Toni Mueller wrote:
I'm looking into ways to handle STM-1 connections. I dimly remember
that there were Marconi cards, that were supported, but can't find them
anymore. What would be the recommended method these days to terminate
STM-1 circuits, possibly on an OpenBSD based router, please?
I don't ever remember hearing about a (OpenBSD-supported) PCI card that
would handle an STM-1 -- there are a couple that will handle T1/E1, but
I believe that the "biggest" TDM circuit that OpenBSD can terminate
directly is perhaps a DS3, via a lmc(4) card, though I have yet to
find/use one myself.
What alternatives do you suggest?
You can find a number of vendors that supply DS3-to-100BaseT or
STM1-to-GigE media converter, but you have to run in them in pairs on
both ends of your point-to-point circuit of course. If you're getting a
transit from an upstream provider you're screwed unless the provider
will deliver ethernet to you (which is increasingly the case, since TDM
circuits are super expensive per megabit compared to [metro-] ethernet).
If you go with the "media converter on both ends" option, be sure to
find one that drops the link on the ethernet side when the STM1 side
goes down, and vice versa, so your routing protocols can take
appropriate action and not continue to blackhole traffic during outages.
Also, be ware that the available PPS and MTU sizes of ethernet networks
versus DS3 or STM-1 are typically *not* the same, and plan accordingly.
Lastly, if you *really* need to terminate an STM-1, and want more
link-level info about your circuit to troubleshoot problems when they
occur than a media converter will supply, and you absolutely can't get
ethernet from your carrier, consider using a different router for that
leg of your network.
Imagestream (proprietary+linux based) works for a good+cheap solution
that can talk iBGP to your other ethernet-only routers. Or just get a
used Juniper/Crisco/whatever. See also Sangoma's Wanpipe offerings
(FreeBSD/linux).
-Tico
