[j-nsp] Juniper M-series vs 72xx/NPE-G2

[Nicolaj Kamensek]

michael.firth at bt.com wrote:

Hi Michael,

> The M5/M10 are EOL, which means that support may be dropped from JunOS
> releases in a few years time (Juniper guarantee to support hardware for
> at least 5 years from the EOL date, which is already a couple of years
> ago for the M5/M10)

agreed.

> The M20 is the oldest router in the Juniper product line, being the
> second product they ever introduced. The PICs for it also are now
> unique, as they were shared with the (now obsolescent) M40, and no other
> routers.

That's true for the original M20/M40 PICs but M5/M10/M7i/M10i PICs are 
fully supported by the M20. In fact P and PE-style PICs are electrically 
identical, the only difference is the ejector handle which is needed for 
routers with built-in FPCs since it's not possible to pull them out.
In my opinion that's a plus for the M20 because you may use the usually 
cheaper P-style PICs and save some money.

I agree with your opinion concerning the M7i router. It is a great 
M-series entry router for a very low price(contrary to the M10i). In my 
eyes, some of the biggest disadvantages is the missing redundancy 
option(the RE seems to be pretty sensitivy) and the fact that you 
"loose" a GigE interface in case you have to upgrade to a larger box, 
e.g. because you need STM-16 or more than 5 GigE PICs.

I still consider the M20 router to be an interesting option. Most parts 
are pretty cheap in the used market and the standard FPC is often 
sufficient. Even with an upgrade to SSB-E16 it is cheaper then a new 
M10i and offers more capacity.

Regards,
Nico

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