Cisco Plans Major Core Router Upgrade
This early report suggests that Cisco will soon announce a new, next-gen carrier core router.
As reported on Computer World, Cisco may soon be announcing a new carrier core router, the MSC120, the first major upgrade to the the now 6-year-old CRS-1. Estimates peg the MSC120 will support 12 to 24 slots with total throughput exceeding 2Tbps.
"The MSC120 Cisco router will boast 120Gbps per slot, according to a bulletin issued over the weekend from Oppenheimer & Co., which will overtake the single-unit throughput of Juniper's 100Gbps-per-slot T1600 and represent the 'first major upgrade' to the CRS-1. Oppenheimer expects Cisco to unveil the MSC120 over the next month but that ASIC issues may push out delivery for another year or more.
"'We believe Cisco has recently discovered issues with the supporting ASIC design, which could require a material redesign of the platform,' states Oppenheimer analyst Ittai Kidron in his bulletin. 'This could delay product availability until mid-2011.'"
