10GE router resource

Thu Mar 27 13:43:02 UTC 2008

Robert Boyle wrote:

> At 04:33 AM 3/27/2008, Tore Anderson wrote:
>> > Hands up those of you running Cat6500's in service provider
>> > environments.
>>
>> *hand*
>>
>> Actually, not quite yet, but I'm considering purchasing a pair of
>> Cat6500's (with Sup720 PFC3CXL) for a new colo I'm setting up, bundling
>> them together with VSS.  They'll terminate a few transit links and links
>> to other colos, in addition to functioning as distribution/access
>> switches for the data center itself.
>>
>> Are you saying that there's something about the Cat6500's that makes
>> them unsuitable for such usage?  I'd sure like to hear more about that
>> before I go ahead and buy them, if so.
> 
> Cisco wants you to pay 4 times as much for the 7600 which is the same 
> platform except the cards are vertical instead of horizontal. (If you 
> have a NEBS chassis, then that's not even a differentiator.) Oh, there 
> is also a ROM/PROM/Flash chip in the chassis which tells IOS that you 
> are on a Catalyst and not a 7600 so the newer 7600 IOS code supposedly 
> won't work. This is the "code split" which they did about a year? ago. 
> The Catalyst works great as a core router, but Cisco says that's the job 
> for a 7600, not a 6500. I don't know if there are any other differences, 
> FlexWAN card support? But for most of us, the 6500 works great and does 
> everything we need. That's what the OP was referring to I believe.

6708 linecards aren't supported in 7600s (though I think that was 
supposed to change in SRC, which I'm not running yet because its 
reported to be buggy as hell).  Support for the ES linecards is only 
found in the 7600 chassis too which has certain implications (some 
critical) if you're doing MPLS.  One thing that the 6500 can't do and 
never will be able to do is CALEA.  If you're a SP and have to have 
support for CALEA as required by law (and can't get it closer to the 
edge) then you should put some more thought into the 7600s or some other 
solution.

Yesterday Gert posted an interesting take to the C-NSP list on the 
Business Unit split that formally separated the 6500s from the 7600s.

http://puck.nether.net/pipermail/cisco-nsp/2008-March/049082.html

I'm not advocating one over the other but I am advocating a thorough 
examination of one's needs, wants and requirements before buying one or 
the other.  We (and every other US SP) are required by law to support 
CALEA for all broadband subs.  Since we couldn't do it on our edge we 
were forced to do it in the core.  That required us to run SR and SR 
made us buy 7600s.  Others may not have that need.

Justin