Glossary
GL-7
Cisco IOS XR Getting Started Guide
OL-10957-02
MPLS TE Multiprotocol Label Switching traffic engineering. A switching method that forwards IP traffic using
a label. This label instructs the routers and switches in the network where to forward the packets based
on pre-established IP routing information.
MSC modular services card. Module in which the ingress and egress packet processing and queueing
functions are carried out in the CiscoCRS-1 architecture. Up to 16 MSCs are installed in a line card
chassis; each MSC must have an associated physical line interface modul e (PLIM) (of which there are
several types to provide a variety of physical interfaces). The MSC and PLIM mate together on the line
card chassis midplane. See also PLIM.
MSCs are also referred to as line cards.
MTU maximum transmission unit. Maximum packet size, in bytes, that a particular interface can handle.
multicast Multicast is a feature that refers to single packets copied by the network and sent to a specific subset
of network addresses. These addresses are specified in the Destination Address Field. See also unicast.
N
netboot Loading software images from a network server, such as TFTP.
node A card installed and running on the router.
NSF nonstop forwarding. Packets keep flowing during events such as failover, process restarts, and the
upgrade or downgrade of software packages. Nonstop forwarding is the ability of a router t o continue
to forward traffic toward a router that may be recovering from a transient failure and the ability of a
router recovering from a transient failure in the control plane to continue correctly forwarding traffic
sent to it by a peer.
NTP Network Time Protocol. Protocol built on top of TCP that ensures accurate local time-keeping with
reference to radio and atomic clocks located on the Internet. Th is protocol is capable of synchronizing
distributed clocks within milliseconds over long time periods.
NVRAM nonvolatile RAM. Static random access memory that is made into nonvolatile storage by having a
battery permanently connected.
O
OC-x Optical carrier, where x=3, 12, 48, or 192, relating to the various speeds within a SONET network.
OIR online insertion and removal. Feature that permits the addition, replacement, or removal of cards
without interrupting the system power, entering console commands, or ca using other software or
interfaces to shut down. Sometimes called hot-swapping or power-on servicing.