switch 10G standalone TOR, core to DC

Wed Feb 20 07:06:12 UTC 2013

I have fairly extensive experience with the Quanta LY2 10GE switches, and they work very well for some environments. Here are some basic impressions:

- Broadcom Trident chipset

- Similar performance to other Trident switches (ideally line rate, but small buffers)

- Cisco-like configuration interface (similar, not the same)

- Custom Linux kernel and OS

- Basic look-and-feel, but so far the quality has not been a disappointment

- Decent support for topologies with no Spanning-Tree

- Good compatibility with SFP+ transceivers, direct connections, and optics from various sources. 

- Basic feature set (OSPF/RIP, but no BGP)

- Somewhat limited troubleshooting and debug tools

One very pleasant aspect of working with Quanta is that they are very responsive to feature requests, often working closely with customers. On the other hand, their release schedules are somewhat non-specific. I've been waiting for full MLAG support for a while (it's supposedly right around the corner). 

They are particularly convenient if you are putting them at the top of racks full of Quanta servers, since they have logistics and full-rack staging/shipping. 

I wish they had better MIB support, BGP, scriptability, and policy-based routing, but they don't. They are cheap enough, however, that you may be able to get two LY2 switches for the price of one of some of their competitors.  

-- 
Dan Sneddon

On Tuesday, February 19, 2013 at 8:21 PM, Bao Nguyen wrote:

> Anyone have worked with the switching vendor Quanta for their 10ge switching as
> TOR? [1] Their spec looked interesting and they are quiet cheap.
> 
> 
> [1]
> http://www.quantaqct.com/en/01_product/02_detail.php?mid=30&sid=114&id=116&qs=63
> 
> 
> -bn
> 0216331C
> 