Cisco’s new router delivers 322 tbps of capacity

Cisco has announced its CRS-3 Carrier Routing System (CRS) that the company says “is designed to transform the broadband communication and entertainment industry” owing to it offering a capacity of up to 322 Terabits per second.

The CRS-3’s 322 tbps of capacity more than triples the 92 tbps capacity of the Cisco CRS-1 and represents more than 12 times the capacity of any other core router in the industry.

With this kind of capacity, Cisco says that the entire printed collection of the Library of Congress can be downloaded in just over one second; every man, woman and child in China can make a video call, simultaneously; and every motion picture ever created can be streamed in less than four minutes.

The company has invested US $1.6 billion in the Cisco CRS family, and the CRS-3, which is currently in field trials, will have its pricing set at US $90,000. The CRS-3 is also said to offer up to 60 percent savings on power consumption compared to competitive platforms and Cisco CRS-1 customers will be able to upgrade to CRS-3 with the aid of Cisco Services.

Keith Cambron, president and CEO, AT&T Labs, says, “We are entering the next stage of global communication and entertainment services and applications, which requires a new set of advanced Internet networking technologies. AT&T’s network handled 40 percent more traffic in 2009 than it did in the previous year, and we continue to see this growth in 2010. Having leading edge experience in managing the largest global data network, we are pleased to continue our close working relationship with Cisco and its groundbreaking Cisco CRS-3 platform.”

Pankaj Patel, senior vice president and general manager, Service Provider Business, Cisco, has said, “The next generation Internet is upon us and we are confident that the Cisco CRS-3 will play a crucial role as service providers like AT&T deliver an exciting, new array of video, mobile, data center and cloud services. The Cisco CRS-3 is well positioned to carry on the tradition of the Cisco CRS-1, become the flagship router of the future and serves as the foundation for the world’s most intelligent and advanced broadband networks.”