[c-nsp] Upgrading edge router

[Affan Basalamah]

Hi all,

I am network admin in university that have a UNIX PC that functions as
core router and firewall to accomodate :
- 2 x 45 Mb link to research education network (REN)
- 100Mb link to local exchange point
- 10Mb link to Internet
Currently we accept partial route from Internet, and aggregated with
REN prefixes, we have at least 30k prefixes.

We would like to upgrade our router to accomodate :
- new STM-1 link (physical connector is not STM1 port, but it is
converted to Gigeth by our telco)
- at least 4 1000BaseT port
- firewall feature (packet filter and inspection) would be nice
- IPv6 multicast and MPLS feature
- can keep up the load at least for 5 years
- budget around $35k

I have done some research, and our choice could come to :
- Cisco 7603 with Sup32. I think this is the cheapest solution with 8
port gigabit ethernet, but I don't know whether it could handle the
load. I also see it as integrated packet inspection with PISA
daughterboard, but I don't have any experience with that. The
supervisor is a bit old compared to ASR1000.
- Cisco ASR1002 with ESP-5G. Newer supervisor and enhanced with packet
inspection, but I don't know whether it can suit the budget.
- Juniper M7i with 2 x 1Gbps SFP port. It has better OS (but I haven't
compare it to Cisco IOS-XE in ASR1000), but it doesn't have 4 gigabit
ports, and separate AS module can cost you too much. I don't know
whether it suits the budget.
- Foundry NetIron MLX-4 with 20 port 1000BaseT. I haven't had
experience with this box, but the specs looks promising, and maybe it
suits the budget.

I would like your suggestion about my plan above, perhaps I can come
out with better plan.

Thank you,
Regards,

-affan