[c-nsp] c7206VXR(NPE-G1) w/ 12.2(18)S8 - Memory failures

[Thomas Kernen]

>>
>> we are using IOS 12.2(18)S8 in some of our router and
>> sometimes when we make changes on the BGP policy we run out of
>> largest memory, and we are not able to see the running-config
>> or to save running-config to startup-config and to solve this
>> problem we have to reload the router.
>>
>> Our routers are 7206VXR witch NPE-G1 with 256M and the routers
>> are configured with MPLS and managing BGP tables around
>> 160.000 prefixes, we have openned a TAC case but Cisco
>> engineer told us that bug CSCdy18789 is solved in 12.2(18)S8
>> and that Cisco recommends 512M of memory for routers that
>> manages between 100.000 and 200.000 BGP routes.
>>
>> Have anyone had the same problem?, do you think that the
>> problem will be solved upgrading memory to 512M?
>
> Cisco always recommends a little bit more ram than the max you
> can use in their last years product. :-)  I think there's a sales
> incentive there somewhere....
>
> You might try backflashing to 12.1 if it has the features that
> you need.  Each new IOS train seems to consume more ram for doing
> the same things than the old ones did.  I suspect the population of
> IOS programmers who can write in assembler has been steadily dropping
> for years.  For all we know they are using BASIC nowadays to write
> IOS. ;-)

I share that feeling since I came across the same case scenario with 
G1's running 12.2(25)Sx and mallocs. No issues with 12.2(14)S and then 
12.2(25)S and boom, not enough ram (well I believe a leak in the code 
related to enabling "bgp enforce first as" as default). TAC also 
recommends 512MB for running an "Internet" router. at 7500 USD GPL for 
1GB for official Cisco memory, well let's not discuss this point again.

Thomas