Internet Edge Router replacement - IPv6 route table size considerations

Wed Mar 9 00:15:03 UTC 2011

Greetings,

    I am researching possible replacements for our Internet edge routers, and wanted to see what people could recommend for a smaller chassis or fixed router that can handle current IPv4 routes and transition into IPv6.  Currently we have Brocade NetIron 4802s pulling full IPv4 routes plus a default route.  I've looked at Extreme, Brocade, Cisco, and a few others.  Most range from 256k - 500k IPv4 and 4k - 16k IPv6 routes when CAM space is allocated for both.  The only exception I've found so far is the Cisco ASR 1002, which can do 125k v6 along with 500k v4 routes at once.  I'm curious if any other vendors have comparable products.

My concern is trying to find a router (within our budget) that has room for growth in the IPv6 routing space.  When compared to the live table sizes that the CIDR report and routeviews show, some can't handle current routing tables, let alone years of growth.  BGP tweaks may keep us going but I can't see how 16k or fewer IPv6 routes on a router is going to be viable a few years from now.

Thank you,
Chris Enger