No one ever accused cisco of being a charity... --
RFC 1149 Compliant. ""Neal Rauhauser 402-301-9555"" wrote in message [EMAIL PROTECTED]">news:[EMAIL PROTECTED]... > This one is just too juicy to pass up :-) > > The concise question is "Why would you use linux/freebsd or an appliance > based on > them instead of purchasing a real router?" > > > Cisco rules the backbone, they do enough on lan switching to get my vote > their, and > their Aironet radios are OK if you're abusing 802.11b by running it as a > wireless > internet provider but ... > > CISCO KNOWS SQUAT ABOUT ROUTER/WIRELESS INTEGRATION! > > > There, I've said it. Detaled proof of concept is below: > > > Lets consider a network I recently installed. I've got a tower on a > building on a > bluff that overlooks a valley where there is no DSL service. On the opposite > side of > the valley I have another tower on a building on a bluff. The two towers are > separated > by about three miles. Some sites in the valley can see one side, some can > see the > other, neither site would cover the whole valley properly. > > The building closest to my head end has an elevator shaft on top with my > small > tower bolted to the side. There is room for a good sized 19" cabinet and AC > power. The > building on the opposite side of the valley has a beautiful 50' tower on top > but the > only facilties on the roof are a NEMA outdoor enclosure. The NEMA enclosure > can take a > couple of radios and maybe a small hub but would not take any router larger > than a > 1605. > > So, this one building has a backhaul link, it has a customer cell, it > feeds the cell > across the valley, and I have two other customers attached to this location > that > received dedicated point to point links for a total of one cell and four > point to point > wireless links. There is also a wired link to our customers in the building. > > From the layer three perspective this location has four /29s used for point > to point > (why not /30s? you tell me, but ponder the wonder of VLANs and OSPF first > :-] ), one > /27 that is the customer cell, and a /29 for the wired customers. > > How would you build a network with six total subnets, one wireless cell, > and four > point to point links, using only Cisco equipment? This is the parts list > with estimated > pricing: > > Cisco 2620 $1500 > Catalyst 1912 $300 > Aironet AP352 $650 > four x WGB352 $1800 > total $4250 > > Now consider the alternative - a $400 PC, a $50 flash card, $200 for a > linux based > wireless capable OS from http://www.mikrotik.com, two PCI Aironet cards > ($350) and a > Dlink quad port ethernet card ($100). $1100 total > > I still needed the $650 AP and one external $450 WGB352 - $1100 for this. > > > So, for $2200 I got the effect of purchasing $4250 of refurbished Cisco > gear. > > > Now lets look at the soft benefits of MikroTik vs IOS: > > Feature MikroTik IOS > ssh yes with provider image > OSPF yes yes > PPTP server yes not that I can find > PPPoE server yes yes, clumsy > rate shape PPPoE client bit rate per user nope, just IOS > traffic controls > > NAT yes yes > processor AMD 1 gig 40 MHz PPC > memory 256 meg max out at 64 meg > firewall ipchains(cool) clumsy access lists > user interface killer CLI clumsy CLI > annual support $500 or so including aironet about 3X MT costs > > > Over a three year period the MikroTik box is going to cost me about one > fourth of what > I'd pay for a minimal Cisco solution and the performance of the MT is on par > with a > 7206 /w an NPE300. > > > Now there are a lot of reasons to prefer Cisco in the backbone over > MikroTik, but I'm > not going to say anything :-) You'll just have to download the free eval of > MikroTik > and make it work with your Cisco lab if you want to know ... > > > > > > > I always see people asking for Linux/Unix sims for BGP > > or just to simulate a router in General. I for the life of me can't > > figure out why a Linux router could be better than a 2501 and > > it would cost me more to build a Linux box. I see the same with Message Posted at: http://www.groupstudy.com/form/read.php?f=7&i=46137&t=46137 -------------------------------------------------- FAQ, list archives, and subscription info: http://www.groupstudy.com/list/cisco.html Report misconduct and Nondisclosure violations to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
