[c-nsp] Opinions about the next 6500/7600

[Nick Hilliard]

On 05/02/2011 02:17, Rubens Kuhl wrote:
> Which seems inline with my reading of Cisco's strategy: replace the
> jack-of-all-trades 6500/7600 platform with mission-specific hardware:
> Nexus + ASR1K + ASR9K. They make more money this way, as people won't
> move the same chassis among these roles, refurbished 2nd-hand hardware
> will be of less value to an specific group of needs/buyers and so
> forth.

that's a pretty cynical viewpoint.  For years, there was a gaping hole in 
Cisco's product lineup between 7200 and sup720, and the ASR1k fits in very 
nicely there.  As regards the 6500/7600, any upgrade to this product line 
would require both new line cards and a new supervisor, so there's not a 
huge amount of saving to be made by changing the chassis too.  Besides, the 
6500/7600 is crippled by the requirements of ancient hardware fossils and 
architectural limitations within IOS itself.  It's a quirky platform.

Personally, I'm not sad to see it replaced.  High end now means multiple 
hundreds of gigabits between the blade and the backplane.  Even the sup2t 
won't do this, if it ever arrives.

Nick