How so? I find it incredibly accurate given that: a) 6500's are versatile and can be used (with vary degrees of success) for a variety of purposes: switching,

How so? I find it incredibly accurate given that: a) 6500's are versatile and can be used (with vary degrees of success) for a variety of purposes: switching, core routing, edge routing (not great), load balancing, even IPSec services with things like the SPA modules. b) They're incredibly power hungry, so the bit about needing more power is apropos. c) They're still used in lots of places. Ever seen a budget hosting colo? Chances are there's a 6500 there. d) They're stupid cheap on the used market. The fact that there's even still a used market for the 6500 shows how venerable and long-lived it is. That said, I do want to stab the first person who suggested using it as an edge router exposed to Internet traffic.