On Thu, Feb 25, 2010 at 11:41 AM, Tom H <tomh0665@xxxxxxxxx> wrote: >> Servers don't really make good routers. When you are talking about >> traditional low- to mid-speed telco circuits (T1, T3), there have never >> been good, well-supported, cost-effective solutions for connecting those >> directly to Linux systems for routing that could compete with a basic >> Juniper or Cisco (or Adtran or ...) on price and ease of use. >> >> When you start talking about SONET links (OC-3 and up), Linux AFAIK >> doesn't handle things like protected paths and the like, and then you >> also quickly pass the performance capability of commodity hardware. >> Newer WAN circuits are using Ethernet, but you need OAM (which Linux >> doesn't support) to properly manage them as a replacement for >> traditional telco circuits. >> >> "Real" routers (aka Juniper and Cisco) use hardware-based forwarding >> that can run at line rate for 1G, 10G, and 100G interfaces. >> >> Dynamic routing has always been pretty weak in Linux as well. I have a >> few systems running Quagga for various purposes, but it is not nearly as >> powerful and flexible as a "traditional" router. >> >> Now, Juniper routers all run FreeBSD, but that's only on the routing >> engine (where the management and routing daemons run), not the >> forwarding engine (where the actual packet forwarding takes place). >> Juniper wrote all their own routing, PPP management, etc. daemons from >> scratch. It is kind of funny when you spend $100K+ on a router that has >> a Celeron 850 CPU and a whopping 20G hard drive. :-) >> >> I have lots of Linux servers, a few other old Unix servers, and a couple >> of Linux firewalls, but all my routers are Juniper. I've been working >> for small ISPs for 14 years, and I've never really seen a time where I >> would try to push Linux into serious routing. It costs too much on the >> low end and can't handle the performance on the high end. > > How about Vyatta? They are Linux-based and claim to have the same > performance as Cisco routers. They started out as software-only but > seem to be pushing "appliances" more and more, like > http://www.vyatta.com/downloads/datasheets/vyatta_3500_datasheet.pdf This looks like an interesting solution: Vyatta Appliance, Vyatta 3520, Premium Subscription, H/W Expedited 4HR, 3 Years Vyatta Appliance, Vyatta 3520, Premium Subscription, H/W Expedited 4HR Parts & Labor, 3 Years (ships with US Power Cord as standard) (Typically ships in 15-17 business days) Price: $10,695.45 http://www2.vyatta.com/store/Vyatta-3520-Premium-with-4-Hour-Expedited-Service But I have no idea of how it compares to other Cisco's or Junipter's. They have a demo here: http://www.vyatta.com/products/demos/introduction-to-vyatta/introduction-to-vyatta.html For a know nothing like me it looks rather convincing but I'm a bit sceptical when they talk about better performance without hardware optimization. Then again, if they compare price for price, it might very well make sense. > (Your reply-to has users@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx twice) I see it only once here (Gmail)... -- users mailing list users@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx To unsubscribe or change subscription options: https://admin.fedoraproject.org/mailman/listinfo/users Guidelines: http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Mailing_list_guidelines
