[c-nsp] CRS-1 too complicated?

[Greg Schwimer]

We've been looking at the CRS-1 for a while now as our next generation
routing platform.  However, my Cisco account team is going out of their way
to tell me we need, must have, can't ever get it to work without
professional services.  I don't get it.

I understand that there are some major differences from, say, a 7600:

   - IOS-XR - new interface and all the configuration vagaries
   - Hardware - substantially different architecture
   - Color (!)

My plan is to bring a CRS-1 into the lab, dissect it, learn it, adapt the
configuration details to our needs, build a training plan around it, and
slowly deploy it.  My Cisco team seems stuck on having to sell us services
to get this working.

Am I missing something here, or is the CRS-1 so unbelievably complicated
that mere mortals cannot figure it out and make it work on their own
networks?  What have others experienced with implementing them?