[c-nsp] ASR920 vs NCS5000

[Lukas Tribus]

> > The NCS500x is a dumb, dumb switch.
> > 
> > Its a cheap and fast-tracked Trident II+ implementation in IOS-XR.
> 
> Which sounds extremely tempting, TBH :-) - sane OS, fast hardware.

I see your point, but just because its IOS-XR doesn't mean its 9k-like IOS-XR.

You can choose (today) between 2 IOS-XR releases on CCO, and there
is not a single SMU available.

You have to live - at least for now - with things like:
CSCux63407 Handle un-supported feature gracefully
CSCuv28141 Rollback fails if a ACL modify fails due to TCAM exhaustion

Not very XR like behavior, despite the CLI.



> Have you evaluated it as a "limited table" IPv4/IPv6 router (like, a few
> 1000 internal routes, no full BGP stuff)?  I find it tempting...

I didn't evaluate the platform any further, because I simply did not find it
mature enough. I filed it under "to check out in 2 years".

Its like the ASR920 or the ME3600 when it first launched; if lots of people
report bugs and and the BU's spends some time fixing them, sooner or
later you will have a usable product. Otherwise ... not so much.



> ASR920 is lighter version of ASR900 in terms of ASIC/TCAM and buffers

Don't know what you mean be "lighter". ASR900 is a family with different
RSP generations and different platforms, so its hard to make a comparison.



> ASR920 and ASR900 have same control-plane, same features

ASR920 is equivalent to the A900-RSP2.



Lukas