Hi, Are there Net operators of large corporations or ISPs who have had a chance to evaluate new network equipment released over the last year? I know from previous postings that ISPs have started using the GRF with reasonable success. Anybody out these using Ipsilons IP switches? The way I understand these, they have (fast)ethernet and ATM (at OC-3 rates) ports available and can do RIP and OSPF making them suitable for Interior Routing. I am not sure if they support BGP or for that matter if the IP switch concept would scale (in terns of VCIs needed) to full fledged ISP load. Also is anybody out there trying to build backbones out of all the new Gigabit ethernet gear being announced? At first glance, it seems to me that these layer 2/3 products are capable of Interior routing, besides switching at mosnstrous speed. Would greatly appreciate any first hand experience. TIA. -dj ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com
Douglas Jardine sez:
Also is anybody out there trying to build backbones out of all the new Gigabit ethernet gear being announced? At first glance, it seems to me that these layer 2/3 products are capable of Interior routing, besides switching at mosnstrous speed.
FWIW, Don Becker has written Linux drivers for the Packet Engines card. See http://cesdis.gsfc.nasa.gov/linux/drivers/yellowfin.html for code. He spoke of it briefly at a LUG meeting. Operative words were "WOW" I think. -- A host is a host from coast to coast.................wb8foz@nrk.com & no one will talk to a host that's close........[v].(301) 56-LINUX Unless the host (that isn't close).........................pob 1433 is busy, hung or dead....................................20915-1433
Hi,
Are there Net operators of large corporations or ISPs who have had a chance to evaluate new network equipment released over the last year?
Yes. (that was an easy one!) :-)
I know from previous postings that ISPs have started using the GRF with reasonable success. Anybody out these using Ipsilons IP switches? The way I understand these, they have (fast)ethernet and ATM (at OC-3 rates) ports available and can do RIP and OSPF making them suitable for Interior Routing. I am not sure if they support BGP or for that matter if the IP switch concept would scale (in terns of VCIs needed) to full fledged ISP load.
Internex is. See the announcement at: http://www.ipsilon.com/. Currently they don't support BGP yet. They're more suited for access connectivity than backbone connectivity, e.g.. for wiring up a building, for example, where you want to be able to use a single pipe in, but carve out specific chunks of bandwidth for specific customers or specific services without requiring ATM to the desktop. The other concern of course is that they do have a hard disk in them for the OS on the controller, so you're not going to want to deploy them in unmanned locations. If you have a disk failure, you want someone right there able to swap drives as quickly as possible. :)
Would greatly appreciate any first hand experience. TIA.
Thus far Internex has been very happy with the Ipsilon switches, and we have plans to continue deploying them at access locations and within webfarms throughout our network.
-dj
Matt Petach
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Douglas Jardine -
Matthew Petach -
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