Switch recomendation

[jmayor2011]

Hello All

I am looking for a recomendation for a Layer 3 Switch that will suit my needs

Currently I am using 150Mbp/s and ~ 200Kpps with one provider which is costing me alot of money

The facility where I am colocated has an internet exchange and I am in the process of registering for my own AS number and ip space

I would like to be able to purchase transit from 4 providers and be able to peer with 4-5 other networks in the exchange - using the best possible routes from each via BGP

I have access to 1 RU of rack space in the exchange and multiple Full racks of space outside of the exchange

All the transit providers and networks I would like to peer with have switches in the exhange room and will connect via GIG ethernet

There are ~100 servers that I need to connect

Is there a particular switch that would meet all of my needs?  Or would I have to use a combination of switch / router?

If I have to use a combination, can I put a switch in the exchange that then connects to a router in my server rack?

exchange members -> exhange switch -> router -> rack switches

or can I just go exchange members -> exhange switch -> rack switches?

Thanks for your help!

John

[Shashank Singh]

Hi John,

4500 or 6500 series switches would meet all your requirements. These are high performance modular switches with multi-slot chassis which can be populated with suitable line cards as per your needs.

More information is available at

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/hw/switches/ps4324/index.html

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/hw/switches/ps708/index.html

If you wish to do more of advanced routing and less of switching without compromising on speed, 7600 series router is a good option.

Whether or not to got for a single box to cater all your needs is something which depends on how you want to design your network. Having a single box is helpful as in it is easy to manage the network, but again leaves you with a single point of failure.

Hope this helps,

Shashank

P.S. Please rate the helpful post.