On 12/28/05, Mark J. Kroska <MKroska at kdv.com> wrote:
>
> Erik--
> As long as you have enough free interfaces to handle the T-1s you should be
> fine -- conditionally.
> Generally the issue is the amount of RAM needed to do routing long before
> CPU power.
> If you are doing static routing you should be more than fine...you could
> probably have 8 or more T-1s without running low on CPU resources.
> If you were doing dynamic routing the CPU still may not be getting hammered,
> again the RAM would be the limiting factor.  (Dynamic routing meaning RIP,
> OSPF, BGP, etc.  The more complex the routing tables, the more CPU power you
> need)
> I've successfully run 2 T-1s with a 'light' BGP load with 64MB RAM before
> (in a staging environment), and it barely scratched the CPU, where the RAM
> was nearly fully utilized.
> Out of curiosity, how much RAM does the unit have?  What type of interfaces
> will you be terminating with?
> Will any of the T-1s be bonded/multiplexed or channelized?
>
> Another factor to consider if you don't have the interfaces purchased: not
> all T-1 interfaces work with all levels of firmware.  I ran into an issue
> with a newer WIC and an older firmware--it wouldn't even detect it!

Thanks for the info, Mark.  In our case, we'll be using one 2651 to
terminate all the T1s, which will then connect to a second 2651 which
will do the routing.  For the time being, it's all static routing.