Upgrade of 8610 modules for v7.1

[rhcav]

Hi All,
i`m looking for a bit of advise with regards to a hardware and software upgrade that our reseller is pushing us on. We have a number of sites , all Avaya kit on the Lan, each site consists of 2 x 8610 chassis, modules in these chasiss are:
1x 8608sxe
1x 8608gbe
1 x 8630GBR
2 x 8692CPU
3x 8004 PSU
The chassis are a mixture of HW:03 up 06
Our setup is pritty straight forward, IST is ran over fibre on both the 8608 cards
All access switches are smlt  to the 8630gbr on each core
One of the 8692CPU cards have mezz card
Currenty running 5.1.5.1, which we find stable enough with no issues.
Our reseller is pushing us to upgrade to version 7.1 on all our boxes and in doing so advised that we need to upgrade or modules and CPU & PSU +Fan trays.
questions:
Do i need to have a super mezz on both CPU cards?
Do we need to replace our 8630GBR card to run 7.1?
are the 8004PSU(which are only have a 3rd of a load on them) sufficent even if we put a GRS module in the chassis?
The 8608SXE/GBE cards are out of support, what would you recommend to run our IST over? is there a GBR/GRS module with a small number of fibre interfaces?They are recommending a 8634GRS, which i think is overkill?
If we do put a GRS card in the chassis do we have to upgrade the fan trays to 8010CMHS fan trays or are the ones we have sufficent?

We are not looking for any new features, this is only to being us into support with Avaya.

Any advise would be appricated.
thanks

[Michael McNamara]

1x 8608sxe
1x 8608gbe
1 x 8630GBR
2 x 8692CPU
3x 8004 PSU
The chassis are a mixture of HW:03 up 06

http://forums.networkinfrastructure.info/nortel-ethernet-switching/passport-8006-chassis/

Do i need to have a super mezz on both CPU cards?

The switch will run but it's not advised and won't be supported by Avaya.

Do we need to replace our 8630GBR card to run 7.1?

No

are the 8004PSU(which are only have a 3rd of a load on them) sufficient even if we put a GRS module in the chassis?

In general they should be fine but it depends on how many cards you are going to add to the chassis. The reseller should be able to calculate this for you as there's a power calculator available from Avaya.

The 8608SXE/GBE cards are out of support, what would you recommend to run our IST over? is there a GBR/GRS module with a small number of fibre interfaces?They are recommending a 8634GRS, which i think is overkill?

You can run the IST over the 8630GBR... I would recommend having ports in multiple cards to protect against a card failure. You could look at an 8648GTRS, 8634GBRS, 8648GBRS, etc

If we do put a GRS card in the chassis do we have to upgrade the fan trays to 8010CMHS fan trays or are the ones we have sufficient?

You must have the 8010CMHS to run the RS cards... not advised to override the software.
http://forums.networkinfrastructure.info/nortel-ethernet-switching/high-speed-vs-regular-speed-fan/
http://blog.michaelfmcnamara.com/2011/10/ethernet-routing-switch-8600-high-speed-fan-tray-8010cmhs/

You may want to step up to 5.1.7.x for now and budget for next year to start replacing some hardware.

I'm currently running 8 sites with a mix or 5.1.3 and 5.1.4 which are scheduled to be upgraded to 5.1.7.x in the coming months. Like you I have to replace a number of 8608GBE and 8648TXE cards. I've already upgraded the power supplies (full chassis), added SuperMezz cards and installed the high speed fans. So I just need to replace the E model cards as a last step.

Good Luck!

[raglann]

Hi,

For 7.1 to run you will  need a mezz card on your 8692sf. If your second card hasnt got one you will not have a redundant situation after the upgrade.

Is the switchfabric running HA?

Good luck,

Rag

[Paul L]

like death and taxes, support for v5.1 will end.  if you can move to v7.1 now, I would recommend it. 

as for your modules. I really like the 8834 Combo card. It is very flexible.  But as mike mentioned above. you will want to your IST to be DMLT. So having a few cards like the 8834 or the 8630 will be ideal for each chassis
as well, there is also a brand new 8812XL SFP+.  Its 10g only, but you can do a cost comparison versus the 8830 card if you don't need the port density. But the 8630's are nice because 1g SFP's are much cheaper than the 10g SPF+'s or the XFP's.

as for v7.1.  Its the same look and feel as v5. And I am a big fan of the idea that the NNCLI is the default. Not the ACLI.
and I am starting to find a place in my heart for EDM. we might as well get used to it because JDM will be dead soon.