1. Cisco is still selling the 7600 with the Sup32 bundle (which is what we bought) and saying you can take a full route table on it. I could already do MPLS and IPv6 on this box. This is pretty new hardware.
Where are they saying that? The Sup32 sounded great until it became clear that it came with PFC3B (not 3BXL), and that there was no upgrade path to 3BXL. If it was/is being sold as a BGP routing solution, it was awfully short sighted. Their reps do it all the time. I worked with my rep to buy a couple of new routers. I specifically said I would be taking a full routing table on
these boxes- Cisco's rep said the Sup-32 would be fine for my needs. Now I definitely didn't do as much checking as I should have but I was busy and that's why you have rep's in the first place. (I kept thinking the Sup32 was based on the 3BXL- I have no idea why). Thankfully I don't need to take a full table on these routers and their forwarding speed among the few ports I have is more important than the FIB size. That said- if I did need the full table I would be royally ticked off at Cisco right now.
If I end up upgrading because of this it will probably be a forklift upgrade to another platform. And there's no guarantee that it would be a Cisco one.
I guess cisco wants to play chicken with us and Juniper. Will you really do the forklift, or just bite the bullet and go Sup720-3BXL? I think they're better on the latter and counting on a bunch of hardware sales in the coming months. Given how many people are tired of being screwed over by Cisco I wouldn't make that bet if I were Cisco.
-Don