Date: Thu, 23 Oct 1997 08:25:52 -0400 (EDT) From: Bill Vermillion <bill@bilver.oau.org> To: freebsd-isp@freebsd.org Subject: Re: Router Cards? Message-ID: <199710231225.IAA23417@bilver.oau.org> In-Reply-To: <344F21C2.6EEA4806@cablenet.net> from Damian Hamill at "Oct 23, 97 11:06:59 am"
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Recently Damian Hamill said: > N. Del More wrote: > > Both companies basically claim that you pop it in either your server or a > > spare system and through the wonders of software and technology ... bingo > > ... instant router. > > > > Seems like a VERY attractive alternative to a VERY expensive Cisco on the > > surface especially for a startup like me. ... > There is another issue that as yet I haven't seen discussed regarding PC > Unix routers versus dedicated routers. Recently a large number of > Internet routers went belly up as a major ISP loaded a large number of > new routes into the routing tables. This caused these dedicated routers > to run out of memory and reboot, creating a lot of instability and route > flapping. Considering the (virtual) nature of PC Unix memory I do not > know if any PC Unix routers suffered the same fate. > As I understand the main selling point of dedicated router products like > cisco is reliability, in that their are no moving parts to wear out > (other than the cooling fan). However beyond a simple configuration and > when lots of memory is needed they become VERY expensive. If in fact > they are not as reliable as PC Unix routers in the face of this kind of > event then the whole point of buying them becomes redundant, given the > fact that you can expect years of reliability out of PCs. I work for a mini-isp that specializes in more of temporary connectivity as opposed to login user. Our provider found that the Cicso's (according to them) would fail under extremely heavy loads, so they replaced their 7300s (I think that's the model - one of the 7000 series at well over $50K) with Ascends. The figure that sticks in my mind was that they replaced 14. I know that before the change the routers at mae-east would go down a lot more than they have in the last 5 months since the change. This is purely anecdotal, and hearsay, just what we were told. I wish I had the problem of overloading one of those :-)
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