Connotation of the fifth-generation Router

The Next Generation Network Based on IP transmission technology also puts forward new requirements for the core equipment routers. For example, how to handle data congestion, ensure transmission quality, ensure QoS of various services, realize direct communication between multiple types of terminals, and quickly and conveniently increase value-added services and solve address shortage issues. The solution to these problems will surely bring about a comprehensive innovation to the traditional router technology. The NEC fifth-generation router represented by Shenzhen greenent Communication Technology Co., Ltd. can solve the above problems well. -- Editor

The prototype of the first-generation router is achieved by inserting multiple NICs into one computer. Multiple NICs share one processor CPU and are interconnected through the internal BUS, the CPU is responsible for almost all route computing and data forwarding commands, and also for device management of the entire machine. This centralized forwarding and software processing mode, coupled with the shared bus structure, makes the overall performance of the router very low.

The second-generation router divides the original data forwarding and route computing into two processors. The master processor completes route computing and completes data forwarding from the processor. Besides the system memory, the Cache structure is arranged on each network interface card, and a few common routing information is retained on the business interface card, in this way, most packets can be directly forwarded through the Service Board Cache route table to reduce the bus and CPU requirements.

On the basis of the second generation, the third generation router uses ASIC Technology on the Interface Card to speed up data forwarding. However, because the bus structure is still used, the speed of the bus is still limited.

The major progress of the fourth-generation router is that the Switching Network Board replaces the original bus structure. Once the original bus bottleneck is changed, the switching network Board uses CrossBar or shared cache technology, coupled with the high-speed forwarding of ASIC chips, it can achieve a gibit-level switching capacity. Later, the 4.5-generation router used the network processor instead of ASIC Technology to implement data forwarding. This advantage is that the network processor can adapt well to new businesses, but due to its structural limitations, IPv6 and strict QoS are not supported.

With the development of network applications, the construction of broadband MAN networks, and the development of diversified multimedia services, the Internet has gradually exposed shortcomings such as insufficient IP addresses, insecure QoS quality, poor adaptability to new protocols, and low security and reliability. As a result, many new technologies have emerged, for example, IPv6, IPQoS, MPLS, and traffic engineering. New business needs and technological advances have brought about another leap in the software and hardware system of routers. As a result, the fifth-generation router was born, it not only inherits the advantages of previous routers, but also has hardware support for IPv6, QoS, and other features.

Based on various factors, the fifth-generation router should be able: real full redundancy, good QoS mechanism, hardware support for IPv6 or IPv4/IPv6 transition solutions, good support for new protocols, and new features do not affect the router line rate forwarding.