Cisco Network Consulting

As computer technology progresses, the distinction between routers and switches is blurring. Basically, routers are Layer 3 devices that connect networks. A common example is connecting an office network to the Internet. Switches are Layer 2 devices that interconnect client devices within a network. Generally, routers depend heavily on computer processing and field-modifiable software to move data intelligently, offering great versatility at the expense of performance. Switches, in contrast, typically depend upon fixed hardware designs to steer data at the highest possible rate, trading off intelligence in favor of speed. Today's routers usually include Layer 2 switches, and many modern switches include some Layer 3 routing capability. Routers from Cisco, the world's leading supplier, continually improve in functionality and performance and Cisco now offers a comprehensive product line that includes routers engineered to meet the functional and budgetary requirements of customers ranging from households to the world's largest service providers.

The latest Integrated Services Routers (ISR) from Cisco offer the performance and features to support IP voice and video as well as virtualization while at the same time offering fault tolerance, remote management, easy expandability, plus advanced security. Cisco's ISR routers allow businesses to establish a solid foundation for an information network that is easy to grow as you hire new employees, open new offices, activate additional features, extend your network to customers and partners, and support an expanding mobile user base. Progent's Cisco certified CCIE network engineers can assist you to plan, deploy, manage, update, and troubleshoot Cisco's latest router technology and can help you maintain your legacy routers or replace them efficiently with Cisco's current-generation routers.

Cisco Routers for Small Offices, Home Offices, and Branches
Cisco's routers for small, home and branch offices provide low-cost and dependable solutions that allow small groups of users to share secure access to the Internet. These fixed-configuration devices include Ethernet switches with wireless options plus integrated firewalls for enhanced protection. Designed for easy setup, management, and troubleshooting, Cisco's home, small business and branch routers minimize total cost of ownership by reducing acquisition and maintenance expenses. Progent's remote support engineers have extensive experience providing fast and affordable technical assistance for businesses of any size to configure and support these devices, and Progent's Cisco-certified CCIE network consultants can help you utilize these routers to add maximum business value to your network.

Cisco ISR 900 Series Integrated Services Routers
Cisco's ISR 900 Series desktop routers are compact, fanless, fixed-configuration appliances designed for small to medium-sized businesses, branch offices, and home offices. These entry-level routers include four managed GE switch ports and can support Metro Ethernet, LTE, and DSL WAN connectivity. The ISR 900 router family offers triple the IPsec performance of Cisco ISR 800 Series routers. All ISR 900 models feature Group Encrypted Transport VPN, DMVPN, FlexVPN, and firewall. VPN throughput is up to 250 Mbps. All models support up to 50 VLANs. Supported dynamic failover protocols for high availability and business continuity include Virtual Router Redundancy Protocol (VRRP, RFC 2338), Hot Standby Router Protocol (HSRP), and Multigroup HSRP (MHSRP). Provisioning and management can be performed with Cisco Configuration Professional Express, Cisco DNA Center, and Cisco IOS Software. These devices do not support Cisco SD-WAN.

Cisco's ISR 921 router features Dual GE WAN, Category 4 LTE, and an internal power supply. GE WAN VPN throughput is 150 Mbps. The ISR 926 and ISR 927 models have external power supplies and support one GE WAN port, Category 4 LTE, VDSL2, and ADSL2/2+. GE WAN VPN throughput for both devices is 150 Mbps. The high-performance ISR 931 supports Dual GE WAN and has an internal power supply. GE WAN VPN throughput is 250 Mbps.

Cisco Meraki MX Series SD-WAN Security Appliances
The Cisco Meraki MX series of desktop routers combine software-defined wide area networking (SD-WAN) and cloud-based unified threat management (UTM) in one compact appliance able to support 50 to 200 users. Each MX series appliance must be licensed to the Meraki cloud. For sites with multiple external network connections (e.g., MPLS, broadband, fiber optic, cellular), SD-WAN technology allows administrators to specify which WAN connection an application should use or define performance-based rules to determine the appropriate link. Cisco Meraki MX fixed-configuration desktop appliances share key features that include:

• Application and identity-based firewalling
• Content and web search filtering
• PCI-compliant Intrusion Detection and Prevention
• Cisco Advanced Malware Protection with sandboxing
• Load balancing to combine multiple WAN links into a single high-speed interface with policy-based QoS, traffic shaping, and failover
• Works with all IPsec VPN devices and services
• USB port for fast 3G/4G failover
• Wi-Fi versions of each model have 802.11ac Wave 2 2x2 MU-MIMO

Cisco ISR 1000 Series Branch Routers
Cisco 1000 Series Integrated Services Routers (ISRs) powered by Cisco IOS XE software are a family of fanless appliances designed to provide network service, wireless access, and advanced security for small and midsize businesses, enterprise branch offices, retail stores, kiosks, customer premises equipment (CPE), and machine-to-machine (M2M) environments. Multiple parallel processing CPU cores allow these routers to offer features consistent with Cisco's entire line of modern Enterprise routers. 1000 Series models are available with 4 or 8 LAN ports and offer Gigabit Ethernet packet forwarding. Available features include Power over Ethernet (PoE) and PoE+, zero-touch provisioning, plus various integrated or pluggable options for LAN, WAN, WLAN, G.fast DSL, 4G LTE Advanced wireless, 802.11ac Wi-Fi, and SFP Fiber connectivity. 1000 ISR Series routers work with Cisco's SD-WAN services for seamless multi-cloud connectivity, advanced cybersecurity, and unified management across hybrid networks of any complexity.

Cisco's rack or desktop ISR 1100-4G router includes four integrated GE WAN/LAN ports, integrated 3G/4G LTE with two LTE antenna SMA connectors, and one micro-SIM slot. Encryption throughput is 200 Mbps. The Cisco ISR 1100-6G router adds two 1G SFP Fiber ports and features encryption throughput of 520 Mbps. Cisco's desktop-only ISR 1101-4P router has four built-in GE ports, supports 802.11ac Wi-Fi and 3G/4G LTE, and delivers encryption throughput of 280 Mbps. The ISR 1109-2P/4P desktop routers have two or four built-in switched GE ports and dual pluggable 3G/4G LTE ports. Encryption throughput is 200 Mbps.

The rackmount or desktop ISR 111x-4P/8P routers have four or eight built-in switched GE ports (two or four with POE) and support VDSL2/ADSL2+, 802.11ac, 3G/4G LTE, and SFP Fiber. Encryption speed is 280 Mbps. Cisco's rackmount or desktop ISR 1111X-8P router has eight switched GE ports (four with POE) and supports 1G SFP Fiber. Encryption performance is 340 Mbps. The ISR 112x-8P router features eight switched GE ports with POE and supports SHDSL, VDSL2/ADSL2+, 802.11ac Wi-Fi, 3G/4G LTE, and 1G SFP Fiber. Encryption performance is 340 Mbps. Cisco's ISR 1161X-8P router features eight switched GE ports with POE and supports 3G/4G LTE and 1G SFP Fiber. Encryption performance is 450 Mbps.

Cisco Catalyst 8000 Series Branch and WAN Edge Platforms for SD-WAN and Routing
Cisco Catalyst 8000 Series routers are modular appliances designed to work at the enterprise branch and WAN edge to support hybrid networks that can include multiple public and private clouds and SaaS applications. All Catalyst 8000 devices are powered by Cisco IOS XE SD-WAN Software and provide scalability, advanced cloud security, and 5G connectivity. Performance and capacity are optimized via custom silicon, a multicore design, high port density, and line-rate encryption. Cisco's subscription software suites provide ongoing access to current SD-WAN technology and enable unified management with advanced cybersecurity, application-based policies, segmentation, and cloud optimization.

Cisco Catalyst 8200 Enterprise Branch Edge Routers
Cisco Catalyst 8200 Series routers are successors to Cisco's 4300 Series Integrated Services Routers (ISRs), offering higher IPsec performance and scale, accelerated crypto, plus higher built-in WAN port density. These 1RU units are designed to provide Cisco's Secure Access Service Edge (SASE), Software-Defined WAN (SD-WAN), and 5G-based technology to enterprise branches and the enterprise access edge. The Catalyst C8200L-1N-4T router features 4 CPU cores, enbles 500 Mbps IPsec traffic, and supports 1,500 SD-WAN tunnels. The Catalyst 8200L Edge Platforms does not support container-based applications. The Catalyst C8200-1N-4T router features 8 CPU cores, enables 1Gb IPsec traffic, supports 2,500 SD-WAN tunnels, and provides edge computing with existing container architectures. Both models include a Network Interface Module (NIM) slot, 1 Pluggable Interface Module (PIM) slot, two 1 Gigabit Ethernet WAN copper ports, and two 1 Gigabit Ethernet WAN Small-Form-Factor Pluggable (SFP) ports. 4-port and 8-port Gigabit Ethernet switch NIM modules are availabe for both 8200 models.

Cisco Catalyst 8300 Enterprise Branch Edge Routers
Cisco Catalyst 8300 Series routers are designed to replace Cisco's 4400 Series Integrated Services Routers (ISRs), delivering Cisco's secure SD-WAN solution to medium-sized and large enterprise branch offices looking for high WAN IPSec throughput with integrated SD-WAN services. Enhanced features include 5G wireless support, integrated cybersecurity, WAN MACSec, integrated enhanced Layer 2 switching, and Deep Packet Inspection (DPI) with application optimization. Catalyst 8300 Series routers support edge computing for an existing container architecture on the ISRs and for Cisco UCS-E modules available on Cisco's 4000 Series ISR routers. All models of the Cisco Catalyst 8300 WAN Edge family support 4,000 SD-WAN tunnels and feature dual power supplies for high availability.

The Catalyst 8300-1N1S-6T router is a 1RU device that features 8 CPU cores and delivers 2G SD-WAN throughput and IPsec performance of up to 1.9Gbps. The router includes one SM expansion slot, one NIM slot, and six built-in 1-Gigabit Ethernet WAN ports. The Catalyst 8300-2N2S-6T router is a 2RU unit that includes 8 CPU cores and delivers 2G SD-WAN throughput and IPsec performance as high as 1.9Gbps. The appliance includes two SM expansion slots, two NIM slots, and six built-in 1-Gigabit Ethernet WAN ports. The Catalyst C8300-1N1S-4T2X router is a 1RU appliance that includes 8 CPU cores and delivers 5G SD-WAN throughput and IPsec performance as high as 15Gbps. The router includes one SM expansion slot, one NIM slot, two integrated 10-Gigabit Ethernet WAN ports, and four fixed 1-Gigabit Ethernet WAN ports. The Catalyst C8300-2N2S-4T2X router is a 2RU device that includes 12 CPU cores and delivers 5G SD-WAN throughput and IPsec performance as high as 18Gbps. The router includes two SM expansion slots, two NIM slots, two integrated 10-Gigabit Ethernet WAN ports, and four fixed 1-Gigabit Ethernet WAN ports. LAN expansion modules available from Cisco range from a 4-port Gigabit Ethernet switch NIM module to a 50-port Catalyst L2 switch service module.

Cisco Catalyst 8500 Aggregation Edge Routers
The Cisco Catalyst 8500 Series Aggregation Edge routers are fixed form factor, 1RU aggregation platforms for SD-WAN and colocation environments. Integrated features include route processor, embedded services processor, plus aggregation hardware for various interfaces and connectivity options. IPsec throughput is double compared to Cisco's earlier generation ASR1001-X. Flexible interface options include 1GE, 10GE, 40GE, and 100GE WAN ports. The routers come with redundant AC or DC power supplies. Software subscription suites provide access to Cisco DNA Center Software for SD-WAN and routing and enable unified management of security, application-aware policies, segmentation, and cloud connectivity optimization.

Cisco's Catalyst C8500L-8S4X router is designed to provide the same experience as Cisco's ASR 1000 appliance. The C8500L-8S4X has four 1/10GE WAN ports and can deliver up to 20 Gbps Cisco Express Forwarding aggregate throughput. SD-WAN IPsec throughput is up to 19Gbps. The C8500-12X router features 12 built-in 1/10GE WAN ports and supports up to 120 Gbps aggregate throughput. SD-WAN IPsec throughput is up to 51Gbps. The C8500-12X4QC router comes with four integrated 1/10GE WAN ports and eight 1GE ports and can support up to 200 Gbps aggregate throughput. SD-WAN IPsec throughput is up to 68Gbps.

Cisco Integrated Services Routers Generation 2
Cisco's ISR G2 routers are designed to provide teleworkers, small offices and branches of enterprise networks with enhanced collaboration, virtualization, security, and dependable connectivity. ISR G2 routers feature an architecture that protects past investments in modules for older ISR routers and reduces future costs by allowing field upgrades to new modules as they become available. Compared to previous ISR routers, Cisco's ISR G2 routers offer 2-7 times higher performance, far greater expandability, and more affordable support. All ISR G2 routers include gigabit switching and incorporate multi-core CPUs and multigigabit fabric for faster processing and higher data throughput. ISR G2 routers also support intelligent power management for improved energy efficiency.

A major innovation with ISR G2 routers is the Cisco IOS Software Universal image which includes all of the Cisco IOS technology sets so that you can quickly license and activate new features as needed without having to download and copy a new IOS image to your router. Progent's team of Cisco-certified CCIE network engineers offer world-class expertise to help you design, configure, and support multi-site deployments of Cisco ISR G2 routers that enhance branch office productivity and reduce the costs of expansion and maintenance.

Cisco 800 Family of ISR Routers
The 800 Series of ISR routers has been superseded technically by the Cisco ISR 900 series but remains widely deployed. Cisco's comprehensive portfolio of 800 Series ISR routers consists of desktop, fanless devices designed and priced for small businesses, branch offices, retail shops, teleworkers, and clients of broadband service providers. Many models in the 800 product line have been released with multiple options over many years. The 881 Series of ISR routers exemplifies the vast selection of options available within the Cisco 800 product family. Models in Cisco's 881 router series can support converged media networks by offering IP voice and video, Wi-Fi and data in a single integrated router and switch. Built-in security can include encryption, VPN, firewall, and URL filtering. For business continuity, options available for Cisco 881 routers include redundant wide area network links or support for landline broadband WAN connections like DSL plus multiple cellular 3G and 4G wireless WAN connections all on a single appliance.

The basic Cisco 881 includes a 4-port 10/100-Mbps managed switch with up to 15 Mbps performance, the ability to handle up to 20 users, 2 port integrated PoE, and IPv6 support. The Cisco 881W router includes 802.11g/n Wi-Fi. Cisco's 881 SRST router includes four FXS ports and 1 FXO port for public-switched-telephone-network (PSTN) fallback with Cisco Survivable Remote Site Telephony (SRST). With a Cisco Unified Border Element (CUBE) feature license, the Cisco 881 ISR router supports SIP trunk connectivity as a replacement for Primary Rate Interface (PRI) or foreign exchange-office (FXO) voice connectivity to a PSTN service provider. (The CUBE feature set available with the 881 ISR router does not include transcoding.) In a Cisco Contact Center environment, the remote call center agent can have a SIP trunk with service demarcation provided by CUBE, and the SIP trunk can be used to forward calls from the central call center to the remote call center agent.

Cisco 4000 Series Integrated Services Routers
Cisco 4000 Series Integrated Services Routers (ISRs) are modular and scalable routers intended for businesses with a large number of branches and remote users requiring direct communication with private data centers and public clouds across VPNs and the Internet. The 4000 series provides the bandwidth needed for a hybrid WAN to support mobile users, cloud services, and HD multimedia applications by using WAN optimization, deep packet inspection, and traffic-management techniques. Models in the 4000 Series are powered by Cisco's IOS XE operating system, come in a 1-rack-unit (RU) or 2RU form factor, can handle Up to 2 Gbps of throughput, and can include up to 3 network interface module slots, 2 service module slots, 4 integrated 10/100/1000 Ethernet ports, and 8 CPU core integrated server modules. ISR 4000 models support integrated Gigabit Ethernet, T1/E1, T3/E3, PRI, xDSL, and other interfaces. For unified communications, the 400o ISR provides extensive edge support for session border control, branch telephony survivability, and TDM gateways.

The major difference between Cisco 4400 and 4300 Series ISRs is dual power supply support in the 4400 Series, providing a higher level of fault tolerance. The 4321 ISR Router comes in a 1 RU desktop form factor with two network interface modules (NIMs), offers up to 100 Mbps performance, and supports up to 240 Digital Voice and Video Channels. The 4331 ISR Router comes in a 1 RU form factor with two NIMs, offers up to 300 Mbps performance, and supports up to 360 Digital Voice and Video Channels. The 4351 ISR Router comes in a 2 RU package with three NIMs, offers up to 400 Mbps performance, and supports up to 720 Digital Voice and Video Channels. The dual power supply 4431 ISR Router comes in a 1 RU package with three NIMs, offers up to 1 Gbps performance, and supports up to 720 Digital Voice and Video Channels. The redundant-power 4451 ISR Router comes in a 2 RU form factor with three NIMs, offers up to 2 Gbps performance, and supports up to 1200 Digital Voice and Video Channels.

Cisco's WAN Aggregation Routers and Carrier-class Routers
Cisco's routers can provide enterprises with high-performance, secure headends to aggregate branch office and remote user traffic and to offer service providers cost-effective WAN edge solutions. Cisco's WAN aggregation routers router portfolio includes the Cisco ASR 1000 line and the ASR 9000 family.

Progent's nationwide team of Cisco CCIE certified network engineers have in-depth backgrounds working with enterprise businesses and Internet service providers to plan optimal deployments and seamless expansion of Cisco's midrange routers. Progent's CISA, GIAC, and CISA certified network security consultants can provide objective, third-party network security vulnerability evaluations and stealth penetration testing to help businesses with Cisco's midrange routers to comply with industry standards and government regulations for network data security.

Cisco ASR 1000 Series Aggregation Services Routers
Cisco's ASR 1000 family is positioned in the middle of Cisco's midrange routers that focus on aggregating services at the WAN edge. ASR 1000 routers offer a small footprint, single-product solution for enterprises requiring branch office aggregation at multigigabit Ethernet speeds. ASR 1000 routers introduce a new architecture that combines hardware acceleration with software flexibility in order to deliver a high volume of concurrent services without sacrificing consistent performance.

ASR 1000 Series routers feature Cisco's new QuantumFlow Processor made up of 40 custom Packet Processing Engines (PPEs) that in combination can support up to 160 concurrent processor threads. This parallel CPU architecture combined with hardware acceleration for all services allows the top-of-the-line ASR 1006 router to scale up to 128,000 hardware queues, 32,000 subscribers, 4,000 IPsec tunnels at 10,000 sessions per second, and 2 million Netflow records. This processing power permits the ASR 1000 to support a variety of advanced services simultaneously in high volume without suffering performance degradation that could threaten SLA compliance. Examples of these services include Cisco IOS Firewall, NAT translation, FPM, and deep packet inspection. The ASR 1000 also allows tiered traffic management for applying multiple levels of QoS to a packet in a single pass, improving the user experience for current and next-generation of IP voice, video, and conferencing applications.

Cisco ASR 9000 Series Aggregation Services Routers
Cisco 9000 Series Aggregation Services Routers are designed as edge routers for carriers who need to deliver world-class data, voice and video services to residential, business, and mobile customers by offering non-stop operation, high performance, and application-aware intelligence. All models in the ASR 9000 Series are powered by the Cisco IOS XR, a self-healing, distributed operating system designed for continuous availability. Performance of ASR 9000 Series routers can scale up to 96 Tbps per system. Cisco ASR 9000 Series Routers support high-density Gigabit Ethernet (GE), 10 GE, and 100 GE and have fully redundant fabric and power modules, power entry modules, and fan trays plus control plane and switch fabric redundancy.

The Cisco ASR 9001 is a provider-edge router packaged in a 2 RU form factor and delivers 120 Gbps of nonblocking, full-duplex fabric capacity. The ASR 9001 has two bays which can support modular port adapters for 1 Gigabit, 10 Gigabit, and 40 Gigabit Ethernet. The base chassis includes four 10 Gbit Ethernet SFP+ ports as well as ports for Stratum 1 GPS clocking, BITS and management. Cisco's compact ASR 9904 Router is a 6 RU unit that delivers 10 GE and 100 GE line-rate performance in sites with limited space. With four integrated slots, the ASR-9904 can support as much as 4 Tbps of switching capacity in a single chassis. The ASR 9912 Router comes in a 30 RU chassis with 10 line-card slots and support for 550 Gbps of switching capacity. The ASR 9912 includes 2 route processors and 6+1 Fabric Cards for N+1 redundancy. Cisco's high-capacity ASR 9922 Router has a 43 RU form factor and 22 slots and has the ability to deliver performance up to 96 Tbps.

Legacy Cisco Routers Maintained by Progent's Experts
Progent's Cisco certified consultants are familiar with providing support for legacy routers no longer offered by Cisco. Progent can show you how to maintain these older routers and can in addition help you to plan and carry out upgrades to newer models. Older Cisco routers maintained by Progent include:

Cisco Small Business RV Series VPN Routers
Cisco's economically priced RV Series VPN Routers are engineered to provide small businesses with VPN technology that permits remote users to access a headquarters network without compromising security. Models in the Cisco RV Series VPN Routers can support from five to 100 VPN tunnels, include 4 to 16-port Ethernet switches, come with integrated firewalls with advanced data encryption, and allow web-based configuration for remote set up and management. All models accommodate fast Ethernet and some models support Gigabit Ethernet. Both wired and wireless models are available. These routers do not support Cisco's IOS routing software.

The Cisco RV041 model VPN Router includes a 4-port 10/100 Ethernet switch and can safely support up to 50 branch offices or off-site workers through IPsec or PPTP tunneling protocol. The RV042G can handle Gigabit Ethernet. The Cisco RV082 model VPN Router has an 8-port 10/100 switch and can support up to 100 remote offices or online users with full IPsec VPN tunneling. Cisco's RV016 Multi WAN VPN Router has 16 switched 10/100 Ethernet ports, supports 100 online connections, and lets as many as seven ports to be set up for traffic load balancing or for ISP failover to provide non-stop Internet access.

Newer models in Cisco's portfolio of Small Business RV Series VPN Routers include the RV110W wired/Wireless-N VPN with a 4-port 10/100 Ethernet switch and support for as many as four VLANs, the Cisco RV130W Wireless-N Multifunction VPN Router with a 4-port Gigabit Ethernet switch and support for 825 Mbps throughput, the RV220W wired/Wireless-N Network Security Firewall with a 4-port Gigabit Ethernet switch and support for 25 IPsec VPN connections, and the 320 RV320 Dual Gigabit WAN VPN Router that features a 4-port Gigabit Ethernet switch and Dual Gigabit WAN ports for load balancing and business continuity.

1900 Series Integrated Services G2 Routers
Cisco 1941 and 1941W ISR G2 routers offer accelerated hardware encryption, optional firewall, Cisco IOS intrusion prevention, and up to 11 modular LAN Switchports. The 1941W provides an integrated 802.11n Wi-Fi access point that supports mobile access to high-bandwidth data, voice, and video applications via MIMO technology that improves coverage for existing 802.11a/b/g clients. Interface options for the 1941 and 1941W routers include T1/E1, xDSL, 3G, and GE.

Compared to the older generation 1841 ISR router which they are designed to replace, the Cisco 1941 and 1941W routers have 256 MB vs. 32 MB of flash memory as a default and can be expanded to 4 GB vs. 128 MB. Standard DRAM size is 256 MB vs. 128 MB and maximum DRAM capacity is 2.25 GB vs. 384 MB. Unlike the 1841 router, the 1941 features a USB console in place of the outdated DB-9 connector and includes a slot for the new Internal Services Module (ISM) instead of a slot for the older and lower performance Advanced Integration Module (AIM). Unlike higher end ISR G2 routers, 1941 series routers do not support redundant power supplies or slots for Packet Voice and fax DSP Modules (PVDM).

Cisco 2900 Series Integrated Services G2 Routers
Cisco 2900 series ISR G2 routers are available in four models which correspond to the routers in Cisco's popular 2800 router family. Cisco's 2901, 2911, 2921, and 2951 ISR G2 routers offer on-board hardware encryption acceleration, voice and video ready DSP slots, optional firewall, intrusion prevention, call processing, voice mail, and from 16 to 50 modular LAN switch ports. The integrated encryption hardware provides IPsec and SSL VPN security for safe remote access and significantly outperforms the advanced integration modules (AIMs) supported by Cisco 2800 series routers. The top-of-the-line 2951 supports 600 SIP sessions. Wired and wireless connectivity options include T1/E1, T3/E3, xDSL, plus copper and fiber GE.

Cisco 2911, 2921, and 2951 ISR G2 routers support Cisco's new Enhanced EtherSwitch Service Modules, offering high-performance features that match Cisco's Catalyst 2960 and Catalyst 3650-E Series Switches. Comparing the mid-range 2921 ISR G2 router to the older generation 2821 ISR router that it is intended to replace, the Cisco 2921 router is shipped standard with 256 MB vs. 64 MB of flash memory and can be expanded to 4 GB vs. 256 MB. Default DRAM size is 512 MB vs. 256 MB and maximum DRAM capacity is 2.5 GB vs. 1 GB.

3900 Integrated Services G2 Routers
Cisco offers four platforms for the top-of-the-line 3900 Series ISR G2 router, the 3925, 3945, 3925E, and 3945E. These models offer the highest performance and slot densities in Cisco's ISR G2 product line and support fast DSPs for the most demanding voice/video applications, hardware-accelerated encryption acceleration, a broad range of connectivity options, up to 98 modular LAN Switchports, and up to 2,500 SIP sessions. To protect your investment in capital equipment, the 3900 Series supports the Cisco Services Performance Engine, a modular motherboard that can be replaced in the field to improve processing power without requiring you to buy a new router. Like other ISR G2 routers, the 3900 Series also protects past investments by supporting most of the modules from older Cisco Integrated Services Routers such as the Cisco ISR 3825. For improved fault tolerance, the 3900 offers dual integrated power supplies.

Comparing the 3925 ISR G2 router with the older model 3825 ISR router which it is designed to replace, the Cisco 3925 router has 256 MB vs. 64 MB of default flash memory and can be expanded to 4 GB vs. 256 MB. Default DRAM size is 1 GB vs. 256 MB and DRAM can be expanded to 4 GB vs. 1 GB.

Cisco's 1st Generation Integrated Services Routers
Cisco's first-generation Integrated Services Routers, with more than 6 million devices in operation, are the industry's leading solution for small to medium-sized businesses and small enterprise branch offices to ensure fast, safe, and reliable access to vital applications. Progent's CCIE-certified network engineers are seasoned experts at providing remote consulting, maintenance, and troubleshooting services for Cisco 1800, 2800, and 3800 series ISR routers. Progent can help you upgrade to the latest version of Cisco IOS Software with minimal disruption to your network, evaluate the security profile of your current router configuration, and help you migrate cost effectively to the new generation of Cisco ISR G2 routers when it makes sense for your business.

1800 Series Routers
The Cisco 1800 family of integrated services routers incorporate data and protection into a single robust system for high-speed, scalable access to mission-critical business applications. The 1800 Series design has been developed to meet the requirements of small-to-medium-sized businesses, enterprise branch offices, and service provider-managed services environments for responsive access to concurrent services. The integrated systems design of the Cisco 1800 Series delivers excellent business agility and fast ROI.

The Cisco 1841 integrated services router provides significant added value compared to prior generations of 1700 Series devices by delivering more than a fivefold performance increase plus integrated hardware-based encryption enabled by an optional Cisco IOS Software security image. Cisco's 1841 integrated services router increases interface card slot performance and capacity in comparison to the 1700 Series while still maintaining support for over 30 existing WAN interface cards and multiflex trunk cards (voice/WICs (VWICs)-for data only). The Cisco 1841 router offers further enhancement of VPN performance via an available VPN acceleration module; IPS and firewall capabilities; compatibility with a broad array of interfaces such as support for optional integrated switch ports; and enough performance and expansion slot capacity for future network growth and advanced applications.

Cisco 2800 Series Integrated Services Routers
Targeted at small to medium-sized businesses and enterprise branch offices, the Cisco 2800 Series is available in several basic versions: the Cisco 2801 router, the 2811 router, the 2821, and the Cisco 2851. The Cisco 2800 Series offers significant additional value vs. older models of Cisco routers at comparable prices by offering up to a fivefold performance increase, as much as a 10x increase in security and voice performance, integrated service options, and dramatically improved slot performance and density while maintaining compatibility with most of the over 90 popular modules in use today for Cisco's 1700, the Cisco 2600 Series, and the Cisco 3700 routers.

The Cisco 2800 Series router offers a range of powerful security functions such as an IOS Software Firewall, an Intrusion Prevention System (IPS), IPsec VPN, Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) Virtual Private Network, powerful application inspection and control, Secure Shell Protocol V 2.0, and Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMPv3) in one protected solution. Additionally, by incorporating security features within the router, Cisco can enable unique intelligent security solutions other security devices cannot, such as NAC for antivirus protection; V3PN for quality-of-service support when combining voice, video, and VPN; Dynamic Multipoint VPN; Group Encrypted Transport; and Easy Virtual Private Networks for supporting more scalable and manageable VPN networks.

Organizations can use the Cisco 2800 Series to deploy an integrated IP telephony network for as many as 96 IP telephones, and can safely combine data, voice, and IP telephony on one platform for their small-to-medium sized satellite offices.

The 2800 router supports a built-in access point for 802.11x wireless LAN connections, Wi-Fi Hotspot services for shared public wireless access, and infrastructure services for cordless WLAN telephony and for high-density sites.

3800 Integrated Services Routers
Cisco 3800 ISR routers are designed for small-to-medium-sized organizations and corporate branch offices to provide businesses the highest levels of network agility, performance, and intelligence. The Cisco 3800 integrated services routers smoothly incorporate advanced technologies, smart services, and secure enterprise communications into a single resilient system. The Cisco 3800 Series routers ease deployment and management, lower network cost and complexity, and provide investment protection. 3800 integrated services routers offer internal security processing, fast throughput and high memory capacity, and high-density interfaces that provide the speed, resilience, and dependability required for scaling business-critical security, IP telephony, high-volume video, system analysis, and web-based applications in even the most competitive corporate networks. Engineered for speed, the 3800 integrated services routers deliver multiple concurrent services as fast as wire-speed T3/E3 data rates.

The proprietary routing technology of the Cisco 3800 router is engineered to integrate security and voice processing with the latest wireline and wireless services for fast installation of new services, including application layer operations, intelligent network services, and converged communications. The Cisco 3800 Series router meets the bandwidth requirements for multiple Fast Ethernet interfaces for each expansion slot, time-division multiplexing (TDM) connections, and fully integrated power sourcing to modules supporting 802.3af PoE, while still accommodating the traditional portfolio of interfaces. This ensures ongoing return on investment by supporting network expansion or adapting to changes in technology as the latest services are deployed. By integrating the capabilities of several separate devices into one compact unit, the Cisco 3800 Series router dramatically reduces the expense and complexity of managing wide area networks.

7600 Series Routers
The Cisco 7600 Series router benefits from the Catalyst 6500 Series infrastructure with an NEBS-3 box, 256-Gbps crossbar fabric, and 30-Mbps switching performance. High availability is implemented via logical and physical redundancy plus IOS Software functions. In addition, the 7600 Series router offers a broad set of high-touch network services at optical rates via various OSMs powered by Cisco proprietary PXF technology.

The 7603 Series features a 32-Gbps bus and offers 15 million packets per second switching performance. The Cisco 7603 Series does not offer distributed switching. The Cisco 7609 router offers the choice to use a 256-Gbps SFM or the standard 32-Gbps bus, providing centralized switching performance of 30 or 15 Mpps each. If the Switch Fabric Module is deployed, the Cisco 7609 can also support distributed switching with rates up to 168 Mpps by running the Cisco Catalyst 6500 16-port Gbit Ethernet LAN module, which is controlled by the Distributed Forwarding Card and the Switch Fabric Module.

The Cisco 7613 model router features a 18 RU form factor with up to 12 interface slots, supports 10 Gigabit Ethernet, and can deliver up to 720 Gbps of total throughput.

Cisco CRS Carrier Routing System for Core Networks
Cisco's Carrier Routing System (CRS) product line, powered by Cisco's IOS XR self-healing, distributed operating system, offers service providers world-class performance and availability. The Carrier Routing System product line was introduced in 2004, has been continuously enhanced, and now includes the world's most widely deployed multichassis core router. To protect existing investments in infrastructure, new CRS models are backward compatible with earlier products.

Available product lines in Cisco's Carrier Routing System portfolio are the CRS-1, CRS-3, and CRS-X Series. Each CRS series includes single-chassis 4-slot, 8-slot, and 16-slot systems as well as multiple chassis versions. The Cisco CRS-1 Series is built on Cisco's Silicon Packet Processor and can provide up to 92 Tbps throughput. Routers in Cisco's CRS-3 Series are based on Cisco's QuantumFlow Array technology and can deliver up to 322 Tbps performance. Cisco's CRS-X Series Routers use CMOS photonics CPAK technology and, in the multichassis version, scale up to 922 Tbps.

The Cisco CRS Multichassis System can scale from 2 to 72 line-card shelves with the capacity to deliver 400-Gbps of continuous operations per slot. Multishelve models of the CRS Series routers can support up to 8 fabric shelves. Modular services cards (MSCs) and physical layer interface modules (PLIMs) can be used across the entire Carrier Routing System product family.

Other legacy Cisco routers supported by Progent include:

• Cisco 500 SR Series Routers
  The Cisco 520 SR Router, designed to support as many as 50 users, features a 4-port 10/100 Ethernet managed switch and a single IOS Software image: By supporting a simple yet powerful set of Cisco IOS control software features, Cisco's 520 model router simplifies configuration, management, and troubleshooting, but nevertheless provides advanced protection and performance options to match the particular requirements of your business.

• Cisco 850 and 870 Integrated Services Routers
  Cisco's 850 and 870 ISR Routers are fixed-configuration routers that provide protected, simultaneous services over broadband interfaces in small remote offices, telecommuter, and small company environments. 850 Series access routers offer safe connectivity with Stateful Inspection Firewall and IP security VPN features for small LANs, four-connection 10/100 switch, secure WLAN 802.11b/g option with a single fixed antenna, plus simple setup and integration and remote management capabilities through Web-based utilities and IOS Software. 870 Series routers deliver high performance in small workgroups as well as enhanced security via services that include stateful Inspection Firewall, IP Security VPN, 3DES or Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) as well as Dynamic Multipoint VPN and Tunnel-less Group Encrypted Transport, an intrusion prevention system (IPS), virus protection using NAC, and policing of secure connection policies.

• 1700 Series Routers
  Cisco 1700 Series modular access routers are engineered to provide an affordable, integrated e-business solution for small and medium-sized businesses (SMB). 1700 routers offer flexibility and manageability to satisfy demanding e-business requirements such as multiservice data/voice/video/fax consolidation, fast broadband Internet access, and powerful protection solutions. 1700 Series routers have been superseded by Cisco's 1800 Series of ISR routers and Cisco's 1900 Integrated Services G2 routers.

• 2600 Series Routers
  The Cisco 2600 Series of routers is a family of modular access routers for branch networks, offering flexible LAN/WAN setup options, comprehensive security features, and selection of high performance processors. Cisco 2600 routers have been superseded by Cisco's 2800 Series of integrated services routers and 2900 Integrated Services G2 routers.

• 3700 Series Routers
  The Cisco 3700 Series is a line of modular, multiservice solutions for mid-size and large offices. With over 70 modular interface options, the 3700 family provides a robust platform for data, voice video, VPNs, and mixed-protocol routing. 3700 Series routers have been superseded by Cisco's 3800 family of integrated services routers and Cisco's 3900 Series ISR G2 routers.

How Progent Can Assist You with Cisco Routers
Progent's Cisco certified consultants can assist you to design, configure, and manage a converged business network that can streamline operations, reduce expenses, and accelerate the path to positive ROI. By combining Cisco integrated services routers with Catalyst switches expertise, Aironet wireless access point integration and Cisco Meraki Wi-Fi AP consulting, Progent can dramatically enhance the strategic value of your integrated network. Progent can provide in-person and off-site support and offers data center support throughout and major locations nationally.

Contact Progent about Consulting Services for Cisco Routers
To talk to a Progent service representative about consulting support for Cisco routers, call 1-800-993-9400 or visit Contact Progent.

To learn additional information concerning Progent's consulting support for Cisco products, choose a subject:

• Overview of Cisco Expertise
• Fast Remote Support from a Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert (CCIE) Engineer
• Cisco Firepower Firewalls: Configuration and Management Services
• Cisco ASA 5500-X Firewalls with Cisco Firepower Services: Setup and Management Support
• Cisco ASA 5500 Series Firewall Troubleshooting Assistance
• PIX 500 Firewall Troubleshooting Services
• Cisco Wireless Consulting Services
• Aironet Wireless APs Design Expertise
• Cisco Small Business 100, 300 and 500 WiFi APs Deployment Support
• Catalyst 802.11ax Access Points Solution Design, Configuration and Troubleshooting Expertise
• Cisco Wireless Controllers Consultants
• Cisco Meraki Wireless APs Deployment Expertise
• Cisco Unified Communications Manager (CUCM or Unified CM) and CallManager Integration and Troubleshooting
• Cisco Voice over IP (VoIP) Phones and IP Video Phones Expertise and Wireless VoIP Phone Solutions
• Cisco Jabber Migration and Support Services
• Catalyst Switches Deployment Expertise
• Cisco Nexus Switches Consulting and Support Services
• Cisco Meraki MS Switches Consulting and Support Expertise
• Cisco VPN and Network Security Setup and Troubleshooting Expertise
• SIP and CUBE Integration Solutions: SIP PSTN Trunks and CUBE Integration Expertise
• Cisco Duo MFA Two-factor Authentication Services for Telecommuters
• Design Solutions for Cisco-powered Datacenters
• Infrastructure Design Services for Service Providers
• Centralized Cloud-based and Hybrid Network Management Strategies for Cisco-based Infrastructure

To get in touch with Progent about consulting support for Cisco products, call 1-800-993-9400 or visit Contact Progent.