Cisco Route Switch Processor

Cisco Route Switch Processor ... and Switch Processor (SP), which are used in the Cisco 7000 series routers. The RSP2 supports high system availability (HSA), which is a feature in Cisco IOS Release 11.1(4) or a later release of 11.1, that allows two RSPs to be used in a Cisco 7507 or Cisco 7513 router.

The RSP2 contains the central processing unit (CPU) and most of the memory components for the router. The IOS software images reside in Flash memory, which is located either on the RSP2, in the form of a single in-line memory module (SIMM), or on up to two PC Cards (called Flash memory cards) that insert in the two PC Card slots on the front of the RSP2. Storing the IOS software images in Flash memory enables you to download and boot from upgraded IOS software images remotely or from software images resident in the RSP2 Flash memory, without having to remove and replace read-only memory (ROM) devices. The RSP2 uses a software-controlled configuration register, so you do not have to remove the RSP2 to configure jumpers. There are no user-configurable jumpers on the RSP2. The high-speed switching section of the RSP2 communicates with and controls the interface processors on the high-speed CyBus. This switching section decides the destination of a packet and switches it based on that decision. The RSP2 uses a 16-million-instructions-per-second (mips) processor to provide high-speed, autonomous switching and routing.