On 03/15/2013 10:30 PM, Michael Torrie wrote: > On 03/15/2013 10:11 PM, S. Dale Morrey wrote: >> The question then is what is a good router/switch (up to a max of 8 >> ports needed), to put in these outdoor enclosure boxes. >> The environment is coastal and there is a LOT of rain, but no other >> weather to speak of and the temperature is warm but not hot, 70-85f >> year round. >> I've already explained that there will probably need to be a hardware >> refresh every 2 to 5 years, and that they should purchase 20 routers >> total. > > What do you mean, "router?" What kind of topology are you looking for, > exactly? A "router" could mean the sort of NAT device that people have > in their home, or a fancy Layer 3 device that speaks 802.1q trunking. > >> The budget for the hardware needs to stay below $10kUSD. >> >> Any suggestions? > > Cisco's out... Just one Layer 3 core router would run you about that much! > > I remember reading about a company once that was using Linux to develop > switching and routing hardware for a fraction of the price of the big > players like Cisco. Can't remember anything about them or the open > source project that underlayed it.
Are you thinking of Vyatta? I haven't looked at them for a few years, but I ran their software on a PC a while back and it seemed pretty good. Apparently Brocade bought them so that could be good or bad. Might be a good choice for your main router. For the edge routers, I'd go with a Mikrotik Routerboard 493G which has 9 onboard gigabit copper ports. The RouterOS software is extremely powerful. It supports VRRP which would work for your failover scenario. And at $150 or so, you could even afford to have a second one in the cabinet. At work I use these all the time in outdoor enclosures and they rock. http://routerboard.com/RB493G If you need a little bit more power, maybe for your core router, I'd look at the RB1100AH. http://routerboard.com/RB1100AH Corey /* PLUG: http://plug.org, #utah on irc.freenode.net Unsubscribe: http://plug.org/mailman/options/plug Don't fear the penguin. */
