cancel
Showing results for 
Search instead for 
Did you mean: 
cancel
837
Views
0
Helpful
5
Replies

Router 7201 capabilities

laloperez
Level 1
Level 1

Hi everyone!

In a previous topic I was recommended to buy the new 7201 for a net with full BGP routing with reasonable bandwidth requirements (<=1Gbps) and as I saw the machine it seemed to me almost perfect. But... (there's always a "but") I'm not sure how many routes can this machine keep. It's default memory is 1GB, but how many routes fits in that capacity? And if I push it's memory to its max (2GB), how many routes, then? I need a machine capable of keep in touch with the growing internet table for the next 2-3 years.

And, by the way, as far as I know, this router, as many others, has not the table limitations that other platforms have due to the max FIB or TCAM entries. Can anyone explain me why? Why, I presume, the max number of table entries in the 7201 is limited only by the DRAM you put in, and in a 7600 or 6500 is hardwired and not depends on that same DRAM?

Thank you very much

1 Accepted Solution

Accepted Solutions

adavenport
Level 1
Level 1

We run a 7206 with an NPE-G2, which is exactly what the 7201 is based on. It has two copies of the full BGP routes, and two others that add up to 1/2 of a full table. It is using about 300 MB of the Gig.

I think it will be good to go for many years to come. This is an extremely capable box.

Roger

View solution in original post

5 Replies 5

bjornarsb
Level 4
Level 4

Hi,

The memory required for the BGP table (rather than the forwarding table) is a function of the number of paths. However the amount of memory needed depends on a lot of factors, such as the number of BGP peers and so on. To be on the safe side, 512 MB is recommended in today's topology. Considering the growth rate of the Internet route table, this may or may not be enough in the future.

So today I believe that 1 GB is enough :)

BR,

Bjornarsb

adavenport
Level 1
Level 1

We run a 7206 with an NPE-G2, which is exactly what the 7201 is based on. It has two copies of the full BGP routes, and two others that add up to 1/2 of a full table. It is using about 300 MB of the Gig.

I think it will be good to go for many years to come. This is an extremely capable box.

Roger

770801tvdhaar
Level 1
Level 1

Forwarding on the 7201 is done by the CPU, and not hardware based as is with the 6500.

Tyrone

And what's CEF in this router supposed to do, then?

Well it's not the same CEF because the 7201 doesn't hash any lookups and therefore doesn't use TCAM.

Getting Started

Find answers to your questions by entering keywords or phrases in the Search bar above. New here? Use these resources to familiarize yourself with the community: