Cisco beefs up carrier router line

Cisco today unveiled upgrades to its routers for carriers and large enterprises, bringing the next-generation Internetworking Operating System (IOS) XR to its 12000-series routers.

The software was originally developed for Cisco's Carrier Routing System 1 (CRS-1) introduced in May last year.

The 12000 series ranks one step below the CRS-1 and is used mostly at the edge of the network. With the addition of the new software, the appliance will be rebranded the 12000 XR.

IOS XR brings greater stability and scalability to the 12000 series through the use of virtual environments, allowing one physical router to act like several separate smaller machines.

"We have created a parallel virtualisation-based infrastructure where you can create a secure virtualised environment in one physical form factor," Kelly Ahuja, vice president of marketing for Cisco's Carrier Core and Multiservice Business Unit, told vnunet.com.

Cisco also upgraded its 7600-series routers that rank yet another step below the 12000 XR series. With the addition of the 7604 model, the company has added a small form factor router that targets new-generation services such as video-on-demand over IP.

The improvements in the software and hardware are required to enable future data services such as voice over IP.

Glen Hunt, a senior analyst at Current Analysis, told vnunet.com that, although the changes are more evolutionary than revolutionary, they are much appreciated by customers.

"In the past year it has become paramount that core routers need to be working non-stop in the IP world," he said. "High availability and non-stop operation are capabilities that Cisco's customers have been demanding for a while."

The IOS XR for the 12000 series will be available in June for existing and new users. The 7604 router is slated for availability by the end of April.