California-based Juniper Networks, builder of Internet backbone routers, is ready for a rumble with Cisco by bringing out a couple of edge routers to sit where corporate networks intersect with the public Net.

The M5 and M10 router products promise to whip the ass of the competition - the press release says they offer "wire rate performance with over 10 times the forwarding and route look up capacity, using only 25 per cent of the power and space consumption of existing routers.."

Shipping from yesterday, they use the Internet Processor II ASIC and both are three rack units high - 5.25 inches. The M5 router has four interface slots, while the M10 has eight.

Customers interested in using the new routing technology include Broadband Office, Web hosting company Verio, Taiwan's Apex Network Technology Corp, Japan's FCC (Fusion Communications Corp) and UUNet. The starting price for the M5 device is $25,000, and for $40,000 for the M10 router, with interfaces starting at $10,000. ®

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