Re: SDN Internet Router (sir)

[Matthew Walster via NANOG <nanog () nanog org>]

On Fri, 6 Jan 2023, 11:25 Forrest Christian (List Account), <
lists () packetflux com> wrote:

> In the end though,  I do expect that the hassle of setting up and managing
> a solution like this is likely to result in most people deciding that it
> isn't worth the extra complexity just to avoid upgrading a low fib device
> where a larger one is really needed.

Quite the contrary, nearly 10 years ago (just before SIR was released) I
was doing this precisely because the lower fib box was a good tradeoff
between ports and cost, and needed something to do IXP/PNI peering with.
Only instead of running the sflow analysis on the box, I was exporting it
elsewhere and pushing prefix filters every once in a while to make sure the
highest traffic prefixes were served locally.

Ultimately, it's part of the TCO of your network, and when traffic volumes
are high, you look for any opportunity to reduce that CapEx cost of a fully
high FIB router.

It sounds like the idea still has value!

M