On 6/17/22 14:47, Saku Ytti wrote:
I can't pinpoint HMC as a bad solution, yes we've had our share of HMC issues, but we've also on JNPR and some other vendors previously replaced all linecards due to memory issues, before stacked DRAMs were a thing, memories are notoriously fragile. I can pinpoint HMC as a huge risk due to no manufacturer :).
The memory issues are exacerbated by needing to reload the whole linecard when one memory has issues, JNPR has now delivered on newer images fixes where you can reduce both the collateral damage and downtime by reloading individual PFEs (and connected memories).
I do think HMC was a solid engineering choice, and I am a bit annoyed that it lost to HBM instead of co-existing with little different optimization points. But that doesn't excuse the situation.
At the rate we are going, perhaps running Apple's M-chips for routers (to the extent possible) is not entirely unthinkable :-). Mark.