WAN Router question

We have a Cisco 1760 router dangling off the end of a 2Mb Megastream. It has a WIC-1T, A FastEthernet card and a 10Mbps Ethernet port.

The Megastream is going to be upgraded to 10Mbps; obviously the 1760 won't handle the throughput and the WIC definitely won't...

I don't know how the 10Mbps Megastream is presented to us - currently have a BT NTE5 on the end of a fibre; I assume one of the spare tribs will come live with the new service.

So which Cisco router and which WAN card will we require?

S.

Do you need Cisco? Would a Linksys do?

Do Cisco still have a trade in option?

Edited by MHC (Tue 17-Mar-09 14:21:46)

You need to know how the new link is going to be presented to you for the interface card.
As for the Router an 1841, if you don't need much expandability as it only has a single fast ethernet and 2 wic slots or a 2801, if you need 2 fast ethernet and more than 2 wic slots.

>>You need to know how the new link is going to be presented to you for the interface card.


Yes indeed... I had hoped that the 10Mbps would be presented in some standard way to all customers (like up to 2Mbps is X.21)

>>As for the Router an 1841,

I didn't think the Wan Card would go faster than 2Mbps in those? I am of course quite happy to be corrected! which WAN card by the way?

I had sort of come to the conclusion a 2801 (or 3) would be the way to go.... mmmm A 2801 at head office and a 1841 at each end might make more sense.

Thanks for your help

S.

>>Do you need Cisco?

Probably not, however it is what we have at the moment.

>>Would a Linksys do?

Nope. We have had too many bad Linksys products. There is a corporate aversion to them. Of course the fact that Linksys are part of Cisco now doesn't help matters....

>>Do Cisco still have a trade in option?

Possibly. Don't know.

S.

Is this a point-to-point (private circuit) service? Or something like BTnet (Internet access) that's delivered via a Megastream2?

Megastream isn't available @ 10Mb, so can't be 'upgraded' as such to 10Mb. They are only available as 1Mb, 2Mb, 34Mb & 155Mb.
I suspect the service is actually being replaced with a WES10 or similar. If so, it won't be delivered over an existing trib, but instead requires its own fibre and NTE.

10Mb Ethernet services are usually presented as RJ45.

>>Is this a point-to-point (private circuit) service?

Interesting you should say that... these are private circuits. The BT Net replacement is actually more expensive than an upgrade of the Megastream we already have

>>I suspect the service is actually being replaced with a WES10 or similar. If so, it won't be delivered over an existing trib, but instead requires its own fibre and NTE.

Ah ha. that sounds promising... so we get another fibre (Yipeee) and an Ethernet port?

That is even better. The existing routers we have will handle an Ethernet port with no problem at all.

I am afraid I don't have much more than "Chinese whispers" to go on...

Thanks for your help.

S.

Depending upon the distance between the two sites, either Megastream Ethernet (which actually has nothing to do with Megastream) or EES can be used.

In either case, the tail circuit is actually a WES from Openreach, which will be delivered with an RJ45 presentation on a seperate NTE from the existing Mx2 circuit.

Presumably whoever ordered the circuit knows that 1U rack space will be required for the NTE and another 1U for the fibre management tray (if one doesn't already exist).

>>In either case,

LOL - so if the tail is WES/WEES , I don't actually care what goes on behind the NTE... as long as it works.

>>Presumably whoever ordered the circuit knows

ROFL

>>1U rack space will be required for the NTE and another 1U for the fibre management tray (if one doesn't already exist).

Thanks for that. There is rack space available. Does it have to be full depth?

As it is an RJ45 Ethernet presentation, I assume the BT bit just behaves as if it is a 2 port ethernet switch which makes things nice and easy. We can adjust the routing on the fly (static route network) and the existing ports on the routers will handle the WAN traffic.

Thanks for your help.

S.

How's about a nice J Series from Juniper?