MX Series DPC Overview
A Dense Port Concentrator (DPC) provides multiple physical interfaces and Packet Forwarding Engines (PFEs) on a single board that installs into a slot within the MX240, MX480, and MX960 routers. The DPCs are optimized for Ethernet density and can support up to 40 Gigabit Ethernet or four 10-Gigabit Ethernet ports.
The DPC assembly combines packet forwarding and Ethernet interfaces on a single board, with four 10-Gbps Packet Forwarding Engines. Each Packet Forwarding Engine consists of one chip for Layer 3 processing and one Layer 2 network processor. The DPCs interface with the power supplies and Switch Control Boards (SCBs).
In the Junos OS CLI, you use the FPC syntax to configure or display information about DPCs, and you use the PIC syntax to configure or display information about Packet Forwarding Engines on the DPCs.
DPCs install vertically in the MX960 router chassis and horizontally in the MX480 and MX240 router chassis. The maximum number of supported DPCs varies per router:
MX960 router—up to 12 DPCs
MX480 router—up to 6 DPCs
MX240 router—up to 3 DPCs
When a slot is not occupied by a DPC, you must insert a blank DPC to fill the empty slot and ensure proper cooling of the system. For complete information about installing and handling DPCs, see the hardware guide for your router.