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entered the business in 1996, focusing primarily on core routers and addressing the need for a radical increase in routing capability that was driven by the increased link speed. In addition, several new companies attempted to develop new core routers in the late 1990s. It was during this period that
118:. By 2001, it became apparent that the sudden expansion in core link capacity had outstripped the actual demand for Internet bandwidth in the core. The core Internet providers were able to defer purchases of new core routers for a time, and most of the new companies went out of business.
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the term "core router" came into wide use. The required forwarding rate of these routers became so high that it could not be met with a single processor or a single memory, so these systems all employed some form of a distributed architecture based on an internal switching fabric.
172:(fiber to the premises, either to the home or provisioned with Cat 5e cable) – can provide downstream speeds to the mass-market residential consumer in excess of 300 Mbit/s and upload speeds in excess of 100 Mbit/s with no specialized equipment or modification e.g.(
90:. Link speeds increased steadily, requiring progressively more powerful routers until the mid-1990s, when the typical core link speed reached 155 Mbit/s. At that time, several breakthroughs in fiber optic telecommunications (notably
98:) technologies combined to lower bandwidth costs that in turn drove a sudden dramatic increase in core link speeds: by 2000, a core link operated at 2.5 Gbit/s and core Internet companies were planning for 10 Gbit/s speeds.
74:", the term "core router" refers to the largest and most capable routers of the then-current generation. A router that was a core router when introduced would likely not be a core router ten years later. Although the local area
113:
The
Internet was historically supply-limited, and core Internet providers historically struggled to expand the Internet to meet the demand. During the late 1990s, they expected a radical increase in demand, driven by the
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As of 2012, the typical
Internet core link speed is 40 Gbit/s, with many links at higher speeds, reaching or exceeding 100 Gbit/s (out of a theoretical current maximum of 111 Gbit/s, provided by
156:(the latter of which can wring more than 100 Mbit/s out of plain, unshielded twisted-pair copper under normal conditions, out of a theoretical maximum of 250 Gbit/s at 0.0m from the
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82:(the Internet's predecessor) in 1969, the fastest links were 56 kbit/s. A given routing node had at most six links. The "core router" was a dedicated
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https://web.archive.org/web/20210405150040/https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/solutions/service-provider/sp-products-solutions-services.html
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at full speed on all of them. It must also support the routing protocols being used in the core. A core router is distinct from an
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This article is about a computer router used on the
Internet backbone. For the kind used within a network, see
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https://web.archive.org/web/20210515065755/https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/routers/product-listing.html
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interfaces of the highest speed in use in the core
Internet and must be able to forward IP
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Technologies Ltd. (NetEngine 9000 (NE9000), NetEngine 5000E, NetEngine 80E, NetEngine 80)
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62:: edge routers sit at the edge of a backbone network and connect to core routers.
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and other bandwidth-intensive (and often latency-sensitive) applications such as
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272:(changed name to Soapstone Networks in 2008 and no longer makes core routers)
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was using line speeds of 768 kbit/s from 1967, at the inception of the
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50:, or core. To fulfill this role, a router must be able to support multiple
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Chiaro
Networks (closed in 2005, maker of Chiaro Enstara core routers)
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Router used on the internet backbone and on internet exchanges
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The largest provider of core routers in the 1990s was
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A Technical
History of the ARPANET – A Technical Tour
284:(closed in 2006, makers of core routers A120 and A50)
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191:(7950 Extensible Routing System Series, 7750 series)
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413:"Ciena 5430 15T Converged Packet Optical Platform"
381:Looking back at the ARPANET effort, 34 years later
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144:. This, along with newer technologies – such as
402:, THINK Protocols team, Accessed June 22, 2007.
311:(telecom business acquired by Ericsson in 2006)
20:. For the discontinued router by Symantec, see
441:"DNOS - Cloud Native Network Operating System"
207:(former), Network Convergence System 6000)
213:DriveNets Network Operating System (DNOS)
184:(core router model between parentheses)
371:, LivingInternet Accessed June 22, 2007.
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383:, Dave Walden, Accessed June 22, 2007.
329:(acquired by Cisco Systems in 2004)
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252:Previous core router manufacturers
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369:IMP – Interface Message Processor
180:Current core router manufacturers
34:Cisco CRS-1 Backbone Core Router
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276:Brocade Communications Systems
123:Nippon Telegraph and Telephone
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296:(acquired by Brocade in 2008)
247:(ZXR10 Series: T8000, M6000)
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260:(acquired by Nokia in 2016)
88:Interface Message Processor
46:designed to operate in the
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340:Cisco Systems acquisitions
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287:Charlotte's Web Networks
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461:Internet architecture
219:(Black Diamond 20808)
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278:(NetIron XMR Series)
466:Routers (computing)
320:Osphere Net Systems
398:2012-09-10 at the
52:telecommunications
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18:Router (computing)
266:Axiowave Networks
168:to the node) and
48:Internet backbone
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471:Hardware routers
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415:. 11 March 2016.
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350:Network topology
327:Procket Networks
294:Foundry Networks
282:Caspian Networks
263:Allegro Networks
239:Juniper T-Series
235:Juniper Networks
217:Extreme Networks
197:(Ciena 5430 15T)
107:Juniper Networks
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241:and PTX Series)
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150:channel bonding
134:video streaming
131:high-definition
127:cloud computing
70:Like the term "
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225:(SSR series)
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174:Verizon FiOS
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84:minicomputer
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345:Edge router
76:NPL network
60:edge router
40:core router
22:Norton Core
455:Categories
356:References
317:(bankrupt)
305:Ironbridge
302:IPOptical
299:Hyperchip
211:DriveNets
396:Archived
334:See also
223:Ericsson
146:DOCSIS 3
309:Marconi
80:ARPANET
66:History
56:packets
323:Pluris
229:Huawei
166:fiber
152:, and
140:) and
44:router
195:Ciena
189:Nokia
154:VDSL2
136:(see
42:is a
170:FTTP
162:FTTN
158:VRAD
138:IPTV
96:EDFA
94:and
92:DWDM
245:ZTE
205:CRS
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38:A
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