As computer technology progresses, the difference between a router and a switch is becoming less clear. Basically, routers depend on computation to move data based on sophisticated programs, offering versatility at the expense of throughput. Routers are usually restricted to sub-gigabit performance. Switches, on the other hand, rely on mostly predefined hardware configurations to move traffic at the highest feasible speed, which is usually higher than a gigabit. Routers developed by Cisco, the producer of the vast majority of the world's routers, have advanced dramatically in functionality and performance and Cisco now makes an extensive product line that features devices engineered to match the technical needs and fiscal restrictions of businesses of all sizes.
The latest ISR routers from Cisco have the performance and integrated features to manage IP voice and video as well as virtualization while also offering fault tolerance, web-based administration, easy scalability, and enhanced protection. Cisco's ISR routers enable your company to build a solid basis for an IT environment that can grow seamlessly as you hire more employees, open new sites, deploy additional functions, give access to your system to clients and vendors, and support an increasingly mobile workforce. Progent’s Cisco CCIE network engineers offer immediate and economical online expertise to assist your company to plan, configure, manage, update, and troubleshoot Cisco's most advanced routers and can assist you to support your legacy routers or migrate efficiently to Cisco’s newer networking solutions.
Cisco Routers for Small Companies and Branch Offices
Cisco’s routers for smaller companies and branch offices provide low-cost and reliable no-frills solutions that enable limited groups of users to share safe connectivity to wide area networks. These fixed-configuration devices feature 10/100 switched Ethernet with wireless options and integrated firewall for enhanced protection. Designed for simple setup, administration, and support, Cisco’s entry-level routers reduce ownership costs by lowering acquisition and maintenance expenses. Progent’s online troubleshooting experts have in-depth backgrounds delivering fast and economical IT assistance for small organizations to configure and maintain these routers, and Progent’s CCIE network engineers can help your company to determine how these routers can increase the business value of your information network.
Cisco Dual-WAN and Multi-WAN VPN Routers
Cisco’s Dual and Multi WAN VPN Routers are based on the former Linksys Business Series and offer an economical option for small offices who need access to multiple Internet service providers in order to increase overall throughput, balance Internet traffic, or ensure round-the-clock availability of the Internet in the event of an Internet connection failure. Offered with 4-, 8-, or 16-port 10/100 Ethernet switches, IPsec VPN support, and built-in stateful firewalls, Cisco’s Dual-WAN and Multi-WAN VPN Routers can be configured and managed remotely through a web application and can be connected to other hubs and switches for easy scalability. These routers do not incorporate Cisco’s IOS software.
Cisco’s RV042 VPN Router includes a 4-port 10/100 switch and can securely support up to 50 branch offices or online users via Internet Protocol Security or Point-to-Point tunneling protocol. The Cisco RV082 model Dual WAN VPN Router features an 8-port 10/100 Ethernet switch and can support as many as 100 branch offices or online users with full IPsec VPN. The Cisco RV016 Multi WAN VPN Router model includes 16 switched 10/100 Ethernet ports, accommodates up to 100 remote connections, and allows up to seven switched ports to be set up for traffic load balancing or for service provider failover to provide non-stop Internet access.
Cisco 500 Series Routers
Cisco’s 520 router, built to handle as many as 50 users, features a 4-port 10/100 Ethernet managed switch and a single IOS Software image: Advanced IP Services. By supporting a simple but powerful array of IOS control software features, Cisco’s 520 Secure Router simplifies setup, administration, and troubleshooting, yet still delivers powerful security and performance alternatives to adapt to the particular needs of your organization.
The Cisco 520 model Secure Router supports the Cisco IPS system which provides SPI to protect against web and email attacks. Cisco’s 520 Secure Router also supports Cisco IOS transparent and zone-based firewall. For secure remote connectivity, the Cisco 520 Secure Router supports 10 hardware accelerated IPsec VPN tunnels and built-in encryption based on 3DES, and Advanced Encryption Standard. SSL VPN and DMVPN tunneling are also allowed.
To deliver the speed required for the new generation of data voice and video applications, the Cisco 520 model Secure Router includes a variety of Cisco IOS advanced Quality of Service options such as CBWRED, NBAR, RSVP, and priority queuing.
Cisco 800 Series Routers
Cisco's 850 and Cisco 870 Access Routers are fixed-configuration routers that provide highly secure, concurrent services over fast interfaces in small off-site offices, telecommuter, and small company sites.
Cisco 850 Series routers are targeted at small offices, recommended for up to 10 workers or for telecommuter environments where protected and economical connectivity is required. Cisco 850 Series access routers deliver secure access with Stateful Inspection Firewall and IP security Virtual Private Network support, a 4-port 10/100 switch, a secure WLAN 802.11b/g option with a single fixed antenna, plus simple configuration and integration and remote management capabilities via Web-based tools and Cisco IOS Software.
Cisco 870 Series routers are ideal for small offices, recommended for up to 20 workers or for teleworker locations where high-quality voice/video over IP and dependable access utilizing backup Internet links are required. 870 Series access routers offer excellent performance for small offices plus enhanced security through features such as stateful Inspection Firewall, IPsec tunneling, Triple Data Encryption Standard (3DES) or Advanced Encryption Standard plus Dynamic Multipoint VPN and Tunnel-less Group Encrypted Transport, IPS, virus defense using Network Admission Control (NAC), and policing of secure connection policies.
Cisco 870 routers also offer best-of-breed quality of service, a 4-connection 10/100 managed switch with Virtual LAN capability, a protected WLAN 802.11b/g option with multiple antennas, easy setup and deployment by means of Web-based tools and remote administration features via IOS Software, and PoE support for IP phones or wireless access points.
Cisco Integrated Services G2 Routers
Cisco's ISR G2 routers are designed to provide satellite offices of large businesses with enhanced video and voice applications, virtual networking, protection, and reliable connectivity. Integrated Services G2 routers introduce a design that preserves past investments in service modules for first-generation ISR routers and reduces down-the-line expenses by permitting field installation of additional modules as they become available. Compared to older Integrated Services Routers, Cisco's Integrated Services G2 routers feature 2-7 times more performance, substantially more, and easier maintenance. All Integrated Services Generation 2 routers support gigabit switching and include multi-core processors and ultra-fast fabric for higher throughput. ISR Generation 2 routers also support intelligent power management for improved energy conservation.
A key innovation with Integrated Services Generation 2 routers is the IOS Universal image which contains all of the IOS technology sets so that you can quickly license and activate extra features as required without having to acquire and copy a new IOS image to yourrouter. Progent's team of CCIE network engineers can provide proven skills to assist you to design, implement, and support multi-site installations of Cisco ISR Generation 2 routers that enhance satellite office productivity and reduce the costs of expansion and maintenance.
Cisco 1900 ISR G2 Routers
1900 Series ISR G2 routers offer accelerated hardware encryption, optional Cisco IOS firewall, Cisco IOS intrusion prevention, and as many as 11 modular Ethernet switchports. The 1941W router provides an integrated WiFi access point that allows wireless connectivity to high-bandwidth data, voice, and video through Multi-Input, Multiple-output support that improves coverage for existing 802.11a/b/g clients. Interface options for the Cisco 1941 and 1941W ISR G2 routers include T1/E1, xDSL, 3G, and GbE.
Compared to the previous generation 1841 Integrated Services router which they are designed to substitute for, the 1900 Series ISR G2 routers include 256 megabytes vs. 32 of CompactFlash storage as standard, and flash can be increased to 4GB instead of 128 megabytes. Default dynamic RAM size is 256 MB vs. 128 and maximum DRAM size is 2.25 GB compared to 384 megabytes. In contrast to the 1841 router, the 1900 Series ISR G2 routers include a USB console instead of the older DB-9 connector and includes a slot for the recently introduced Internal Services Module to replace the slot for the previous and slower Advanced Integration Module. In contrast to top-of-the-line ISR Generation 2 routers, the 1941 Series Integrated Services G2 routers do not support redundant power or slots for PVDM modules.
Cisco 2900 ISR G2 Routers
2900 ISR G2 Routers are available in four versions which correspond to the routers in Cisco’s successful 2800 router family. Cisco’s 2900 Integrated Services G2 routers offer on-board hardware encryption acceleration, voice and video ready DSP slots, optional firewall, IOS intrusion prevention, call processing, and from 16 up to 50 Ethernet switches. The integrated encryption hardware supports IPsec and SSL VPN for safe off-site connections and is significantly higher performing than the Advanced Integration Modules supported by Cisco 2800 series routers. The top-of-the-line Cisco 2951 ISR G2 router can handle 600 Session Initiation Protocol sessions. Wired and wireless connectivity alternatives include T1/E1, T3/E3, ADSL and SDSL, as well as GE.
Cisco 2900 ISR G2 routers support Cisco’s Enhanced EtherSwitch Service Modules, offering high-throughput capability identical to the Catalyst 2960 and Catalyst 3650-E Series Switches. Compared to the previous 2821 ISR router that the 2921 ISR G2 router is designed to replace, the 2921 router is offered by default with 256 megabytes vs. 64 MB of CompactFlash storage and can be expanded to 4 gigabytes vs. 256 megabytes. Standard dynamic RAM capacity is 512 MB vs. 256 and maximum dynamic RAM capacity is 2.5 gigabytes compared to 1 gigabytes.
3900 Series Integrated Services G2 Routers
Cisco offers four models for the high-end 3900 Series ISR G2 router, the 3925, 3945, 3925E, and 3945E. These devices deliver the top performance and slot densities in Cisco’s ISR Generation 2 product line and support high-speed digital signal processors for the most demanding voice/video applications, fast on-board encryption, a wide selection of interface alternatives, up to 98 modular Ethernet LAN Switchports, and as many as 2,500 SIP sessions. To preserve your investment, the 3900 ISR G2 routers support Cisco’s Services Performance Engine, a modular motherboard that can be swapped out in the field to improve processing power without forcing you to purchase another device. Like other ISR G2 routers, Cisco’s 3900 family also preserves past network investments by being compatible with most of the modules from older Cisco ISR routers. For advanced fault tolerance, 3900 Series Integrated Services G2 offer dual power supplies.
Compared to the previous model 3825 Integrated Services router which the Cisco 2921 Integrated Services G2 router is intended to replace, the 3925 router is offered standard with 256 megabytes instead of 64 megabytes of CompactFlash memory and can be expanded to 4 gigabytes compared to 256 MB. Default DRAM capacity is 1 gigabyte vs. 256 MB and maximum dynamic RAM size is 4 gigabytes instead of 1 GB.
Cisco's First Generation ISR Routers
Cisco's original Integrated Services Routers, with more than 6M products in operation, are the industry's most popular solution for small to medium-sized businesses and enterprises with branch offices to achieve high-performance, secure, and reliable access to strategic applications. Progent's CCIE network engineers are proven experts at providing online design, management, and problem solving services for Cisco 1800, 2800, and 3800 family ISR routers. Progent can assist your company to move up to the latest release of Cisco IOS Software with minimal disruption to your network, assess the security vulnerability of your existing router configuration, and assist you to migrate efficiently to the latest releases of Cisco ISR Generation 2 routers when it makes competitive sense for your company.
Cisco 1800 Integrated Services Routers
The modular Cisco 1800 family of routers incorporate data and protection within one resilient system for high-speed, scalable connectivity with strategic business programs. The Cisco 1800 Series router design has been specifically engineered to satisfy the requirements of small-to-medium-sized businesses (SMBs), branch offices, and ISP-managed services environments for delivery of simultaneous services at high speed. The integrated secure systems design of the Cisco 1800 Series routers offers optimum flexibility and fast ROI.
The Cisco 1841 router offers important benefits compared to older generations of Cisco 1700 Series devices by bringing more than a 5x performance increase and built-in hardware-based encryption enabled by an available Cisco IOS Software protection image. The Cisco 1841 router dramatically increases plug-in card slot performance as well as capacity over the 1700 Series routers while providing compatibility with over 30 available WAN interface cards (WICs) and multiflex trunk cards (VWICs-for data only). The Cisco 1841 device provides further enhancement of Virtual Private Network speed with an optional Virtual Private Network acceleration module; an intrusion prevention system (IPS) and firewall capabilities; support for a broad range of interface needs, such as support for optional switch ports; and sufficient performance and slot capacity for future network expansion and advanced applications.
Cisco 2800 Series Routers
Targeted at small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) and corporate branch offices, Cisco's 2800 Series comprises several basic versions: the 2801, the 2811, the Cisco 2821, and the 2851. Cisco's 2800 Series routers offer substantial added value compared to prior generations of Cisco devices at comparable prices by offering as much as a fivefold throughput improvement, up to a tenfold increase in protection and voice performance, built-in service features, and radically enhanced slot speed and capacity while maintaining compatibility with the vast majority of the almost 100 popular expansion modules available currently for the 1700, the Cisco 2600 Series, and the Cisco 3700 routers.
Cisco's 2800 Series router provides a range of common protection functions such as a Cisco IOS Software Firewall, an intrusion prevention, IP security VPN, Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) VPN, advanced application inspection and control, Secure Shell (SSH) Protocol V 2.0, and SNMPv3 in a single protected solution. Also, by incorporating security functions within the router, Cisco can enable unique intelligent protection functions other security appliances cannot, such as network admissions control (NAC) for virus protection; Voice and Video Enabled VPN for QoS enforcement when mixing voice, video, and Virtual Private Networks; Dynamic Multipoint VPN (DMVPN); Group Encrypted Transport; and Easy VPN for enabling more expandable and easier to manage VPN environments.
Businesses can utilize the 2800 Series to deploy an integrated IP telephony solution for up to 96 IP phones, and can securely combine data, voice, and IP telephony on a single router for their small-to-medium sized satellite offices.
The Cisco 2800 Series router incorporates an integrated access point for wireless LAN access, Wi-Fi Hotspot services for shared public wireless LANs, and network services for cordless wireless LAN telephony and for larger locations.
Cisco 3800 Series ISR Routers
Cisco 3800 Series routers are engineered for small and midsize businesses (SMBs) and enterprise branch locations to offer businesses the highest degree of network agility, performance, and functionality. The Cisco 3800 Series integrated services routers smoothly integrate advanced network engineering, smart services, and protected corporate communications into one resilient system. The Cisco 3800 Series routers ease deployment and management, lower network cost and complexity, and provide investment protection. The Cisco 3800 Series integrated services routers feature embedded security processing, fast throughput and high memory capacity, and high-capacity interfaces that deliver the speed, resilience, and reliability required for scaling business-critical protection, IP telephony, high-volume video, system analysis, and web-based applications in the most demanding corporate environments. Built for speed, the 3800 Series integrated services routers provide multiple simultaneous services as fast as wired T3/E3 rates.
The integrated services routing technology of the 3800 Series router is built to integrate protection and voice handling with the latest wired and wireless services for rapid installation of new applications, including application layer functions, intelligent network services, and converged communications. The 3800 integrated services router supports the bandwidth demands of several Fast Ethernet interfaces for every slot, time-division multiplexing (TDM) connections, and integrated power sourcing to expansion modules compatible with 802.3af Power over Ethernet, while still supporting the traditional portfolio of interfaces. This ensures ongoing return on investment by allowing network expansion or accommodating changes in technology as the latest services are added. By integrating the capabilities of several separate appliances into one compact unit, the 3800 router significantly lowers the cost and complexity of administering remote networks.
Cisco's WAN Edge Routers
Cisco’s midrange routers can provide larger businesses with high-performance, secure headends to aggregate branch office and remote user traffic and to provide ISPs cost-effective wide area network edge solutions. Cisco’s WAN aggregation router product line features the Cisco 7200 and 7300 Series, the recently introduced ASR 1000 Series, the 7600 line, and the Cisco Catalyst 6000.
Progent's national team of CCIE network consultants have extensive backgrounds working with global businesses and service providers to plan optimal installations and smooth expansion of Cisco's WAN edge routers. Progent's , GIAC and CISM certified security consultants can provide objective, third-party security vulnerability evaluations and stealth penetration services to help companies with Cisco's WAN aggregation routers to meet business guidelines and statutory mandates for IT data protection.
Cisco ASR 1000 Series WAN Edge Routers
Cisco’s ASR 1000 WAN Edge line of routers is designed to fill the middle of Cisco’s midrange products that concentrate on acting as headends at the WAN edge. Cisco’s ASR 1000 Series WAN Edge routers offer a small footprint, multi-function answer for enterprises who need branch office service aggregation at supergigabit Ethernet performance. ASR 1000 routers introduce an innovative design that mixes on-board acceleration with software versatility to deliver a rich set of concurrent services without sacrificing consistent responsiveness.
ASR 1000 WAN Edge routers feature Cisco’s proprietary QuantumFlow Processor incorporating 40 custom Packet Processing Engines (PPEs) that together can handle up to 160 simultaneous threads. This multi-processing structure, in conjunction with hardware acceleration for every service, enables the top-of-the-line ASR 1006 WAN Edge router to scale up to 128K queues, 32,000 subscribers, 4,000 IPsec tunnels at 10,000 sessions/second, and 2M Netflow log records. This processing capability allows Cisco’s ASR 1000 Series WAN Edge routers to support a variety of sophisticated services concurrently in massive volume while avoiding throughput degradation that might compromise compliance with service level agreements. Examples of these services include Cisco IOS Firewall, intrusion-detection services, NAT, FPM, and deep packet inspection. The ASR 1000 also permits tiered traffic management for applying numerous levels of Quality of Service to a packet in a single pass, enhancing responsiveness for high-bandwidth voice, video, and conferencing applications.
7200 VXR Integrated Services Routers
The7200 VXR Series router delivers high levels of speed, modularity, and expandability in a compact form factor with a broad selection of configuration profiles. With processing throughput up to two million packets per second, port and service adapters ranging from NxDS0 to GbE, plus OC-3 along with an unprecedented number of high-volume IP services, the Cisco 7200 VXR Series router is the preferred broadband aggregation WAN and MAN edge solution for large corporations and ISPs.
The 7200 VXR router provides services aggregation by supporting up to 16K Point-to-Point Protocol sessions per unit, voice/video/data support via TDM-enabled VXR chassis and voice port adapters, direct IP-interconnections, and IP Security virtual private networking scalable to 5K tunnels per device.
The Cisco 7200 VXR Integrated Services router combines in a single chassis services formerly performed by separate devices. Through this consolidation, the 7200 VXR Series Integrated Services router offers a single, affordable platform that accommodates sophisticated network interfaces plus high-speed services aggregation including Point-to-Point Protocol, RFC 1483 termination, and Layer 2 Tunneling Protocol (L2TP) tunneling; digital T1/E1 time-division multiplexer (TDM) trunk termination for voice; multichannel T3/E3 and T1/E1 with integrated channel service unit/data service unit; ATM, Packet over SONET (PoS), and Dynamic Packet Transport (DPT) connectivity; ATM IMA for voice; and low-density Layer 2 Ethernet switching.
Cisco 7600 Series Routers
The Cisco 7600 Series Integrated Services router benefits from the Cisco Catalyst 6500 infrastructure by using an NEBS-3 chassis, 256-Gbps crossbar, and 30-Mpps switching performance. High availability is implemented through logical and physical redundancy as well as IOS Software functions. Also, the Cisco 7600 Series offers a broad set of high-touch IP network services at optical rates through various OSMs powered by Cisco patented Parallel Express Forwarding technology.
The 7609 provides the choice to select a 256-Gbps Switch Fabric Module or the standard 32-Gbps bus, which provide centralized switching performance of 30 Mpps or 15 million packets per second respectively. If the Switch Fabric Module is installed, the Cisco 7609 can in addition allow distributed switching with rates up to 168 million packets per second by using the Catalyst 6500 16-port Gbit Ethernet module, which is powered by the DFC and the Switch Fabric Module.
The 7603 router offers only the standard 32-Gbps data bus option and delivers 15 million packets per second switching performance. The 7603 does not offer Cisco's distributed switching.
Older Cisco Routers Supported by Progent's Consultants
Progent's CCIE engineers are experienced with legacy Cisco routers that are no longer available from Cisco. Progent can help you to maintain these routers and can in addition help you to plan and implement upgrades to newer versions. Popular Cisco routers supported by Progent include:
Cisco 1700 Routers
Cisco 1700 Series modular access routers are built to deliver an affordable, standalone router platform for small and midsize businesses (SMB). 1700 routers offer versatility and ease of administration to meet complex e-business needs such as data/voice/video/fax integration, high-speed wire-rate Internet access, and comprehensive protection solutions. Cisco 1700 routers have been replaced by Cisco's 1800 family of integrated services routers and the Cisco 1900 Series Integrated Services Generation 2 routers.
2600 Series Routers
The Cisco 2600 Series is a family of modular multiservice routers for branch networks, offering a wealth of LAN and WAN configurations, a wide array of protection capabilities, and a selection of high performance processors. 2600 Series routers have been superseded by Cisco's 2800 family of ISR routers and the Cisco 2900 Integrated Services G2 routers.
Cisco 3700 Series
The 3700 Series is a line of access appliances for medium and large office networks. Supported by more than 70 modular interface options, the Cisco 3700 Series provides a resilient solution for data, voice video, VPNs, and mixed-protocol data routing. 3700 Series routers have been replaced by Cisco's 3800 family of integrated services routers and the Cisco 3900 Integrated Services Generation 2 routers.
How Progent Can Help Your Company to Support Cisco Routers
Progent's CCIE qualified engineers can help you to plan, configure, and maintain an integrated network infrastructure that can simplify processes, lower expenses, and speed time to positive ROI. By teaming Cisco routers with Cisco Catalyst switches support and Aironet wireless integration, Progent can significantly enhance the strategic value of your information network. Progent offers in-person and off-site troubleshooting and can provide data center support throughout Northern California and major cities nationwide.
To find out additional details concerning Progent's engineering expertise for Cisco solutions, choose a topic:
Overview of Cisco Support
Fast Phone Support from a Consulting Professional
Cisco Firewall Professional Services
Cisco Wireless Consulting Expertise
Cisco IP Telephony Engineering Support
Cisco Switches Engineering Support
Cisco VPN Consulting Help
Solutions for Cisco Data Centers
Engineering Services for ISPs
Network Management Strategies for Cisco Networks
In order to get in touch with Progent about engineering support for Cisco technology, call 1-800-993-9400 or send email to cisco-help@progent.com.
