Cisco took its bandwidth strategy to the next level on Tuesday, unveiling an ultra-high-capacity carrier routing system. The CRS-3 product announcement culminates several weeks of hype, during which Cisco teased it as news which would "change the Internet forever." In reality, it's a smart, incremental move intended to position Cisco as the go-to bandwidth provider.I'm live-blogging Cisco's Webcast of the CRS-3 router announcement. So here's the basic news, via the Cisco press release:

"Cisco today announced a major advancement in Internet networking - the Cisco® CRS-3 Carrier Routing System (CRS) - designed to serve as the foundation of the next-generation Internet and set the pace for the astonishing growth of video transmission, mobile devices and new online services through this decade and beyond.

With more than 12 times the traffic capacity of the nearest competing system, the Cisco CRS-3 is designed to transform the broadband communication and entertainment industry by accelerating the delivery of compelling new experiences for consumers, new revenue opportunities for service providers, and new ways to collaborate in the workplace."

What this is in reality is a higher capacity router, which, as the release notes, triples the capacity of its CRS-1 predecessor, to 322 terabits per second. This enables Cisco to correctly note that the switch is ideal for delivering video, as well as supporting cloud computing.

That two-fer marketing message--business and consumer in the same breath (since video is as much as consumer play as it is a workplace medium)--is consistent with my long-time take on Cisco.

As I put in Cisco Video Thrust Telegraphs Bandwidth-Bandit Strategy: "I think this blurring of the line between corporate and consumer networks will be something that all networking vendors will have to navigate in the coming few years. In this regard, Cisco is seemingly pacing the pack."

Webcast Bits:

Here are some quotes from the Tuesday morning Cisco 'cast: