ASR is embedded linux solution with Quantum Processor architect if I remember correctly. So it uses IOS-XE, which is a little bit different from standard IOS.
If you have some room for budget, you can check Foundry MLX/XMR series router. It is more geared toward Ethernet Service Router. But if you need OC3/12/48, you can have those with additional license fee. Foundry router price is a lot lower than Juniper MX series router. Alex David Storandt wrote: > So I figure a summary is an order, with a whole array of choices > pitched so far... > > - Sup720-3BXL works for light-duty premium ISP services, decent CPU > for BGP and an Ethernet hardware throughput monster. Decent enough for > our deployment scenario at least. No obvious solution for the > FlexWAN/OC3 but could easily be re-integrated with a stronger MSFC CPU > to back it up, assuming the IOS-of-the-week doesn't have issues. The > pesky OC3 could be pawned off to a dedicated G1/G2 router too along > with any oddball <=OC3 stuff our sales guys dream up. > - RSP720-3CXL is the best of all worlds option, if we had double the > budget to work with. Meh. > - ASR1002 is a hardware-assisted overhaul to the 7200/G2. Telco > interface options are much better than 7200s, good for OC12s and > OC48s. Using GoogleFu product pricing... a ASR1002 router with a SPA > OC3, 5Gbps ESP, and base software runs in the $28-30k range + > SmartNet. Beware the modular licensing model in addition to IOS > editions. Maybe a bit early yet as a core router as some of the > software is still getting bugs ironed out. > - Vyatta was proposed as an alternative system, probably best > architected out of the mainstream traffic flows (no hardware > forwarding), say a BGP route reflector or GBE edge router, similar > argument to a 7200/G[1|2]. I can't say I'm familiar with the software, > but the cost savings of premium x86/x64 hardware and 8x PCI-x serving > a few 10GBE interfaces + built-in GBEs is intriguing, especially > paired against our budget and relative Cisco costs. A spec'd out 1U > Dell box with dual power, 8x cores, 4GB, RAID1 SATA, and 2x 10GBE > XFP+2x GBE built-in came in under $7k with CPU headroom to burn. > Vyatta doesn't support ISIS though, best I can tell, but may not have > to... Maybe yet-another Linux router distro doomed to fail? Worth a > lab test internally on some demo hardware. > - Mixed thoughts about 7304 hardware. Hardware forwarding quality vs. > software and interface selection. > - Lots of fans for the 12000 series. Stick with the E3 (~2.5Gbps) and > E5 (~10Gbps) line cards for compatibility with XR software and best > line card performance. Our team liked the variety of SONET options > available too for our central office deployments, even though the > systems are power and space hungry. ...and if you can afford them (the > 12008/GRP-B being the relative exception). > - 7200/G2s are great for <1Gbps throughput. Premium services cut into > the performance dramatically, being a fully software-based forwarding > platform. Don't bond interfaces looking for more throughput, > architecture limitations actually decrease throughput. > - Juniper MX series? A budget wildcard but indeed a worthy platform > engineering-wise. > > You could break this list into "routers" and "switches", which in > itself spurs the philosophical/pragmatic architecture discussion that > got us the impasse to start with. Many thanks to all who've responded > with real-life successes, battle wounds, and horror stories. All very > helpful. > > -Dave > > > >
