|
Networks & Infrastructure
Cisco unleashes the ASR 9000 edge switch for ultra-high capacity carrier Ethernet
Readies next-gen network providers for the Zettabyte era
by Doug Allen
After weeks of frenzied speculation and not-so-subtle hints from the vendor, Cisco has introduced the latest member of its ASR family line, the ASR 9000 Aggregation Services Router, available in Q1 2009. Touted as the Next Big Thing in edge switching, the 9000 is designed to set new benchmarks in high capacity transport; indeed, Cisco is talking about the switch ushering in the age of Zettabyte-level capacity as providers see demand for video and broadband wireless surge.
A future-proof migration path may be important to service providers, but today’s traffic levels fall somewhat short of a sextillion bytes, so something in the Terabit range is more appropriate. Actually, the ASR’s modular design scales up to 400 Gbps/slot for a total of 6.4 Tbps, something short of a Zettabyte, but nevertheless an industry milestone that offers head room to grow traffic for five to seven years, according to some estimates. The ASR allows providers to link chassis — in a 160 10GigE or 16 100GigE configuration, as well as the aforementioned 400 Gbps/slot — together as network demand grows to near that lofty plateau.
The ASR 9000 is built around two major features: IP over dense wave division multiplexing technology to achieve record throughput capacity, and an Advanced Video Services module, already available on the 7600, for faster video streaming, content caching, ad insertion, fast channel changing and error correction. In addition, the switch’s green design aims to reduce its carbon footprint through a modular power architecture that runs Cisco’s low power Quantum technology and a newly developed ventilation system that places modules side-to-back. The operating system, Cisco’s self-healing IOS XR is also modular for additional uptime.
Cisco has already picked up a trial customer for the 9000, Japan’s Softbank, and the switch is in trials with a few Tier 1 North American and European telcos, AT&T reportedly among them.
“…Cisco’s launch of the Aggregation Services Router 9000…represents the next level of service scale and sophistication that will be needed by service providers as they prepare to support the massive growth in bandwidth in their edge and aggregation networks,” writes Glen Hunt, senior analyst with Current Analysis, in a recent intelligence report. “The ASR 9000 offers service providers an integrated platform that is based on proven technologies that have been developed by Cisco over the pat few years to deliver the scale and services support necessary to deliver on the evolving services challenges using a common platform that can grow in capability as required over the next three to seven years. The system has appeal in wireline as well as wireless and cable applications due to its ability to aggregate large quantities of Ethernet-related traffic.”
However, Hunt points out that the ASR 9000, like the Death Star, will not be fully operational upon initial release. “Cisco has done an excellent job of positioning the new platform to meet the needs of the future, however there are many missing details that will need to be filled in as the product roadmap is made clearer to customers — such as not all the capabilities will be available on day one. IN a way this lends a level of credibility of he platform since we know the ultimate capabilities and will need now to see the incremental progress from what appears to be initially a 1+ Tbps platform with GigE and 10 GigE densities at or near the top of the industry.”
|
