The current generation of routers usually include Layer 2 switches, and many of today's switches include some Layer 3 routing functionality. Routers developed by Cisco, the source of the vast majority of the industry's routers, have improved dramatically in capability and performance and Cisco offers an extensive portfolio that features routers engineered to handle the requirements of users from households to the world's largest ISPs.
The latest Integrated Services Routers released by Cisco offer the performance and built-in features to manage IP voice and video plus virtual environments while also providing high availability, remote management, seamless scalability, and enhanced protection. These routers allow your business to build a firm foundation for an IT environment that can grow smoothly as you hire more employees, open new offices, configure additional capabilities, extend your system to customers and partners, and support an expanding mobile user base. Progent's Cisco qualified CCIE network consultants offer immediate and affordable remote expertise to help your company to select, configure, administer, upgrade, and support Cisco's latest routers and can assist you to support your legacy routers or move efficiently to Cisco's current networking solutions.
Cisco Routers for Home Offices and Small Offices and Branch Offices
Cisco's routers for small organizations and remote offices offer affordable and reliable no-frills alternatives that enable small groups of workers to have safe connectivity to wide area networks. These fixed-configuration desktop routers include at least four switched Ethernet with wireless options plus built-in firewall for enhanced security. Designed for simple setup, management, and troubleshooting, Cisco's entry-level routers minimize total cost of ownership by cutting acquisition and operational expenses. Progent's remote support experts have in-depth backgrounds providing immediate and affordable technical assistance for small businesses to set up and maintain these routers, and Progent's Cisco-certified CCIE network engineers can assist you to determine how Cisco's small office routers can add to the business value of your IT system.
ISR 900 Series Routers
Cisco's ISR 900 Series routers are small-footprint, fanless, fixed-configuration devices intended for SMBs, branch offices, and home offices. These value-priced routers include four GE switch ports and can support Metro Ethernet, LTE, and DSL WAN connections. The ISR 900 router family provides three times the IPsec throughput of the ISR 800 Series family of routers. All ISR 900 models offer GETVPN, dynamic multipoint virtual private network VPN, FlexVPN, and firewall. VPN throughput is as high as 250 Mbps. All versions support up to 50 virtual LANs. Supported automatic failover protocols for high availability and business continuity include Virtual Router Redundancy Protocol, Hot Standby Router Protocol, and Multigroup HSRP (MHSRP). Provisioning and management can be performed with Cisco Configuration Professional Express, Cisco DNA Center, and Cisco IOS. Cisco ISR 900 Series devices do not support Cisco SD-WAN.
Cisco's ISR 921 router features dual GE WAN ports, LTE Cat 4, and an internal power supply. GE WAN VPN throughput is 150 Mbps. Cisco's ISR 926 and ISR 927 routers include external power and support one GE WAN interface, LTE Cat 4, plus VDSL2 and ADSL2/2+. VPN performance for both devices is 150 Mbps. The high-performance ISR 931 supports dual GE WAN ports and has an internal power supply. VPN performance is 250 Mbps.
Cisco Meraki MX Series SD-WAN Security Appliances
The Cisco Meraki MX portfolio of desktop routers provide software-defined wide area networking (SD-WAN) and cloud-hosted unified threat management (UTM) in one compact appliance able to handle 50 to 200 users. Every MX series appliance must be licensed to the Meraki cloud. For venues with several WAN network connections (e.g., MPLS, fiber optic, cellular), SD-WAN technology allows admins to specify the WAN interface a given application should use or to build performance-based algorithms to select the appropriate interface. Cisco Meraki MX fixed-configuration desktop routers share key capabilities including:
Cisco 1000 Series ISR Branch Routers
Cisco 1000 family Integrated Services Routers (ISRs) running Cisco IOS XE software are a selection of fanless routers intended to provide high-performance network service, wireless support, and advanced cybersecurity for small and midsize businesses, enterprise branches, retail stores, customer premises equipment (CPE), and M2M environments. Multiple parallel CPU cores and the ability to run Cisco IOS XE software allow these routers to deliver capabilities consistent with Cisco's entire line of Enterprise routers. 1000 and 1100 family ISR routers are available with 4 or 8 LAN switch ports and provide Gigabit Ethernet packet forwarding. Various models include Power over Ethernet (PoE) and PoE+, auto provisioning, plus a range of integrated or pluggable options including LAN, WAN, WLAN, G.fast DSL, 4G LTE Advanced wireless, 802.11 wireless, and SFP Fiber. Cisco 1000 and 1100 family ISR routers can be used with Cisco's SD-WAN services for transparent multi-cloud access, multilayer cybersecurity, and centralized administration across hybrid network models.
Cisco's rackmount or desktop ISR 1100-4G router comes with four integrated GE ports, integrated 3G/4G LTE wireless with two LTE antenna SMA connectors, and a micro-SIM slot. Encryption packet processing speed is 200 Mbps. The Cisco 1100-6G ISR router adds two 1G SFP Fiber connections and delivers encryption performance of 520 Mbps. Cisco's desktop-only ISR 1101-4P router has four integrated GE interfaces, supports 802.11ac Wi-Fi as well as 3G/4G LTE wireless, and features encryption rates of 280 Mbps. The 1109-2P/4P ISR desktop routers include two or four integrated GE connections and dual pluggable 3G/4G LTE ports. Encryption packet processing performance is 200 Mbps.
Cisco's rackmount or desktop ISR 111x-4P/8P routers come with four or eight integrated switched GE ports (two or four provide PoE) and support VDSL2/ADSL2+, 802.11ac Wi-Fi, 3G/4G LTE wireless, and SFP Fiber. Encryption packet processing speed is 280 Mbps. Cisco's rackmount or desktop ISR 1111X-8P router comes with eight integrated switched GE ports (four with Power over Ethernet) and a port for SFP Fiber. Encryption packet processing performance is 340 Mbps. The 112x-8P ISR router has eight GE connections with Power over Ethernet and supports SHDSL, VDSL2/ADSL2+, 802.11ac Wi-Fi, 3G/4G LTE wireless, and SFP. Encryption performance is 340 Mbps. The 1161X-8P ISR router has eight GE interfaces with Power over Ethernet and supports 3G/4G LTE wireless and SFP. Encryption rate is 450 Mbps.
Catalyst 8000 Series Branch and WAN Edge Platforms for SD-WAN and Routing
Cisco's Catalyst 8000 family of routers are modular devices designed to operate at the enterprise branche and the WAN edge to support hybrid network environments that can incorporate multiple public and private clouds and SaaS applications. Catalyst 8000 routers use Cisco IOS XE SD-WAN Software and offer scalability, intelligent cloud security, and 5G connectivity. Throughput is optimized using custom hardware, a multicore architecture, high port density, and line-rate encryption. Cisco's subscription software services offer continual access to the latest SD-WAN technology and allow unified management with advanced cybersecurity, application-optimized policies, network segmentation, and cloud readiness.
Catalyst 8200 Series Enterprise Edge Routers
Catalyst 8200 Series routers are upgrades to Cisco's 4300 Series Integrated Services Routers (ISRs), delivering higher IPsec throughput and expandability, accelerated encryption, plus higher integrated WAN interface density. These one-rack unit routers are built to bring Cisco's Secure Access Service Edge (SASE), Software-Defined WAN (SD-WAN) and 5G-connection technology to enterprise branches and the enterprise WAN edge. The Catalyst C8200L-1N-4T model features four CPU cores, enables 500 Mbps IPsec throughput, and permits 1,500 SD-WAN tunnels. Cisco's Catalyst 8200L platform does not support container-based applications. The Catalyst C8200-1N-4T model features eight CPU cores, provides 1Gb IPsec throughput, supports 2,500 SD-WAN tunnels, and allows edge computing with existing container architectures. Both devices include one Network Interface Module (NIM) slot, one Pluggable Interface Module slot, two 1 Gigabit Ethernet WAN ports, and two 1G Ethernet WAN Small-Form-Factor Pluggable (SFP) interfaces. Four-port and eight-port 1 Gigabit Ethernet switch NIM modules are supported by both 8200 models.
Catalyst 8300 Series Enterprise Branch Edge Routers
Catalyst 8300 WAN Edge routers are intended to supersede Cisco's 4400 line of Integrated Services Routers, delivering Cisco's secure SD-WAN architecture to medium-sized and large enterprise branch offices looking for high WAN IPSec performance with cohesive SD-WAN services. Enhanced capabilities include 5G wireless connectivity, integrated cybersecurity, WAN MACSec, integrated enhanced Layer 2 switching, and Deep Packet Inspection with application optimization. Cisco Catalyst 8300 Series routers enable edge computing for an in-place container environment for Cisco UCS-E modules offered on Cisco's 4000 Series ISR routers. All models in the Cisco Catalyst 8300 portfolio allow 4,000 SD-WAN tunnels and feature backup power supplies for high uptime.
The Catalyst 8300-1N1S-6T router is a 1RU device that includes eight CPU cores and offers 2G SD-WAN throughput and IPsec data rates of up to 1.9Gbps. The unit comes with a single SM expansion slot, a NIM slot, and six integrated 1G Ethernet WAN interfaces. The Catalyst 8300-2N2S-6T device is a 2RU model that includes 8 CPU cores and delivers 2G SD-WAN throughput and IPsec data rates of up to 1.9Gbps. The device has two SM plug-in slots, two Network Interface Module slots, and six built-in 1-Gigabit Ethernet WAN interfaces. The Catalyst C8300-1N1S-4T2X router is a 1RU device that has eight CPU cores and supports 5G SD-WAN throughput and IPsec throughput as high as 15Gbps. The device has one a single SM expansion slot, a Network Interface Module slot, two built-in 10-Gigabit Ethernet WAN interfaces, and four integrated 1G Ethernet WAN interfaces. The Cisco Catalyst C8300-2N2S-4T2X router is a two-rack unit appliance that features 12 CPU cores and supports 5G SD-WAN performance and IPsec performance as high as 18Gbps. The device has two SM expansion slots, two Network Interface Module slots, two integrated 10-Gigabit Ethernet WAN interfaces, and four built-in 1-Gigabit Ethernet WAN interfaces. LAN expansion modules offered by Cisco range from a four-port 1G Ethernet switch NIM module to a 50-port Catalyst L2 switch SM module.
Cisco Catalyst 8500 Series Aggregation Edge Routers
The Catalyst 8500 Series Aggregation Edge routers are fixed form factor, 1RU aggregation routers for SD-WAN and colocation deployments. Built-in features include route processor, embedded services processor (ESP), plus aggregation hardware for multiple interfaces and connectivity choices. IPsec throughput is twice that of Cisco's prior generation ASR1001-X router. Available connectivity alternatives include 1GE to 100 GE WAN ports. These routers come with redundant power units for enhanced resilience. Software subscription packages provide continuing use of Cisco DNA Center Software for SD-WAN and routing and offer unified management of cybersecurity, application-aware policies, segmentation, and cloud connectivity optimization.
The Catalyst C8500L-8S4X Aggregation Edge router is designed to provide a similar key features as Cisco's ASR 1000 appliance. The C8500L-8S4X comes with four 1/10GE WAN interfaces and can deliver as high as 20 Gbps aggregate performance. SD-WAN IPsec performance can reach 19Gbps. The Catalyst C8500-12X router includes 12 integrated 1/10GE WAN interfaces and supports as high as 120 Gbps Cisco Express Forwarding aggregate performance. SD-WAN IPsec performance is up to 51 Gbps. The C8500-12X4QC aggregation router comes with four built-in 1/10GE WAN interfaces and eight 1G ports and delivers up to 200 Gbps aggregate throughput. SD-WAN IPsec throughput can reach 68 Gbps.
Cisco Integrated Services G2 Routers
Cisco's Integrated Services Generation 2 routers are designed to offer branch offices of enterprises with advanced collaboration, virtualization, protection, and dependable WAN access. ISR Generation 2 routers introduce an architecture that protects prior investments in modules for first-generation Integrated Services Routers and reduces down-the-line expenses by permitting easy upgrades to new modules as they are developed. Compared to older ISR routers, Cisco's Integrated Services Generation 2 routers feature 2-7 times higher throughput, substantially greater expandability, and more affordable maintenance. All Cisco Integrated Services G2 routers offer Gbit switching and incorporate multi-core processors and ultra-fast fabric for higher performance. ISR Generation 2 routers also offer intelligent power management for better energy efficiency.
A key advance with ISR Generation 2 routers is the IOS Software Universal image which contains all of the Cisco IOS feature sets so that your company can rapidly authorize and deploy new functions when desired without having to acquire and transfer a different IOS Software image over to yourCisco router. Progent's group of CCIE-certified network consultants can provide world-class expertise to assist you to design, configure, and support multi-location deployments of Cisco ISR G2 routers that enhance branch office productivity and reduce the price of expansion and support.
Cisco's ISR 800 Line of Routers
Cisco's 800 Series of ISR routers has been superseded by the faster Cisco ISR 900 series but remains widely deployed. Cisco's comprehensive portfolio of 800 Series ISR routers is made up of desktop, fanless devices intended for small businesses, branch locations, retail venues, teleworkers, and customers of ISPs. Many devices in Cisco's 800 Series product line have been released with various options over many years. The 881 Series of ISR routers exemplifies the wide array of options available within the Cisco 800 line of routers. Models in Cisco's 881 router portfolio can enable unified media networks by providing IP voice and video, Wi-Fi and cellular wireless and data in one integrated appliance. Built-in security can include encryption, VPN, firewall, and URL filtering. For business continuity, available features for 881 ISR routers include duplicate WAN links or support for landline broadband WAN links like DSL plus multiple different 3G and 4G wireless connections all built into a single desktop appliance.
The basic Cisco 881 features a 4-port 10/100-Mbps managed switch that delivers 15 Mbps throughput, support for 20 users, 2-port integrated Power over Ethernet, and IPv6 compatibility. The Cisco 881W ISR router includes 802.11g/n Wi-Fi. The 881 SRST router features four FXS ports and 1 FXO port for PSTN failover with Cisco Survivable Remote Site Telephony. With a Cisco CUBE feature license, the Cisco 881 ISR router supports SIP trunk connectivity as a replacement for outdated PRI lines or FXO voice connectivity to a PSTN service provider. CUBE-based SIP trunks can also connect offsite call agents in Cisco Call Center environments.
Cisco 4000 Series Integrated Services Routers
The Cisco 4000 Series Integrated Services Routers are modular and expandable platforms designed for businesses with a large number of branches and offsite workers requiring direct communication with in-house data centers as well as public clouds via VPN tunnels and the Internet. Cisco's 4000 series provides the throughput needed for hybrid WAN environments to accommodate mobile users, Cloud-based services, and HD multimedia applications by using WAN optimization, deep packet inspection, and advanced traffic-management technology. Models in Cisco's ISR 4000 Series are powered by Cisco's powerful IOS XE operating system, come in a 1RU or 2RU form factor, are able to handle as much as 2 Gbps of traffic, and can have up to 3 interface slots, 2 service module slots, 4 integrated 10/100/1000 Ethernet switches, and 8 CPU core server modules. Cisco ISR 4000 models can support integrated Gigabit Ethernet, T1/E1, T3/E3, PR1, xDSL and other interfaces. To handle unified communications, Cisco's 400o ISR offers extensive edge support technology for policy-enhanced session border control, branch telephony fault tolerance, and Time Division Multiplexing gateways.
The main difference between the Cisco 4400 and 4300 Series is dual power supply capability in the 4400 ISR Series, providing a higher degree of availability. Cisco's 4321 ISR Router has a 1 RU desktop package and includes two network interface modules, offers up to 100 Mbps throughput, and supports 240 Digital Voice/Video Channels. The 4331 Integrated Services Router comes in a 1 RU form factor and includes two NIMs, offers up to 300 Mbps performance, and supports 360 Digital Voice/Video Channels. Cisco's 4351 Integrated Services Router comes in a 2 RU form factor and includes three network interface modules, delivers up to 400 Mbps performance, and can handle 720 Digital Voice/Video Channels. The power-redundant 4431 router features a 2 RU form factor and includes three network interface modules, provides up to 1 Gbps performance, and allows up to 720 Digital Voice/Video Channels. The fault-tolerant 4431 ISR Router has a 2 RU package with three NIMs, offers as much as 2 Gbps performance, and supports 1200 Digital Voice and Video Channels.
Cisco's Midrange WAN Aggregation Routers and Carrier-class Routers
Cisco's WAN edge and service provider routers offer larger businesses with high-performance, protected head ends to manage branch office and off-site traffic and to offer carriers cost-optimized wide area network edge solutions. Cisco's WAN aggregation and carrier router portfolio includes the ASR 1000 routers and the 9000 ASR family.
Progent's national team of Cisco CCIE network engineers have in-depth experience working with global businesses and Internet service providers to design efficient deployments and seamless upgrades of Cisco's midrange and carrier-class routers. Progent's GIAC-certified information assurance experts can provide objective, third-party network security inventory evaluations, penetration testing and comprehensive Security information and Event Management (SIEM) solutions to help companies with Cisco's WAN aggregation routers to meet business guidelines and statutory requirements for network data security and incident reporting.
Cisco ASR 1000 Series Aggregation Services Routers
Cisco's ASR 1000 WAN Edge family of routers is designed to fill the center of Cisco's midrange products that concentrate on aggregating services at the WAN edge. Cisco's ASR 1000 routers offer a small footprint, single-product answer for enterprises who need satellite office aggregation at supergigabit Ethernet speeds. ASR 1000 Aggregation Services routers introduce an innovative design that mixes hardware acceleration with programmable flexibility in order to deliver a rich set of concurrent services without sacrificing dependable performance.
Cisco's ASR 1000 routers include Cisco's new QuantumFlow Processor incorporating 40 purpose-built Packet Processing Engines that together can support as many as 160 simultaneous processor threads. This massive parallelism, in conjunction with hardware acceleration for all services, allows the high-end ASR 1006 WAN Edge router to scale up to 128 hardware queues, 32,000 subscribers, 4,000 IP security VPN tunnels at 10,000 sessions/second, and 2 million Netflow log records. This CPU power allows ASR 1000 Series Aggregation Services routers to support a variety of sophisticated services concurrently in massive volume while avoiding throughput decay that could threaten compliance with SLAs. These advanced services include Cisco Firewall, intrusion-detection services, NAT, FPM, and in-line deep packet inspection. The Cisco ASR 1000 also permits sophisticated traffic management for performing numerous levels of Quality of Service to a packet in a single operation, improving the user experience for resource-intensive IP voice and video applications.
Cisco ASR 9000 Series Aggregation Services Routers
Cisco ASR 9000 Series Aggregation Services Routers are designed as edge routers for service providers who need to deliver world-class data, voice and video services to home, business, and mobile users by offering continual operation, high speed, and application-aware intelligence. All platforms in the Cisco ASR 9000 Series of Routers run Cisco's IOS XR, a self-healing, distributed OS built for continuous uptime. Throughput of the ASR 9000 family of Aggregation Services Routers can be expanded up to 96 Tbps per chassis. the ASR 9000 line of Aggregation Services Routers can handle high-density Gigabit Ethernet, 10 GE, and 100 GE and have fully redundant fabric and power supply, power entry modules, and fan trays plus redundant control planes and switch fabric.
The Cisco ASR 9001 platform is a carrier-edge router in a 6 RU package that delivers 120 Gbps of nonblocking fabric capacity. The ASR 9001 has two modular bays to support adapters for 1 GE, 10 GE, and 40 GE. The chassis has four 10 GE SFP+ ports and ports for Stratum 1 clocking, building integrated timing supply (BITS), and management. The Cisco ASR 9904 Router comes in a 6 RU form factor and provides line-rate 10 and 100 Gigabit Ethernet connectivity in space-limited sites. The 4-slot ASR 9094 can support up to 4 Tbps of switching capacity in one box. The ASR 9912 platform comes in a 30 RU chassis and includes 12 slots slots able to handle up to 550 Gbps of switching capacity. The Cisco ASR 9912 has 2 route CPUs and 6+1 Fabric Cards to provide N+1 redundancy.
Ways Progent's Consultants Can Help Your Business with Cisco Router Products
Progent's Cisco certified engineers can assist your business to design, setup, and manage a converged business network that can streamline operations, lower costs, and accelerate time to positive return on investment. By combining Cisco integrated services routers with Catalyst switches expertise and Cisco Catalyst and Meraki Wi-Fi wireless expertise, Progent can dramatically enhance the business value of your integrated network. Progent can provide onsite and remote support and offers data center support throughout the U.S.
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