Cisco CRS-X core router offers 10X capacity improvement over CRS-1

Cisco has unveiled the Carrier Routing System-X (CRS-X), its latest core router. The system will use the company’s new CPAK optical transceivers (see "Cisco unveils CPAK 100G silicon photonics-based optical transceiver") to support 400 Gbps per slot. The system capacity will be able to expand to nearly 1 Pbps in a multi-chassis deployment. The result is a system with 10X the capacity of the original CRS-1.

Each 400-Gbps line card will use Cisco AnyPort technology to enable flexible interface configuration. For example, each interface can be configured for either single-port 100 Gigabit Ethernet (GbE), 2x40GbE, or 10x10GbE and either short-, long-, or extended-reach optics by selecting the appropriate CPAK transceiver.

Cisco also will provide a choice of integrated integrated optics or the new Cisco nV “optical satellite.” Both leverage Cisco’s nLight technology for control plane automation. The nV optical satellite deployments operate as a single managed system with the Cisco CRS family.

The CRS-X has been designed to enable existing CRS-1 and CRS-3 system customers to upgrade to the new platform easily in with minimal traffic impact via in-service replacement cards, or by adding CRS-X chassis to existing multi-chassis deployments.

Based on quotes Cisco provided to the press, current customers like what they see. “The Cisco CRS provides Verizon Wireless with an intelligent core solution and the ability to scale up to 400 Gbps per slot, which will meet our service demands well into the future,” according to Mike Haberman, vice president of network operations, Verizon Wireless, via a Cisco press release.

“We are very pleased at the continued development of the Cisco CRS platform, which has served as the foundation of our advanced network infrastructure for many years,” added Junichi Miyakawa, executive vice president, board director and CTO, SoftBank Mobile Corp., via the same release. “With the ability to scale to 400 gigabits per second and highly available architecture, the CRS continues to provide unparalleled investment protection and help ensure SoftBank Mobile’s ability to remain one of the leading broadband content and service providers in Japan.”

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