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The 7950 XRS (Extensible Routing System) will initially come in three models: the 7950 XRS-40, supporting 32Tbps capacity and 160 100GBE ports in a single system, claimed to offer five times the density of today's core routers and cutting power consumption by more than 66 percent compared to typical core routers. It is designed to accommodate up to 2Tbps per slot and is upgradeable to multi-chassis configuration. It will be available in the first half of 2013.

The 7950 XRS-20 is a 16Tbps core router that can deliver 80 100GE interfaces in a single rack (claimed to be more than the current norm). It can be upgraded to 7950 XRS-40 and/or multi-chassis configurations and is designed to accommodate up to 2Tbps per slot. It will be available in the third quarter of 2012 and is currently in several trials.

The 7950 XRS-16c is a 6.4Tbps core router, described as ideal for meeting core routing requirements of smaller points of presence (POPs)/nodes with maximum agility. It delivers up to 32 100GE interfaces and is designed to accommodate 1Tbps slot. It will be available in the first half of 2013.

The announcement was made at an Alcatel-Lucent Technology Symposium in Silicon Valley - the home of the two dominant players in the core router market, Cisco and Juniper Networks.

Basil Alwan, President of Alcatel-Lucent's IP Division, said: "With the 7950 XRS we are revolutionising the network core, just as we did over the past ten years at the network edge with service routing. Core networks are evolving at an unbelievable pace, with IP backbones and 'metro' cores facing a host of new requirements."

According to Alcatel-Lucent, traditional core routers have lacked performance and 100GE density, while recent alternatives have compromised on features and flexibility in an attempt to improve performance and density.

"Using the Alcatel-Lucent designed FP3 network processor unit (NPU) - the industry's first and only 400G NPU - the 7950 XRS eliminates this trade-off between capacity and capability. The 7950 XRS has the versatility to support the distinct requirements of both IP backbone networks, which move vast amounts of Internet content around the world, and regional 'metro' core networks, where content is increasingly distributed for fast, efficient delivery to consumers and businesses."
More details of the announcement will be provided later.

Juniper upgrades core router multichassis
In a move that can hardly be coincidence, Juniper Networks announced yesterday an upgrade to the multichassis capability of its top end T Series core routers that it said would more than double capacity, but that is not scheduled to be available until the fourth quarter of the year

Juniper's TXP multi-chassis routing system now enables the combination of up to four T4000 and eight T1600 system giving a total capacity of 22Tbps. Juniper says this wil rise to 64Tbps in the future.

"This capacity upgrade is done in-service and provides service providers with the financial and operational flexibility to expand network capacity where it is needed to support the growing bandwidth requirements driven by immense online video, social media and ever expanding cloud services and content," Juniper said.

Juniper claims to have "pioneered the 'modern' IP core router and redefined the market," with the launch of the T Series in 2002 and to have deployed over 7,000 T Series routers into the top 200 networks worldwide.

iTWire's telecommunications editor Stuart Corner travelled to Alcatel-Lucent's Technology Symposium as a guest of the company.