[c-nsp] 7600 vs 6500 (Was: EOS/EOL for the 7500 platform)

[Tassos Chatzithomaoglou]

Since we're now building our NG/ME network we had exactly the same problem.
Use 6500 or 7600? Until now we were using mostly 6500s.


So, here are some general points taken from our conversation with Cisco :

The 7600 will focus on WAN edge features, 6500 will focus on LAN features.

There have been discussions around checking the chassis type to load the 7600 or 6500 code, but 
there is nothing decided yet (12.2(33)SRA is the first independent 7600 release, 12.2(33)SXH will be 
the same for 6500).

Generally, 12.2SR and 12.2SX will not sync. Features will be ported from one train to another on 
case by case basis depending on customer requirements.

7600 platforms might not support ION
7600 platforms might not migrate to IOX

There might be hardware differences between 7600 and 6500 in a next SR release.

The 7600 will have RSP720, the 6500 will have Sup720-10GE.
7600-S chassis will be equivalent to the 6500-E one.

If a 6500 line card is applicable to 7600 customers, this line card will be supported in 12.2SR
If a 7600 line card is applicable to 6500 customers, this line card will be supported in 12.2SX

Next 6500 IOS releases will have many CatOS features that will not be on the 7600.

Sup2, PFC3A, DFC3A, and "Original" FlexWAN & OSMs (or some features of them) might not be supported 
in next releases on both platforms.

Parallel development in native IOS, CatOS and Hybrid will most probably stop around end of next 
year. End-to-end deployments of IOS with Software Modularity will continue from there.


So, in our network we have decided to do the following:

6500: Metro Ethernet Access, Wiring Closet, Data Center
7600: Metro Ethernet Aggregation, SP Edge, Secure PE

--
Tassos

Asbjorn Hojmark - Lists wrote on 16/12/2006 12:14 πμ:
>> Can anyone answer if the future SP codebase will continue to
>> work on sup720,
> 
> Since the Sup720 is already "a 7600 product", I find it highly
> unlikely that they kill the software support soon. On the other
> hand, where do you think they'll focus future development? It's
> a safe bet that some new features will only work on the new Sup
> ^H RSP. 
> 
> Also, it looks like the RSP720 (with better MSFC and PFC) will
> cost the same as the Sup720, and when a new, better product costs
> the same as the old, that's normally a not-so-subtle hint that
> one should stop buying the old one.
> 
>> or if I need to upgrade all my boxes to RSP720, and if so, do
>> I have to throw all my 6500 chassis away?
> 
> According to one of the PMs from the BU, the RSP720 will *not*
> be supported in 6500 chassis. (I asked him if he was absolutely,
> positively sure that decision would hold).
> 
> IMO that decision is just bad, bad, bad. Quite a few customers
> have used the 6500 instead of the 7600 because it was the same
> thing, because the 6-slot used the same PSUs, because the 6500
> sat in the data center already etc. etc.
> 
> When you have to change the whole box anyway, why wouldn't you
> seriously consider fork lifting the thing for a competitive
> product?
> 
> -A
> 
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