5/16/2005 -- For a while there, it looked like Cisco Systems’ Carrier Routing System-1 (CRS-1) was a next-gen router in search of a market.

Cisco has touted several promising CRS-1 pilot deployments, but—to date—only one customer (Softbank BB Corp., or Yahoo! BB in Japan) has taken the CRS-1 production plunge. So, when Cisco last week notched a multi-million dollar contract with Swisscom Fixnet, one of the largest service providers in Switzerland, it was a much-needed shot in the arm for CRS-1.

Swisscom plans to tap CRS-1 to support next-generation triple play services for its business, residential and wholesale customers. By the sounds of it, the Swiss service provider actually expects to exploit CRS-1’s market-leading capabilities, too: Swisscom will deploy a new core network (interconnected with 10 GBps Ethernet links) to enable an 800 percent increase in traffic-handling capability. The new core network will be able to support both fixed and mobile services and scale to meet Swisscom’s growth target for the next five years.

Analysts say the deal is crucial for Cisco, which has struggled to translate CRS-1 pilot deployments into large customer wins. “It represents a major service provider win that specifically requires support for triple play services, one of the first for Cisco,” says Jeff Ogle, a principal analyst for carrier infrastructure with consultancy Current Analysis Inc. “The win also serves to validate the need for a router capable of supporting a multi-Terabit throughput level and will scale to support thousands of subscriber connections.”

Ogle also sees an opportunity for Cisco to regain some of the service provider revenues it’s lost to arch-competitor Juniper Networks in recent years. “Since a service provider’s selection of core routing technology is not a decision that gets revisited every year, the multi-million dollar contract should provide Cisco with a revenue stream from this project for several years to come,” he says. Ogle adds, “The revenue potential to be generated from this account will lead to market share recognition and potentially gain back some of the market share Cisco has been losing over the last couple years to rival Juniper Networks.”

CRS-1’s slow uptake might seem puzzling to some, but Ogle says it’s perfectly understandable. First and most obviously, it’s an enormously expensive proposition: Simply put, market-leading, best-of-breed technology comes at a premium price. But secondly, and more significantly, it simply isn’t long enough in the teeth to merit consideration by many risk-averse service providers.

“Since the CRS-1 is a relatively new platform to the market ... it has yet to obtain the several thousand man years of run-time in a real live network environment that is required to consider it a hardened product,” he says. “Therefore, the deployment of this platform represents a higher risk factor than some products from other vendors such as Juniper’s T-640/M-320 or even Cisco’s own XR 12000 series platform.” -Stephen Swoyer