Need recommendations for high-feature, high-density L3 Switch
We have some aging infrastructure and need to start budgeting next-gen. * The network has several small routers as individual edges to peers, WAN, SIP services. * It has a couple 6509s as Internet edge (full tables, 2 carriers, no transit, simple policies) * It has some Nexus 7K as an aggregation layer for all the server pods * It has some 6509s as a backbone to interconnect the aggregation layers and inter-site links. * We do run VRFs/MPLS across our backbone with L3, L2 and L1 services. Nothing super fancy, but it's a requirement. Two approaches: 1 - Look at ASR9010 (or something similar) to replace all of the above. Pros: It has the density, it has features, port buffers, seems to have good granular virtualization, seems to have a good reputation amongst heavy users. Cons: It is very expensive fully populated and there is some oversubscription on the higher-density cards. 2 - Look at one solution to consolidate all edge routers and a separate solution to consolidate backbone/aggregation. Pros: Less density required at the edge layers, so a cheaper solution is possible; Not requiring full BGP tables and port buffers at the backbone/agg layer widens the selection a LOT considering the number of vendors with high-feature/high-density L3 switches. Cons: Now we are looking at 4 boxes per data center rather than 2. So... Is there something in the same class as the ASR9000s that also have a good reputation? Will need at least 48 ports of 10G, 24x1Gb, limited oversubscription, good feature sets, not astronomically priced. If we can't find the perfect fit, we will just look at two separate solutions. Also... has anyone used a CSR1000v or Vyatta VM-based solution on something like a Pluribus? I know you can run them on any server, but there are vendors like Pluribus who integrate the server hardware with a full-feature physical switch. (Their E68 is the one we are considering) I'm assuming you aren't going to get anywhere near the features and performance of an ASR9010, but... can you get close? Thanks. CWB
Cliff Bowles <Cliff.Bowles@apollo.edu> writes:
We have some aging infrastructure and need to start budgeting next-gen.
* The network has several small routers as individual edges to peers, WAN, SIP services.
* It has a couple 6509s as Internet edge (full tables, 2 carriers, no transit, simple policies)
* It has some Nexus 7K as an aggregation layer for all the server pods
* It has some 6509s as a backbone to interconnect the aggregation layers and inter-site links.
* We do run VRFs/MPLS across our backbone with L3, L2 and L1 services. Nothing super fancy, but it's a requirement.
You could always roll the 6509s into 6800 series stuff if you're married to Cisco for Campus style switches in your distribution network. But I really hate the Sup2T. In my admittedly limited scope, they have a pretty high failure rate. If you want something simple that still supports MPLS and VPLS, you can't really beat Brocade for port density. I getting ready to rip out 6 sets of 6509s and replace them with 16 slot MLXe chasis. And if I were in your shoes I'd be looking at either ASR9K or Juniper MX series stuff to replace the 6509s that you have on your edge. I can't speak much for the server-facing stuff on your network though. -Daniel
On 9/Feb/15 22:18, Daniel Corbe wrote:
You could always roll the 6509s into 6800 series stuff if you're married to Cisco for Campus style switches in your distribution network. But I really hate the Sup2T. In my admittedly limited scope, they have a pretty high failure rate.
We run 6880's as our core switches (Layer 2 only, though), and have been happy with them. One was DoA, and another needed a fan tray replacement. But these are only 2x units out of over 20x, so not too bad. Mark.
how about all in 1U (interconnect room switch, $$$/u) /kc -- Ken Chase - math@sizone.org Toronto Canada
On Mon, Feb 9, 2015 at 2:54 PM, Cliff Bowles <Cliff.Bowles@apollo.edu> wrote:
1 - Look at ASR9010 (or something similar) to replace all of the above. Pros: It has the density, it has features, port buffers, seems to have good granular virtualization, seems to have a good reputation amongst heavy users. Cons: It is very expensive fully populated and there is some oversubscription on the higher-density cards.
Depending on what level of redundancy you require, the 24x10 cards are not oversubscribed, and we've had good luck with them, and the platform in general. If you need 36x10 per slot, look at the 9912 chassis. The one card I would avoid is the 16x10, not due to any particular bug, but due to the way that it's oversubscribed. Two ports share a 15Gb/s NPU, depending on your port usage, that can be a major pain to deal with. -Steve
On 9/Feb/15 21:54, Cliff Bowles wrote:
So... Is there something in the same class as the ASR9000s that also have a good reputation? Will need at least 48 ports of 10G, 24x1Gb, limited oversubscription, good feature sets, not astronomically priced. If we can't find the perfect fit, we will just look at two separate solutions.
If Cisco and Juniper are your friends, I'd certainly look into the MX and ASR9000 platforms. They are routers with decent Layer 2 features. You want that, rather than taking a switch that has decent Layer 3 features. On the MX and ASR9000, there is a line card for everyone. Just dig into it and you'll find what you need. Bear in mind that some line cards are available, but not yet advertised online, or are just about to go live. So talking to the vendors helps. Those with experience on other vendors can chime in. Mark.
participants (5)
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Cliff Bowles -
Daniel Corbe -
Ken Chase -
Mark Tinka -
Steve Meuse