2811 Max T1's in multilink bundle

[mike-greene]

Hi,

We have a 2811 thats currently running four T1's in a multilink bundle.. no other services running like NAT, ipsec etc.  We need to upgrade the bandwidth and the cheapest is to add four more T1's to the bundle.  From looking at the docs the 2811 will support four HWIC-2CE1T1-PRI cards...the router currently has one HWIC-4T1/E1 installed.

The router runs fine the way it is... anyone out there running eight T1's on a 2811?  I can't find a max in any of the docs but I'm assuming if they will let you install eight serial interfaces you should be ok.

Mike

[Reza Sharifi]

Mike,

Do a cost analysts with all the T1s you have and you need against a DS3 (T3) line. You would need to replace your router with a 2825, 3845 or 3925, 3945, but you get a lot more bandwidth and may cost you less monthly.

HTH 

[vmiller]

With that many DS0's it may be worth looking at some sort of ethernet services.

[ahmad82pkn]

Hi timtaylor.wi/mike-greene/All, i am stuck in same situation.

i have 2811 Already running 4 T1 using 2 WIC cards (2 x VWIC-2MFT-T1)= 4 T1 ports total

Now i need to upgrade bandwidth to 12 Mbps, so i am planning to buy 2 more VWIC-2MFT-T1 so make total 8 T1. Will i be able to do that? as per Doc it support 4 WIC cards, so i am assuming i will be good? any thoughts?

[Rick Morris]

8 T1's is giving you around 12Mb.  Depending on the cost I am guessing your T1's are around 6-700 per at a cost of $4,800 - $5,600.  I am pretty sure you can find a provider that will give you 10Mb ethernet for much less.  What you lose then is the redundancy if link goes down.  In the MLPP you can lose 1 or more connections and still survive.  With one Ethernet connection if connection goes down service is down, but you can increase the bandwidth typically at a much lower rate.

[vmiller]

Another point, look through this forum and scan for how many questions have been about mlppp.

My own opinion is that its more trouble than its worth.

[timtaylor.wi]

i'm in the same boat - at some sites, a DS3 is prohibitively expensive, both in monthly cost and outside construction costs, and ethernet handoff isn't available period.  it would great if someone had the actual answer about how many T1s could be used in an mlppp.

[Joseph W. Doherty]

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Posting

In Cisco's 2800 Q&A, we find:

Q. What is the performance of the Cisco 2800 Series?

A. The Cisco 2800 Series of integrated services routers are designed to  deliver multiple concurrent services at wire-speed performance up to  multiple T1/E1/xDSL speeds. Chassis performance has been increased up to  fivefold, and security and voice performance has been increased up to  tenfold. The multiple T1/E1/xDSL value quoted here represents IMIX  packet sizes in higher-than-typical Cisco 2800 Series services  configurations. In less service-heavy environments, actual WAN  throughput will be higher. Table 1 shows recommended performance levels  for the Cisco 2800 Series.

Table 1. Cisco 2800 Series Performance

Platform	Recommended Performance with Services Enabled (IMIX traffic)
Cisco 2801	Up to 1 T1/E1/xDSL
Cisco 2811	Up to 2 T1/E1s/xDSL
Cisco 2821	Up to 4 T1/E1s/xDSL
Cisco 2851	Up to 6 T1/E1s/xDSL

I've used 2811s with 4xT1 in MLPPP (and IMA) without issue.

As to adding a 2nd module, in a 2811, Cisco's datasheet has:

Supported Platforms and Number of Modules per Platform

Table 3 shows the platform support and the maximum number of Cisco 4-Port Clear Channel T1/E1 HWICs supported on each platform.

Table 3. Number of Cisco 4-Port Clear Channel T1/E1 HWICs Supported per Platform

Cisco Integrated Services Router Platform	Cisco 2821, 2851	Cisco 2911	Cisco 2921, 2951	Cisco 3825, 3845, 3925, 3945	Cisco 3925, 3925E, 3945, 3945E	Cisco 3925E, 3945E
Number of 4-port Clear Channel T1/E1 HWICs Supported	2	1	2	4	4	3

Interestingly, Cisco also notes:

Restrictions for T1/E1 HWICs and Network Module

•The Cisco 2811 does not support the HWIC-4T1/E1 module.

Assuming the 2811 will run with a second module, it might just be able to support up to 8xT1.

[timtaylor.wi]

Thanks!  That's great info.

[ahmad82pkn]

Hi timtaylor.wi/mike-greene/All, i am stuck in same situation.

i have 2811 Already running 4 T1 using 2 WIC cards (2 x VWIC-2MFT-T1)= 4 T1 ports total

Now i need to upgrade bandwidth to 12 Mbps, so i am planning to buy 2 more VWIC-2MFT-T1 so make total 8 T1. Will i be able to do that? as per Doc it support 4 WIC cards, so i am assuming i will be good? any thoughts?

[alan-asido]

Is it possible to make 8xT1 in 2911 router? the existing configuration is 4xT1. assuming ethernet circuit is not an option?

[Joseph W. Doherty]

As the documentation I posted 3 years ago notes a 2911 supports two 4xT1 modules, you should be able to.  The 2911's performance should be able to easily handle that much bandwidth too.

[alan-asido]

So in a single Multilink there will be a total of 12MB (1.5x8).,, Thank you