Is Fast Cisco Router Really Neat?

Cisco Systems Inc. made a big splash with the introduction of its CRS-3 router, which is capable of handing 322 terabits per second, way beyond anything an ordinary person, company or even network would use. The splash came from the way Cisco put the speed into perspective—making the comparisons individual and personal. For example, the company said you could download all the movies ever made in four seconds through their router. Or everyone in China could hold a video chat at the same time. Well, nice try. This device really has nothing to do with personal, or even corporate, use of the Internet. For one thing, why would you even consider downloading every movie ever made, or hold a country-wide video chat? But more significant, what content provider is sending data out to browsers at this speed, and how many users have anything close to this speed from their Internet provider? Very few. Web servers are rarely set up to deliver HTML pages very fast, or even video. So even if you were to increase your ISP speed upward from 4 Mbps, say, you’d find little real improvement in how fast your pages or video are displayed. So, while I appreciate Cisco’s newest product, it’s really a upper-level network intro, not a device that’s relevant to individuals.