[c-nsp] Alternatives to Cisco switching

[Jee Kay]

I realise it is a little uncouth to ask this on this list, but...

We're currently looking at doing some upgrades/refreshes of our
core/aggregation switching infrastructure. In the Cisco world, we're
looking at the 4506/4510Rs (SupV) for the aggregation and 6506/6509s
(Sup32) for the core layer.

What I'm wondering is... if I was to widen my scope to non-Cisco
equipment, what sort of vendors/models should I be looking at? How
'compatible' are things like RPVST across vendors?

I have a lot of infrastructure that needs to be able to fail over in
increasingly lower times (currently <10s, <1s in future)... I am not
so bothered about bandwidth, but things like BFD not being available
for OSPF on the Cisco platforms is something I really dislike.

And last but not least....  I have this constant nagging feeling that
we're being fleeced for the Cisco equipment :)

If anyone has any pointers for any of these bits they would be much
appreciated :)

Thanks,
Ras