[c-nsp] Alternatives to Cisco switching

[Michael K. Smith - Adhost]

Hello Ras:

> -----Original Message-----
> From: cisco-nsp-bounces at puck.nether.net [mailto:cisco-nsp-
> bounces at puck.nether.net] On Behalf Of Jee Kay
> Sent: Sunday, December 24, 2006 7:40 AM
> To: c-nsp
> Subject: [c-nsp] Alternatives to Cisco switching
> 
> 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

I know this isn't a direct answer, but if higher resiliency of Ethernet
is a major concern you might consider looking at other technologies to
add to your mix such as 802.17 (Resilient Packet Ring).  There are
several vendors in that arena and Cisco has some very good stuff in
their ML-series devices.

As for fleeced;  I believe Cisco is aggressive in their markup, but I
also believe that other vendors will use them as a baseline and then
come in with any price that's lower (by whatever degree necessary to
sell the product).  

Having at least two vendors at the table is never a bad idea.  In fact,
you should really tell each of the vendors that they're not the only
candidate so they understand there is competition in the world.  Then,
make sure you actually test a couple of competing "solutions" to see if
they stand up to the marketing hype.  Or, more accurately, test them to
see how far they deviate from the marketing hype.

Regards,

Mike