Patrick W. Gilmore wrote:
On Feb 19, 2009, at 10:54 AM, Bill Blackford wrote:
In scaling upward. How would a linux router even if a kernel guru were to tweak and compile an optimized build, compare to a 7600/RSP720CXL or a Juniper PIC in ASIC? At some point packets/sec becomes a limitation I would think.
I've asked this before and been told you can get PCI cards with multiple GigE ports, or even build specialized PCI cards that look like PICs.
So I congratulated them on re-inventing Juniper.
multiport network interfaces substantially predate the existence of asic based l3 forwarding. I can just barely remember what a router looked like in 1991, but our compaq and sun pedestal servers certainly had them. we have variously and in use today as standardized formfactors in embedded network optimized pc platforms. cpci (6u eurocard) - which is neither compact nor pci but I digress pmc xmc atca amc standard pci-e mini-pci-e when when consider that a gen2.0 8x pci-e point-to-point link can carry ~32Gbits/s symmetric the building blocks are certainly there for multiport interfaces and 4xge or 2x10Gbe per slot interfaces are relatively de riguer in pc based filewall/ips/network appliance platforms...