[AusNOG] Cisco 6500 with Sup 720 3BXL - Good routing platform ??

[Dobbins, Roland]

On Sep 20, 2010, at 12:35 PM, Brad Gould wrote:

> Well, it looks like I need to find a bunch of new routers then?

If you're talking about edge routers, then, yes, IMHO.

;>

> Thats a claim backed by little real world evidence given the sheer number of 7600/6500 out in the wild - perhaps your too narrowly defining "suitability" down to "what I personally want the box to do".


It's backed by considerable real-world experience using the boxes on networks which I was tasked with designing and operating, as well as considerable experience supporting customers in the field using these boxes.

There are certain low-common-denominator, baseline requirements for any edge device, and these platforms with current hardware just don't meet them.  Folks can buy and deploy whatever they like, of course, but they're crippling their ability to have visibility into and exert control over their networks if they use these boxes in their current iterations at their edges - and when it's 4AM on a Sunday and they need this critical functionality in order to keep their customers up and running and their networks from collapsing, they aren't likely to be amused by these limitations.

Using 6500/7600 with current hardware in non-edge roles makes perfect sense, in many cases - they can achieve high forwarding rates and high port-densities with relatively low per-port costs.

The biggest problem is that most folks - including vendor personnel - simply aren't aware of the caveats associated with these platforms, and thus end-customers all-too-often end up with an unpleasant surprise, not being informed of these issues ahead of time, and not having performed thorough functional testing prior to purchase and deployment.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Roland Dobbins <rdobbins at arbor.net> // <http://www.arbornetworks.com>

 	       Sell your computer and buy a guitar.