[c-nsp] PE "Sprawl" - P/Core Router suggestions.

[Phil Bedard]

What kind of protocols are you running on the network?  What’s the likelihood of running some user services or more advanced features on the new “core” boxes?   Cisco gear the NCS 5501 would probably be my choice, it’s substantially less expensive than the 5502 if you don’t need the 100G density or still need to support 1G.  The low scale version of the box would probably fit your needs fine, and they’ve made enhancements in 6.1.2 where the low scale versions can fit an Internet table now if need be.   On the lower end that’s a bit tougher but the price point on the 5501 may be low enough it makes sense to use it everywhere.  

Phil 
-----Original Message-----
From: cisco-nsp <cisco-nsp-bounces at puck.nether.net> on behalf of CiscoNSP List <CiscoNSP_list at hotmail.com>
Date: Tuesday, December 27, 2016 at 23:04
To: "cisco-nsp at puck.nether.net" <cisco-nsp at puck.nether.net>
Subject: [c-nsp] PE "Sprawl" - P/Core Router suggestions.

    Hi Everyone (Apologies in advance for the long post :) )
    
    
    We have multiple POPs, of varying sizes, no true "core"....due to size initially(# of customer tails @ POPs), collapsed design was used to reduce capex/improve ROI.
    
    
    Hardware currently used are ME3600's/ASR920's/ASR1Ks(LNS/Transit), and TOR switches 4900's, Nex3Ks
    
    
    Primary service offering is L3VPN, and as we aggregate with a large number of carriers, customers can pick/choose tails to suit budget/bandwidth/sla's etc
    
    
    Interpop connections are currently going into our ASR920's, and as they have a limited # of 10G ports(4), we are having to add more ASR920's, purely for 10G...not ideal, not scaleable, and increasingly difficult to manage.
    
    
    So, looking to put a more modular(Hierarchical two-layer - "core" and "aggregation" ) design in place, that is easily replicable/templated/flexible.
    
    
    Hardware (Cisco house) - Ive looked at so far:
    
    
    ASR9001 for our larger POPs, but 10G port density on them is an issue...4 onboard, and they only support the 4 port 10G MPAs(2 line card slots, so 2 of these)....so total 12 x 10G?
    ASR1K - I see they have released the 1001/2-HX with the 1002 having an EPA slot - So, 8 x 10G onboard, and with an EPA 10x10G a total of 18 x 10G ports - but as these are very very new, Im guessing very pricey?
    NCS - Very new, and know very little about them - NCS5001/NCS5002 - 10G port density definitely not an issue(40 + 80)...but they are an "MPLS agg router"...So, potentially an option if we went BGP-free "core"?
    Then we have the bigger "chassis" brothers of the ASR9K/1K and NCS...all being a lot more $, and taking up a lot more real-estate in the Rack..
    
    ASR9001 - "looked" like an ideal candidate, but the limited number of 10G ports is an issue
    ASR1K - 1002-HX - Looks fantastic, but I would imagine very big $ if fully populated with 10G ports
    NCS - Unsure on these as they are very new, and docs on them are a little sparse...i.e. Could they be an option, if we went BGP-free in the core?
    Other Options?
    
    
    Then for our smaller pops (that have 2-4 ASR920's(PEs) - Core/Agg box for these is quite a challenge...we would still need something with 10x10G ports to give us scale(PEs) and also for Interpop....any suggestions here would be greatly appreciated :)
    
    
    For our "larger" POPs, where we will see 6+ (ASR920's) PEs - Dual 10G connectivity to the 2 Core/Agg routers will quickly burn lots of ports (As well as the needed Interpop connections) - Are mini PE "rings" an option...i.e. maybe 4 x ASR920's, east-west connected, with just 2 having 10G to the core/Agg?
    
    
    Appreciate any suggestions/comments/recommendations  - Cheers
    
    
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