Broadband service provider eLink Communications doesn't necessarily believe the big boys have the best product when it comes to edge routing.

ELink says the smaller the better.

The company, which serves small and midsize businesses, has installed Tiara Networks' edge aggregation routers in its nationwide network to increase circuit density at its points of presence (POP). Tiara's 6200 series aggregation routers let eLink locate an entire POP -- including redundant Tiara routers -- in a single rack.

The Tiara 6200 aggregates up to 16 T-1 lines and includes dual Ethernet ports, integral DSU/CSUs, and dual hot-swappable fan modules in 1.5-inch rack units. This small footprint lets eLink deploy less equipment where space is at a premium.

Indeed, reducing wire counts and lowering circuit costs while expanding POPs to address fast-growing multitenant unit requirements were the main drivers behind selecting Tiara, eLink officials say.

"The [bigger players] don't offer anything in that [16 T-1] range," says Ron Matney, vice president of technology and architecture at eLink. "Our aggregation points were typically Cisco 4000s with serial cards, DSU/CSUs, the whole deal. In order to get to 16 T-1s, we were talking about buying legacy Cisco 7000s and $1,500 to $2,000 per T-1. In combining the Tiara with a Cisco 3600 router, we create a powerful aggregation point that is relatively small."

Matney says the Tiara routers will not be routing, per se, but will be functioning more as DSU/CSU banks for the 16 T-1s. The Cisco 3600s will do all of the route-table crunching, he says.

Juniper's M5 and M10 routers were "not even in the same price class," he says. "In secondary markets where I might be terminating 30 to 60 T-1s, I can go much less expensive with the Tiara."

ELink partners with commercial building owners to wire their buildings with a fiber-optic infrastructure to offer a range of services.

» posted by ITworld staff

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