Minimum Memory requirements

[bgriffis]

How do you determine the minimum amount of memory that is acceptable for a router or switch? I realize there are different requirements for different device types. Is there a general rule of thumb? Do you start asking for funding for memory upgrades when you have a couple meg free mem? Can switches run safely with less than 1 Meg free?

[thisisshanky]

Typically in fixed config switches i havent seen people upgrading memory on it. Some of them are field upgradeable, while some are not. Mostly you will do upgrades only on a chassis based switch such as 4500 or 6500 series.

In case of routers, you will need more memory, depending upon the number of processes running on the box. Like BGP has a huge load if you are running full 120k+ routes from internet. That many routes will just eat up 128Mb of ram, plus you will need more memory for the normal operation of the router. RUnning a lot of IPSEC encryption can also eat up memory. Running protocols such as OSPF can also increase the memory requirement on the router. So it strictly depends on the type of application, the router or switch is being used for.

[bgriffis]

Thanks. That was my thought. The tool we use for monitoring memory usage does not tell me if the device is a switch or a router. Think I need to work on my toolset to break it out better and only pull out routers (and chassis based switches). Time to refine the tools - thanks for the info.