The Role of MPC7E-MRATE in Optimizing Network Performance

The MPC7E-MRATE is the multi-rate member of Juniper's MPC7E line-card pair for MX Series routers. This page sets out what Juniper's own MPC7E-MRATE module reference says about the card: how many ports it has, which of them can run at 100GbE, how much traffic each half of the card can carry, and what the router around it has to provide. The listing is MPC7E-MRATE, and the routers it fits are on the Juniper MX Series page.

At a glance

The twelve ports

All twelve ports take QSFP+ transceivers. Out of the box every port runs as 10GbE. Each one can be set to 40GbE, or split into four 10GbE interfaces with a breakout cable. Only the four ports marked 100G (0/2, 0/5, 1/2 and 1/5) accept QSFP28 optics and run at 100GbE. The other eight stop at 40GbE. Juniper calls this rate selectability at the port level, and it is set in the router's configuration, not by swapping hardware.

The 240 Gbps rule for each group of six

The ports are arranged as two groups of six, 0/0 to 0/5 and 1/0 to 1/5. Juniper's rule is that the speeds you configure in one group must add up to no more than 240 Gbps. Any mix is allowed inside that budget. For example, two 100GbE ports plus one 40GbE port use 240 Gbps, and so do six 40GbE ports. Two groups of 240 Gbps are where the card's 480 Gbps line rate on the MX240, MX480 and MX960 comes from. Plan the port map before you order optics, because a group that is full of 100GbE and 40GbE leaves the rest of its cages unused.

What the router has to provide

The module reference lists conditions for the chassis:

• On the MX240, MX480 and MX960 the card powers on only when the router's network services mode is enhanced-ip or enhanced-ethernet.
• Those routers need high-capacity power supplies, high-capacity fan trays and SCBE2 or SCBE3 switch control boards.
• On the MX960, any MPC slot takes the card at an ambient temperature up to 40 C. Above 55 C at sea level, slot 11 cannot host it.
• The MX2000 needs an adapter card to house it.

Check these against the chassis you run before you buy. A line card that is correct on paper still will not power on in a router that lacks the right switch control boards.

MPC7E-MRATE or MPC7E-10G

The sister card, MPC7E-10G, is a fixed card with forty 10GbE SFP+ ports that each run at 10 or 1 Gbps. Choose it when the job is dense 10GbE and nothing faster. Choose the MPC7E-MRATE when you want a mix of 10GbE, 40GbE and a few 100GbE ports on one card. Both carry full-scale Layer 2 and Layer 2.5 features and reduced-scale Layer 3 features, according to Juniper's MX Series datasheet.

Checking a used card

• The model number printed on the card and the CLI name are both MPC7E-MRATE.
• Count twelve QSFP+ cages. A card with forty SFP+ ports is the MPC7E-10G.
• The four 100G ports carry a 100G marking beside the cage.
• Each QSFP+ cage has four link LEDs, and the card has one OK/FAIL LED that is green when the card is working and yellow when it has failed.

Every card Townsend ships is tested before it leaves. The full range of MX line cards is on the Juniper MX Line Cards page, and a part number you do not see there can be asked for through a quote request.