NETWORK WORLD NEWSLETTER: OPTICAL NETWORKING 08/23/04 Dear [EMAIL PROTECTED],
In this issue: * Behind the changes to Cisco's IOS * Links related to Optical Networking * Featured reader resource _______________________________________________________________ This newsletter is sponsored by Alterpoint Read the latest analyst report on Network Change and Configuration Management (NCCM) written by EMA's Dennis Drogseth. This report discusses the latest developments in the NCCM market, including an in-depth look at DeviceAuthority Suite, a comprehensive solution for configuring, changing, and controlling today's complex, multi-vendor IT network infrastructures. Download the report today to learn how you can leverage NCCM to reduce the cost and complexity of managing network change. http://www.fattail.com/redir/redirect.asp?CID=73287 _______________________________________________________________ VORTEX 2004: Setting the IT Agenda As the IT industry shifts from a client/server-based model to true Web-based computing, how will these changes impact your IT architecture? Through frank one-on-one interviews with top executives, lively Q&As, and spirited panel discussions, VORTEX 2004, held October 4-6 at the Bacara Resort & Spa in Santa Barbara, California will help you find the answers. For more information and to register, visit: http://www.fattail.com/redir/redirect.asp?CID=72911 _______________________________________________________________ Today's focus: IOS changes could alter face of Cisco routers By Phil Hochmuth Companies can expect to see more modularity and features in Cisco's IOS software over the next several quarters, as the elements of technology it recently introduced for carriers trickles down to business customers. The introduction in May of IOS-XR, the software powering Cisco's CRS-1 terabit router, signals a new direction for IOS, as the software will take on a more modular architecture, with the promise to users of greater stability and easier management. Cisco says this transition for enterprise networks will be gradual, and observers warn that new features might entail hardware upgrades. IOS-XR is Cisco's next-generation operating system for its new flagship CRS-1 router, which scales to 96T bits of bandwidth with support for multiple OC-768 (40G bit/sec) SONET interfaces. IOS-XR is based on a microkernel from QNX Software Systems, which makes real-time operating system software. IOS currently works as a single piece of executable code on a router; features and functions are added into unique software builds, based on customer needs. The new architecture more resembles a PC or server, with an underlying operating system that runs IP services as separate processes - similar to Microsoft Word running on a Windows PC. Observers say this technique can make routers more resilient and faster. "We'll be looking to bring some of those capabilities into the broader enterprise market," says Martin McNealis, senior director of IOS product management at Cisco. However, what ends up in enterprise IT shops will not be exactly the same IOS-XR used by carriers - or potentially used by carriers, because Cisco hasn't sold a CRS-1 yet. "The [multi-chassis] fully distributed [IOS-XR] model that's appropriate for major service provider backbones is probably overkill for the enterprise market," McNealis says. "We would look to get [corporations] a version of IOS-XR that is maybe less sophisticated and complex." McNealis says this trickle-down effect already started last month with the release of IOS High Availability (IOS-HA) for the Catalyst 6500. A new feature in IOS Version 12.2S IOS-HA lets Catalyst 6500s run dual supervisor cards and failover without losing packets or causing even a millisecond of network disruption, Cisco says. This technology, used previously on Cisco 12000 series routers, improves on previous redundant configurations, which involved a secondary supervisory module rebooting the router when the primary fails. IOS evolution McNealis says the road to the new QNX-based IOS-XR began five years ago, when Cisco was acquiring start-ups and churning out new products almost monthly. "We wanted to get IOS onto many new platforms and adopt it to all different kinds of processors," McNealis says. "IOS was being stretched in many different ways. In some sense we had been pushing the envelope." This led to the now infamous "feature bloat" associated with IOS, where a single software image can include everything from X.25 and ISDN support to VoIP and firewall capabilities. Instead of making a new IOS from scratch, or adopting an open source platform such as Linux or FreeBSD, McNealis says Cisco chose a third-party microkernel for the new IOS QNX. "We realized the core competency of our software division was in the IP services functionality . . . we were not fundamentally operating system experts," he says. The current IOS software includes millions of lines of code, according to McNealis, but the QNX-based microkernel in IOS-XR has only 80,000 lines. "That compiles very nicely and lends itself to a variety of smaller form factors," McNealis says. The fact that IOS-XR is a closed system built from scratch also means the code will be less susceptible to backdoor intrusions or vulnerabilities now associated with IOS, he adds. For the complete story, please go to: <http://www.nwfusion.com/news/2004/082304cisco.html?nlo> _______________________________________________________________ To contact: Phil Hochmuth Phil Hochmuth is a Network World Senior Editor and a former systems integrator. You can reach him at <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>. _______________________________________________________________ This newsletter is sponsored by Alterpoint Read the latest analyst report on Network Change and Configuration Management (NCCM) written by EMA's Dennis Drogseth. This report discusses the latest developments in the NCCM market, including an in-depth look at DeviceAuthority Suite, a comprehensive solution for configuring, changing, and controlling today's complex, multi-vendor IT network infrastructures. Download the report today to learn how you can leverage NCCM to reduce the cost and complexity of managing network change. http://www.fattail.com/redir/redirect.asp?CID=73286 _______________________________________________________________ ARCHIVE LINKS Breaking optical-networking news from Network World, The Edge and around the 'Net, updated daily: http://www.nwfusion.com/topics/optical.html Archive of the Optical Networking newsletter: http://www.nwfusion.com/newsletters/optical/index.html _______________________________________________________________ FEATURED READER RESOURCE WONDERING IF YOUR PAY IS UP TO SNUFF? Check out Network World's 2004 Salary Calculator to see if you're getting paid what you're worth. Using data collected in the 2004 Network World Salary Survey, we've programmed this calculator with several categories that could affect your pay. Answer the questions and find out what the average salary is for your job category. Click here: <http://www.nwfusion.com/salary/2004/calculator.html> _______________________________________________________________ May We Send You a Free Print Subscription? You've got the technology snapshot of your choice delivered at your fingertips each day. Now, extend your knowledge by receiving 51 FREE issues to our print publication. 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