Cisco Systems announced on Tuesday the CRS-3 Carrier Routing System, a new Internet networking architecture that is designed with the huge growthof video transmission, mobile devices and new online services in mind.
The Cisco CRS-3 provides more than 12 times the traffic capacity ofthe nearest competing system, according to John Chambers, chairman andCEO of Cisco Systems. The new routing system is designed to acceleratethe delivery of new services, new revenueopportunities for service providers, and new ways to collaborate in theworkplace, according to the company.
Cisco expects its advanced platform to improve the delivery of video, mobile and data center/cloud services.
“The new network will thrive on speed, collaboration and flexibility.To be successful, the new network must be compatible with all types ofnetworks,” Chambers said.
New Design
The CRS-3 triples the capacity of its predecessor, the Cisco CRS-1Carrier Routing System, said Chambers. Its multi-chassis architecturehandles up to 322 terabits per second (Tbps). That more than triples the 92Tbps capacity of the Cisco CRS-1.
As an example of how the new network performs, the greater capacitywould enable the entire printed collection of the Library of Congress to bedownloaded in just over one second, said Pankaj Patel, senior vicepresident and general manager of Cisco System’s Special ProjectsGroup. It could also allow every person inChina to make a video call simultaneously. Using Cisco’s new system, a person could hypothetically deliver every motion picture ever created in less than four minutes, according to the company.
“This new network has 12 times the capacity of the nearest pier on thenetwork,” said Chambers. “Video is the new killer app.”
Must-Have Services
Cisco expects to see 5 to 6 billion devices using the Internet by2013. Most of those connections will be related to video, Chamberssaid.
“The next-generation Internet needs multi-directional networking.Video needs to go beyond the traditional content-delivery methods. Itneeds to connect the data centers closer to the edge of the Internet,”said Suray Shutty, vice president for marketing at Cisco Systems.
The industry needs this new, faster network to support the continuinggrowth of the Internet, said Keith Cambron, president and CEO of AT&TLabs. His company has seen a 40 to 60-percent growth rate innetwork demand, and video has grown 80 percent, he said.
“We are entering the next stage of global communication andentertainment services and applications, which requires a new set ofadvanced Internet networking technologies. AT&T’s network handled 40percent more traffic in 2009 than it did in the previous year, and wecontinue to see this growth in 2010,” he added.
Next-Gen Highlights
Another trait of the new router is its core and datacenter/cloud services intelligence. Besides the capacity requirements,mobile and video application growth is creating new multi-directionaltraffic patterns with the increasing emergence of the data centercloud, Chambers explained. The new Cisco Data Center Services Systemprovides tight linkages between the Cisco CRS-3, Cisco Nexus familyand Cisco Unified Computing System (UCS) to enable unified servicedelivery of cloud services.
This also includes carrier-grade IPv6 (CGv6) and core IP/MPLStechnologies that permit new architectural efficiencies required tokeep pace with the rapidly growing cloud services market. Othercapabilities include a Network Positioning System (NPS) to provideLayers 3 to 7 application information for best path to content.
Keeping Pace
Cisco made similar news a year ago with its announcement and unveilingof Unified Computing. Despite its broad assortment of partners, therewas initial skepticism of Cisco, the network and hardware company,getting so far into the datacenter and servers, noted Jay Lyman,analyst with The 451 Group. However, since that time and particularly atthe start of 2010, there are signs Cisco got quickly up to pacewith its datacenter strategy, technology, partnerships and execution,he said.
“With this routing system announcement, Cisco is again thinking big.It’s now back to the bread and butter of the network, where it’s stillthe 800-pound gorilla of the market, but where it is also facingcompetition from not only less expensive and open source alternatives,but also from new and emerging IT infrastructure models, such as SaaSand cloud computing,” Lyman told TechNewsWorld.
Given the demand for ever greater bandwidth, capacity andperformance from a variety of sources, including enterprise andconsumer users, and on a variety of devices, from virtual servers tosmartphones, Cisco is also maintaining its leadership role with thistechnology and announcement, he said.
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