[c-nsp] 3750/3550 SMI vs EMI

[sthaug at nethelp.no]

> >> There are only EMI images, but there are different licenses:
> >>   ME3750-IPBASE-LIC    0$
> >>   ME3750-ADVIP-LIC   12k$
> >>   ME3750-IPSVC-LIC    3k$
> 
> > We have told Cisco that we might be interested to use the 3750
> > Metro for MPLS - but the $12K license is prohibitive.
> 
> Well, a 12 k$ license does seem somewhat expensive... But then, if you
> compare the price of the switch to a less expensive box *plus* a
> gigabit-capable and PXF-enabled router, it's not *that* bad.

Yes and no. We would like to push MPLS closer to the edge of our network,
and we would prefer to use L3 routing protocols for redundancy instead
of Spanning Tree and similar. To be able to compete at the edge, MPLS
needs to come closer to "switch" type pricing. A 12 k$ license is too
expensive in this picture, particularly when you add the limitations of
this box (max 1024 VLANs in use, max 12K MAC addresses).

So - we had hopes for the 3750 Metro, but have concluded that the box
is a big disappointment so far.

Steinar Haug, Nethelp consulting, sthaug at nethelp.no