I do agree here. If you are not moving a lot of data then something like BSD or Vyatta may be a good alternative. You do still have possible reboots required and things you would not see as often with a hardware-appliance model. However, for cheaper than the cost of 1 appliance you could build in redundancy. I guess the question is how many PPS you plan to push, whether you have regularly scheduled maintenance windows that you could bring it down for a reboot, and whether the additional maintenance involved still keeps you in the black?
I am a big proponent of open source every thing. Although, I am a bigger proponent of stability and less maintenance. If you could prove out a software-based solution against the cost of a hardware solution then I don't see any reason not to go that route. -----Original Message----- From: Fletcher Kittredge <fkitt...@staff.gwi.net> Date: Sun, 26 Sep 2010 17:21:57 To: William Herrin<b...@herrin.us> Cc: <nanog@nanog.org> Subject: Re: Software-based Border Router Another big problem for Linux/Unix-based routers of this size/cost is upgrade-ability. If you need to add cards, you are going to have to bring the router down for extended periods. Likewise, a software upgrade can be a bigger deal than on a purpose designed router. If a router is mission critical, Linux/Unixed-based has issues over extended periods. regards, Fletcher On Sun, Sep 26, 2010 at 4:35 PM, William Herrin <b...@herrin.us> wrote: > On Sun, Sep 26, 2010 at 6:15 AM, Nathanael C. Cariaga > <nccari...@stluke.com.ph> wrote: > > Thank you for the prompt response. Just to clarify my previous > > post, I was actually referring to Linux/Unix-based routers. > > We've been considering this solution because presently we > > don't have any budget for equipment acquisition this year. > > What's your time worth? > > Quagga on Linux is a fine software, but messing with the > idiosyncrasies is far more time consuming than buying a Cisco 2811, > adding enough RAM to handle BGP, configuring it once and forgetting > about it. > > Also bear in mind that while your ISP's engineers can help you > configure your Cisco router, Quagga is a mystery to them. You can > still get help... but not from someone who also knows how the ISP's > network is configured. > > This is not a problem if you have lots of experience with BGP routing. Do > you? > > Regards, > Bill Herrin > > > > -- > William D. Herrin ................ her...@dirtside.com b...@herrin.us > 3005 Crane Dr. ...................... Web: <http://bill.herrin.us/> > Falls Church, VA 22042-3004 > > -- Fletcher Kittredge GWI 8 Pomerleau Street Biddeford, ME 04005-9457 207-602-1134