 40 and 100 GbE modules.
NetIron CES 2000 and CER 2000
The 2024C models have 24 10/100/1000 RJ45 ports and 4 100/1000 SFP combination ports; the 2024F models have 24 100/1000 SFP ports and 4 RJ45 combination ports. The 4X models, such as the BR-CER-2024C-4X-RT-AC, add 4 10 GbE SFP+ uplinks, and models without 4X, such as the NI-CER-2024C-AC, take an optional 2 x 10 GbE uplink slot. The NI-CER-2048CX has 48 RJ45 ports and 2 10 GbE XFP ports; the RT version has two AC bays with one 500W AC supply included. Each is 1U, with an internal AC or DC supply in 1+1 redundancy and front to back airflow; the BR-CER-2024C-4X-RT-AC has 6 four-speed fans, weighs 9.5 kg (21 lb) and holds up to 1.5 million IPv4 routes with up to 256,000 IPv6 at the same time.
ADVPREM models come with the Advanced Services Premium license installed: full Layer 3 (RIP, OSPF, IS-IS, BGP), Multi-VRF, MPLS and Layer 2 VPN. The NI-CES-2024C-L3PREM comes with the Layer 3 Premium license. For optics, the 10G-XFP-LR (1310 nm, up to 10 km over single-mode fiber) fits the CES and CER XFP ports and the E1MG-LX the SFP ports.
What to check before you buy
- The slot count, and fabric, management and power parts made for that count.
- Whether an interface module needs high speed switch fabric modules.
- Optics for 100 GbE modules, which ship without them.
- On a CES or CER: 4X for SFP+ uplinks, RT for the RT route scale, ADVPREM or L3PREM for the license installed.
- The software: Extreme notes CES 2000 devices are not supported from NetIron OS 6.3.00a.
Lifecycle: what the dates mean
Extreme lists end of life as initiated for the NI-X-SF1, NI-X-SF3, NI-X-ACPWR and NI-X-DCPWR. A router keeps forwarding after its parts reach end of life, and spares of the same part numbers keep a chassis matched.
Where to look
Each family has its own page listing what is in stock: MLXe chassis, MLXe 10 GbE modules, MLXe 100 GbE modules, MLXe management modules, NI-X and NIBI parts and the NetIron CES and CER. Pages in stock today include the BR-MLXE-8-S, the NI-X-16-8-HSF, the BR-MLX-10GX20-X2, the BR-MLX-MR2-X and the NI-CER-2048CX-AC. For the whole maker, read the Brocade and Ruckus guide. Request a quote for a part that is not listed, or sell the routers you retire.
Sources
- ExtremeRouting MLX Series Technical Specifications
- Extreme Routing MLX Series Hardware Installation Guide (2018)
- Extreme Routing MLX Series Hardware Installation Guide (2017)
- NI OS 6.0.00a for Brocade MLXe and NetIron Release Notes
- Brocade NetIron Software Licensing Guide 53-1003265-02
- ExtremeSwitching CES 2000 and ExtremeRouting CER 2000 Series Hardware Installation Guide
- ExtremeSwitching CES and ExtremeRouting CER 2000 Series Technical Specifications
