The Cisco® CRS Carrier Routing System offers industry-leading performance, advanced services intelligence, environmentally conscious design, and system longevity. The Cisco CRS is powered by an advanced chipset architecture based on multidimensional engineering and Cisco IOS® XR Software, a unique self-healing, distributed operating system.
Packet-based data communications is being replaced by video and rich-media traversing the IP Next-Generation Network (NGN) in multiple directions, straining the architectural foundations of both public and private networks serving businesses and consumers. As part of the medianet, a media-aware Cisco IP NGN, the Cisco CRS delivers continuous, always-on operations and scales easily from numerous single-chassis form factors to a massive multichassis system. Its design provides an industry-leading efficiency, consuming the one of the lowest power, cooling, and rack-space resources for an intelligent service-rich bandwidth capacity. The Cisco CRS-3 model builds on the CRS-1; it is backward- and forward-compatible to protect existing and future investments for decades to come.
This data sheet provides detailed product specifications for an important element of the Cisco High-Scalability Solution, the Cisco CRS Carrier-Grade Services Engine (CGSE) (Figure 1).
The Cisco CGSE is an integrated multi-CPU service module offering carrier-class performance and scale in support of the Cisco Carrier-Grade IPv6 (CGv6) solution. The CGSE is a single-slot module supported on all models of Cisco's proven high-end carrier-class routing system: the Cisco CRS-1 and CRS-3 series. The Cisco CGv6 solution, running on one or more CGSE modules inside a CRS, can scale to tens of millions of IP address translations with tens of gigabits of performance to address IPv4 run-out and enable IPv6 transition. Several modules can be populated within a chassis for a high-performance solution that is deployable at places in the network where maximum CGv6 coverage can be obtained. The Cisco CGSE supports a highly available architecture with line-rate accounting and logging of translation information. The Cisco IOS XR Software on the platform offers a flexible means to divert select packets through the CGSE, while enabling global IPv4 and IPv6 packets to traverse the CRS forwarding infrastructure as usual.
Figure 1. Cisco CRS Carrier-Grade Service Engine (CGSE)
Powerful Performance
The Cisco CGSE housed inside a Cisco CRS offers carrier-class performance for Cisco CGv6 services:
• 1+ million connection setups per second for stateful IPv4 Network Address Translation (NAT44)
• Real-time off-box logging of NAT44 translation sates using NetFlow 9
• Line-rate forwarding for IPv4 and IPv6
The powerful performance of the Cisco CGSE, as outlined previously, helps ensure that the end-user experience continues to be optimal for all services.
Massive Scalability
As an increasing multitude of subscribers with their numerous applications traverse the network, the Cisco CGSE scales to support this growth:
• Up to 20 million stateful NAT44 translations per Cisco CGSE module
• Support for tens to hundreds of thousands of private IPv4 subscribers accessing the public IPv4 Internet
• Ability to add multiple Cisco CGSE modules in a chassis, increasing performance linearly
Integrated Services
The Cisco CGSE module is designed for the proven high-end routing platform of the Cisco CRS. It is supported on all the form factors of the Cisco CRS-1 and CRS-3: 4-, 8-, 16-slot and multichassis versions. This breadth of deployment options allows service providers to scale the CGSE to their appropriate needs. Also, the CGSE is integrated with the routing intelligence of the CRS, providing unmatched operational efficiencies of a single OS. Because the Cisco CRS platform supports Secure Domain Routing (SDR), providers have the flexibility to integrate the Cisco CGSE on a virtualized network infrastructure.
The following services are available on the Cisco CGSE (Figure 1) starting with IOS-XR 3.9.1:
• Full IPv4 and IPv6 routing and forwarding on the Cisco CRS platform
• Service provider-class NAT44 to address IPv4 run-out based on existing IETF NAT behaviors described in RFCs 4787, 5382, and 5508
The following services are being developed to support IPv6 transition:
• Stateful and stateless IPv4 and IPv6 translation based on IETF BEHAVE specifications
• IPv6 Rapid Deployment Border Relay (6rd BR, described in RFC 5969)
The Cisco CGSE interface module on the Cisco CRS offers service providers a near-term solution to address IPv4 run-out and preserve a Service Provider's present mode of operation (PMO). At the same time, it enables one or more methods to offer a low-risk, cost-effective means to activate IPv6 tunneling and translation functions.
For more information about the Cisco CRS or about other interfaces available for the Cisco CRS, visit: www.cisco.com/go/crs.
Figure 2. Cisco CGv6
Product Specifications
Table 1 gives specifications of the Cisco CRS Carrier-Grade Service Engine (CGSE).
Table 1. Product Specifications
Feature
Description
Chassis compatibility
Compatible with all current Cisco CRS-1 and CRS-3 line-card chassis
Forwarding-engine compatibility
Compatible with the following forwarding engines: CRS-MSC-40G-B, CRS-MSC-20G-B, and CRS-MSC
Cisco delivers innovative services programs through a unique combination of people, processes, tools, and partners, resulting in high levels of customer satisfaction. Cisco services help you protect your network investment, optimize network operations, and prepare your network for new applications to extend network intelligence and the power of your business. For more information about Cisco services, contact your local Cisco representative or visit www.cisco.com.
For More Information
For more information about the Cisco CRS Carrier-Grade Services Engine PLIM, contact your local Cisco representative or visit: www.cisco.com/go/crs.
