12/12/2005 -- Cisco Systems Inc. scored another coup last week when cable broadband giant Comcast selected the company’s CRS-1 uber-router as a one-stop platform for its broadband, communications, video entertainment and other services.

Analysts said the deal is another example of Cisco’s gradual CRS-1 ramp-up: Since its introduction in May of 2004, CRS-1 has slowly but surely gained a foothold in key customer accounts. With Comcast on board, industry watchers said CRS-1 has gained the support of one of the largest North American MSOs.

”Comcast represents a high profile deployment with an MSO that has been challenging traditional ILECs for subscribers for its next-generation network services,” said Glen Hunt, a senior analyst for carrier infrastructure with consultancy Current Analysis.

In at least one respect, Hunt noted, the Comcast coup was a fait accompli for Cisco. “The decision to deploy follows an earlier announcement [in which Comcast endorsed] the integration of its optical and IP networks using Cisco’s IPoDWDM solution, which has the CRS-1 as its centerpiece.

In most cases, customer wins are snooze-worthy at best, but then again the CRS-1 is smarter than your average router. As a result, Hunt said the deal is a big one for Cisco. “[T]he announced deployment highlights the CRS-1’s ability to scale down to a level that matches current deployment requirements. The CRS-1’s eight and 16-slot models compete head to head with platforms from Juniper, Avici and Chiaro, which as a group scale from 0.6 Terabits to over 5 Terabits of switching capacity. Although the CRS-1 has the largest scalability metrics at 92Tbps, it is finding homes in current next generation deployments and offers virtually unlimited growth for the future,” he wrote. -Stephen Swoyer