Cisco Unveils Revolutionary New Router

Online video will never be the same, according to Cisco, which released the revolutionary new Cisco CRS-3 Carrier Routing System (CRS) on Tuesday. The router is capable of handling 12 times more traffic than the nearest competing system and was designed to serve as the foundation of the next-generation Internet.

Considering the enormous growth of video transmission, mobile devices and new online services in recent years, the CRS-3 has been built to handle the next wave of internet-based video technology.

The Cisco CRS-3 triples the capacity of its predecessor, the CRS-1, with up to 322 Terabits per second. According to Cisco, this would enable the CRS-3 to download the entire printed collection of the Library of Congress to be downloaded in just over one second; allow every man, woman and child in China to make a video call, simultaneously; and stream every motion picture ever created in less than four minutes.

“The next generation Internet is upon us and we are confident that the Cisco CRS-3 will play a crucial role as service providers like AT&T deliver an exciting, new array of video, mobile, data center and cloud services,” says Keith Cambron, president and CEO, AT&T Labs. “The Cisco CRS-3 is well positioned to carry on the tradition of the Cisco CRS-1, become the flagship router of the future and serves as the foundation for the world’s most intelligent and advanced broadband networks.”

Currently in field trials with a starting price of $90,000, the CRS-3 enables unified service delivery of Internet and cloud services with service intelligence spanning service provider Internet Protocol Next-Generation Networks (IP NGNs) and data center.  Cisco, which has invested $1.6 billion in the CRS family, also provides substantial savings with investment protection for the nearly 5,000 Cisco CRS-1 deployed worldwide.

AT&T recently tested the CRS-3 in a successful completion of the world’s first field trial of 100-Gigabit backbone network technology, which took place in AT&T’s live network between New Orleans and Miami.  The trial advances AT&T’s development of the next generation of backbone network technology that will support the network requirements for the growing number of advanced mobile and fixed services offered by AT&T to consumer and business customers.

“We are entering the next stage of global communication and entertainment services and applications, which requires a new set of advanced Internet networking technologies,” says Keith Cambron, president and CEO, AT&T Labs. “AT&T’s network handled 40 percent more traffic in 2009 than it did in the previous year, and we continue to see this growth in 2010.  Having leading edge experience in managing the largest global data network, we are pleased to continue our close working relationship with Cisco and its groundbreaking Cisco CRS-3 platform.”

With a proven multi-chassis architecture, the CRS-3 can deliver up to 322 tbps of capacity, more than tripling the 92 tbps capacity of the CRS-1 and representing more than 12 times the capacity of any other core router in the industry.

In addition to capacity requirements, the growths of mobile and video applications are creating new multidirectional traffic patterns with the increasing emergence of the data center cloud.  The new Cisco Data Center Services System provides tight linkages between the Cisco CRS-3, Cisco Nexus family and Cisco Unified Computing System (UCS) to enable unified service delivery of cloud services.  This intelligence also includes carrier-grade IPv6 (CGv6) and core IP/MPLS technologies that permit new IP NGN architectural efficiencies required to keep pace with the rapidly growing cloud services market.  Unique capabilities also include Network Positioning System (NPS) and Cloud virtual private network (VPN).

The Cisco CRS-3 offers dramatic operational expense savings and up to 60 percent savings on power consumption compared to competitive platforms.  The Cisco CRS-3 also delivers significant capital expenditures savings and investment protection for existing Cisco CRS-1 customers.  The new capabilities in the platform can be achieved by reusing the existing chassis, route processors, fans and power systems with the addition of new line cards and fabric.  These upgrades can be performed in-service and be provided by Cisco Services to ensure a smooth transition.

The Cisco CRS-3 is powered by the new Cisco QuantumFlow Array Processor, which unifies the combined power of six chips to work as one, enabling unprecedented levels of service capabilities and processing power. Making this implementation even more unique is its ability to deliver capabilities with a fraction of the power required by lesser performing chipsets.  The Cisco QuantumFlow Array chipset was designed to provide the new system the ability to scale with the ever increasing demands being placed on the IP NGN by the many different applications and billions of devices being used by both businesses and consumers in the Zettabyte era.