Generally, routers rely on CPUs to move traffic using complex software, offering versatility at the expense of speed. Switches, on the other hand, depend on largely predefined hardware configurations to send traffic at the highest possible rate. The current generation of routers usually include Layer 2 switches, and many modern switches include some Layer 3 routing capability. Routers developed by Cisco, the supplier of 90% of the industry's routers, have advanced significantly in function and speed and Cisco offers a comprehensive product line that includes routers designed to handle the requirements of users from households to nationwide ISPs.
The most recent Integrated Services Routers released by Cisco have the performance and built-in features to support IP voice and video as well as virtualization while at the same time offering high availability, remote administration, easy scalability, and advanced security and compliance. These routers enable your company to build a solid basis for an information network that can grow seamlessly as you hire new workers, open extra sites, deploy new capabilities, give access to your network to clients and vendors, and build an an increasingly mobile workforce. Progent's Cisco qualified CCIE network consultants offer fast and economical online support to help you to plan, deploy, administer, upgrade, and troubleshoot Cisco's most advanced router technology and can help you to maintain your legacy routers or migrate non-disruptively to Cisco's current router solutions.
Cisco Routers Designed for Home and Small Offices and Branches
Cisco's routers for smaller companies and remote offices provide affordable and reliable no-frills alternatives that enable limited sets of workers to have secure access to wide area networks. All these fixed-configuration desktop devices include at least four Ethernet switches with wireless options plus built-in firewall to provide advanced security. Designed for easy installation, management, and troubleshooting, Cisco's small business and home routers reduce ownership costs by cutting acquisition and maintenance expenses. Progent's online troubleshooting experts have extensive experience providing immediate and economical IT help for small companies to set up and support these routers, and Progent's CCIE network engineers can assist you to determine whether and how Cisco's entry-level routers can increase the business value of your information system.
ISR 900 Series Routers
The Cisco ISR 900 Series routers are small-footprint, quiet, fixed-configuration appliances intended for small to medium-sized businesses, branch offices, and home offices. These entry-level routers include four GE switch ports and offer Metro Ethernet, LTE, and DSL WAN connectivity. Cisco's ISR 900 router product line provides three times the IPsec performance of the ISR 800 Series routers. All ISR 900 models feature GETVPN, dynamic multipoint virtual private network VPN (DMVPN), FlexVPN, and firewall. VPN throughput is as high as 250 Mbps. All router versions support up to 50 VLANs. Supported automatic failover technology for high availability and business continuity include Virtual Router Redundancy Protocol (VRRP), 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. Cisco ISR 900 Series routers do not work with Cisco SD-WAN.
The Cisco ISR 921 router features dual GE WAN, Category 4 LTE, and an internal power supply. GE WAN VPN throughput is 150 Mbps. Cisco's ISR 926 and ISR 927 models have external power supplies and support one GE WAN interface, Category 4 LTE, VDSL2 and ADSL2/2+ high-speed broadband. GE WAN VPN throughput for both devices is 150 Mbps. The top-of-the-line ISR 931 supports dual GE WAN ports and includes an internal power supply. VPN performance is 250 Mbps.
Cisco Meraki MX Series SD-WAN Security Appliances
The Cisco Meraki MX series of desktop routers provide software-defined wide area networking and cloud-based unified threat management (UTM) in one small-footprint appliance able to support 50 to 200 users. Every MX series appliance must be licensed for the Meraki cloud. For venues with several WAN network connections (e.g., MPLS, fiber optic, cellular), SD-WAN technology permits admins to assign the WAN connection a given application uses or to build performance-based algorithms to determine the appropriate connection. Cisco Meraki MX fixed-configuration desktop routers share important features that include:
Cisco 1000 Series ISR Enterprise Branch Routers
Cisco 1000 and 1100 Series Integrated Services Routers using Cisco IOS XE software are a selection of fanless routers designed to provide network service, wireless access, and multilayer cybersecurity for SMBs, enterprise branches, retail outlets, customer premises equipment (CPE), and M2M venues. Multiple parallel processing cores and the ability to run Cisco IOS XE software allow these routers to offer capabilities consistent with Cisco's complete line of Enterprise routers. 1000 and 1100 Series ISR routers are available with 4 or 8 LAN switch ports and offer Gigabit Ethernet (GE) packet forwarding. Available features include PoE and PoE+, zero-touch provisioning, plus a selection of integrated or pluggable connections including LAN, WAN, WLAN, VDSL2/ADSL2+, 4G LTE wireless, 802.11ac wireless, and SFP. Cisco 1000 and 1100 Series ISR models can be used with Cisco's SD-WAN subscription services for transparent multi-cloud access, advanced cybersecurity, and centralized management across hybrid network models of any complexity.
Cisco's 1RU or desktop ISR 1100-4G router includes four integrated GE ports, built-in 3G/4G LTE with two LTE antenna SMA connectors, and a micro-SIM plug-in slot. Encryption packet processing throughput is 200 Mbps. The ISR 1100-6G router also includes two 1G SFP Fiber connections and features encryption throughput of 520 Mbps. Cisco's desktop 1101-4P ISR router comes with four integrated switched GE interfaces, supports 802.11ac Wi-Fi and 3G/4G LTE, and features encryption performance of 280 Mbps. The 1109-2P/4P ISR desktop routers have two or four built-in GE connections and two pluggable 3G/4G LTE ports. Encryption throughput is 200 Mbps.
The Cisco 1RU or desktop ISR 111x-4P/8P routers include four or eight integrated GE interfaces (two or four with PoE) and feature VDSL2/ADSL2+, 802.11ac, 3G/4G LTE wireless, and 1G SFP. Encryption rate is 280 Mbps. Cisco's rackmount or desktop 1111X-8P ISR router has eight integrated switched GE connections (four with Power over Ethernet) and supports 1G SFP. Encryption packet processing throughput is 340 Mbps. The 112x-8P ISR router features eight integrated switched GE connections with PoE and supports SHDSL, VDSL2/ADSL2+, 802.11ac, 3G/4G LTE wireless, and 1G SFP. Encryption performance is 340 Mbps. Cisco's 1161X-8P ISR router includes eight built-in GE interfaces with Power over Ethernet and provides 3G/4G LTE and SFP. Encryption rate is 450 Mbps.
Catalyst 8000 Series WAN Edge Platforms for SD-WAN and Routing
Cisco Catalyst 8000 line of routers are modular devices intended to operate at the WAN edge to support hybrid network environments that can include multiple public and private clouds and cloud-hosted applications. Catalyst 8000 devices are powered by Cisco IOS XE SD-WAN Software and offer expandability, intelligent cloud security, and 5G access. Performance is optimized using custom silicon, a multicore design, high port density, and line-rate encryption. Cisco's subscription software services provide continual access to current SD-WAN technology and enable centralized management with advanced cybersecurity, application-optimized policies, segmentation, and cloud integration.
Catalyst 8200 Series WAN Edge Routers
Catalyst 8200 routers are successors to Cisco's 4300 Series ISRs, delivering higher IPsec performance and scale, hardware-accelerated encryption, plus greater built-in WAN port density. These 1RU routers are designed to provide Cisco's Secure Access Service Edge (SASE), Software-Defined WAN and 5G-connection technology to enterprise branches and the enterprise WAN edge. Cisco's Catalyst C8200L-1N-4T model includes four CPU cores, supports 500 Mbps IPsec traffic, and permits 1,500 SD-WAN tunnels. The Catalyst 8200L platform does not support container-based apps. The Catalyst C8200-1N-4T model features eight CPU cores, delivers 1Gb IPsec throughput, supports 2,500 SD-WAN tunnels, and enables edge computing with existing container models. Both appliances include one NIM slot, one PIM slot, two 1G Ethernet WAN ports, and two 1G Ethernet WAN Small-Form-Factor Pluggable (SFP) interfaces. 4-port and 8-port 1 Gigabit Ethernet switch NIM modules are supported by both 8200 routers.
Catalyst 8300 WAN Edge Routers
Catalyst 8300 Series WAN Edge routers are intended to supersede Cisco's 4400 family of ISR Routers, providing Cisco's secure SD-WAN architecture to medium-sized and large enterprise branches looking for high WAN IPSec performance with integrated SD-WAN services. Enhanced capabilities include 5G wireless connectivity, built-in cybersecurity, WAN MACSec, enhanced Layer 2 switching, and Deep Packet Inspection with application optimization. Catalyst 8300 routers enable edge computing for an existing container architecture for Cisco UCS-E modules available on Cisco's 4000 Series ISR appliances. All models in the Catalyst 8300 Series portfolio allow 4,000 SD-WAN tunnels and include backup power supplies for improved uptime.
The Catalyst 8300-1N1S-6T router is a one-rack unit appliance that features eight CPU cores and offers 2G SD-WAN throughput and IPsec data rates of up to 1.9Gbps. The unit includes a single SM expansion slot, one NIM slot, and six built-in 1G Ethernet WAN ports. The Catalyst 8300-2N2S-6T device is a 2RU router that features 8 CPU cores and offers 2G SD-WAN throughput and IPsec data rates as high as 1.9Gbps. The model has 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 offers 5G SD-WAN data rates and IPsec data rates as high as 15Gbps. The appliance has one one SM plug-in slot, one Network Interface Module slot, two built-in 10-Gigabit Ethernet WAN ports, and four integrated 1G Ethernet WAN interfaces. The Catalyst C8300-2N2S-4T2X model is a two-rack unit device that features 12 CPU cores and supports 5G SD-WAN performance and IPsec performance as high as 18Gbps. The unit has two SM plug-in slots, two Network Interface Module slots, two integrated 10-Gigabit Ethernet WAN interfaces, and four built-in 1G Ethernet WAN interfaces. LAN modules modules offered by Cisco range from a four-port 1-Gigabit Ethernet switch NIM module to a 50-port Catalyst L2 switch SM module.
Catalyst 8500 Series Aggregation Edge Routers
The Catalyst 8500 Series Aggregation Edge routers are fixed, 1RU aggregation appliances for SD-WAN and colocation environments. Integrated features include route processor, embedded services processor, plus aggregation hardware for various connection choices. IPsec throughput is double compared to Cisco's prior generation ASR1001-X router. Flexible connectivity options include 1GE, 10GE, 40GE, and 100GE WAN ports. 8500 Series routers come with redundant power units for improved resilience. Software subscription suites allow ongoing use of Cisco DNA Center Software for SD-WAN and routing and offer centralized management of security, application-aware policies, segmentation, and cloud support.
The Catalyst C8500L-8S4X router is intended to provide the same experience as Cisco's ASR 1000 appliance. The C8500L-8S4X comes with four 1/10GE WAN ports and delivers up to 20 Gbps aggregate performance. SD-WAN IPsec performance is up to 19Gbps. The Catalyst C8500-12X appliance has 12 integrated 1/10GE WAN interfaces and supports up to 120 Gbps aggregate performance. SD-WAN IPsec throughput can reach 51 Gbps. The C8500-12X4QC unit includes four integrated 1/10GE WAN ports and eight 1G interfaces and can support up to 200 Gbps aggregate performance. SD-WAN IPsec performance can reach 68 Gbps.
Cisco ISR Generation 2 Routers
Cisco's ISR Generation 2 routers are designed to offer branch offices of large businesses with advanced video and voice applications, virtualization, protection, and reliable connectivity. Integrated Services G2 routers feature a design that preserves prior investments in service modules for first-generation Integrated Services Routers and lowers down-the-line costs by allowing field upgrades to additional modules as they become available. Compared to previous Integrated Services Routers, Cisco's ISR Generation 2 routers feature 2-7 times higher performance, far more, and more affordable support. All ISR G2 routers offer gigabit switching and incorporate multi-core processors and ultra-fast fabric for faster performance. ISR Generation 2 routers also support smart power control for better energy conservation.
A key advance with ISR Generation 2 routers is the Cisco IOS Software Universal image which includes all of the IOS feature sets so that your company can quickly authorize and activate new features when required without having to download and transfer a new IOS Software image over to yourCisco router. Progent's group of CCIE-certified network engineers can provide world-class expertise to assist you to design, configure, and maintain multi-location installations of Cisco Integrated Services Generation 2 routers that improve branch office efficiency and cut the price of upgrades and maintenance.
Cisco's ISR 800 Line of Routers
The 800 Series of ISR routers has been functionally replaced by the higher performance Cisco ISR 900 series but is still widely deployed. Cisco's comprehensive line of 800 Series ISR routers consists of desktop, fanless appliances intended for small businesses, branch offices, retail shops, teleworkers, and clients of ISPs. A wealth of devices in the 800 product line have been developed with many options for many years. Cisco's 881 line of ISR routers exemplifies the wide array of options offered within the Cisco 800 Series product family. Various models in Cisco's 881 router catalog can enable unified media environments by providing voice and video, wireless and data in one integrated router and switch. Advanced data protection can include encryption, VPN, firewall, and URL filtering. For survivability, available features for Cisco 881 ISR routers include redundant WAN connections or support for landline high-speed WAN connections like DSL plus multiple different cellular 3G and 4G wireless WAN connections all on a single appliance.
The baseline Cisco 881 includes a 4-port fast Ethernet managed switch that delivers 15 Mbps throughput, support for 20 users, 2-port integrated PoE, and IPv6 support. The Cisco 881W ISR router includes 802.11g/n Wi-Fi. The 881 SRST router features 4 FXS ports and 1 FXO port for public-switched-telephone-network (PSTN) fallback with Cisco Survivable Remote Site Telephony. With a Cisco Unified Border Element (CUBE) feature license, the Cisco 881 ISR router supports SIP trunk connectivity to replace legacy PRI lines or FXO voice connectivity to a PSTN service provider. CUBE-based SIP trunks can also support offsite agents in Cisco Call Center environments.
Cisco 4000 Series Integrated Services Routers
Cisco's 4000 Series Integrated Services Routers are compact modular and expandable routers intended for businesses with multiple branches and remote users who need direct access to in-house data centers as well as public clouds across VPNs and the Internet. The 4000 series provides the throughput needed for distributed enterprise sites to accommodate mobile workers, cloud services, and HD video applications by utilizing network optimization, deep packet inspection, and advanced traffic-management technology. Models in Cisco's 4000 family run Cisco's powerful IOS XE software, come in a 1RU or 2RU package, can handle as much as 2 Gbps of traffic, and can have up to 3 network interface module slots, 2 service module slots, 4 built-in Gigabit Ethernet switches, and 8 CPU core integrated server modules. Cisco ISR 4000 models 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 session border control, telephony fault tolerance, and TDM gateways.
The main difference between Cisco's 4400 and 4300 Series is redundant power supply support in the 4400 Series, providing a higher degree of fault tolerance. The 4321 ISR Router has a 1 RU desktop form factor with two network interface modules (NIMs), delivers up to 100 Mbps throughput, and supports 240 Digital Voice/Video Channels. Cisco's 4331 model comes in a 1 RU form factor and includes two NIMs, delivers up to 300 Mbps performance, and allows up to 360 Digital Voice/Video Channels. The 4351 router has a 2 RU package and includes three network interface modules, delivers up to 400 Mbps throughput, and allows up to 720 Digital Voice and Video Channels. The power-redundant 4431 ISR Router features a 2 RU package with three NIMs, provides as much as 1 Gbps throughput, and supports 720 Digital Voice/Video Channels. Cisco's redundant-power 4431 Integrated Services Router features a 2 RU form factor and includes three network interface modules, offers up to 2 Gbps throughput, and allows up to 1200 Digital Voice and Video Channels.
Cisco's WAN Edge Routers and Service Provider Routers
Cisco's WAN aggregation and carrier routers offer larger businesses with high-performance, secure head ends to aggregate satellite office and off-site traffic and to provide service providers cost-optimized wide area network edge routing. Cisco's WAN aggregation and service provider router product line features the ASR 1000 product line and the 9000 Series Aggregation Services family.
Progent's national team of Cisco CCIE certified network engineers have extensive backgrounds helping global businesses and Internet service providers to design optimal deployments and smooth expansion of Cisco's midrange and carrier-class routers. Progent's GIAC-certified information assurance consultants offer unbiased, third-party security inventory evaluations, penetration services and comprehensive Security information and Event Management (SIEM) solutions to help companies with Cisco's WAN aggregation routers to comply with industry standards and government regulations for network information security and incident reporting.
Cisco ASR 1000 Series WAN Edge Routers
Cisco's ASR 1000 Series WAN Edge family of routers is designed to fill the center of Cisco's midrange routers that concentrate on aggregating services at the wide area network edge. ASR 1000 Series Aggregation Services routers provide a small footprint, single-product answer for large businesses who need satellite office service aggregation at multigigabit Ethernet performance. Cisco's ASR 1000 routers introduce a revolutionary design that mixes hardware acceleration with software versatility to deliver a rich set of simultaneous services while preserving consistent performance.
Cisco's ASR 1000 routers include Cisco's proprietary QuantumFlow Processor incorporating 40 custom Packet Processing Engines (PPEs) that together can handle as many as 160 concurrent processor threads. This parallel CPU architecture, in conjunction with hardware acceleration for every service, allows the high-end ASR 1006 Aggregation Services router to expand up to 000 queues, 32K subscribers, 4,000 IPsec VPN tunnels at 10,000 sessions/second, and 2 million Netflow records. This processing power allows Cisco's ASR 1000 Series WAN Edge routers to support a variety of sophisticated services concurrently in massive volume without suffering throughput degradation that might threaten adherence to SLAs. Examples of these services include IOS Firewall, IPS, NAT, FPM, and in-line deep packet inspection. The Cisco ASR 1000 also allows sophisticated traffic control for performing numerous levels of QoS to a data packet in one operation, enhancing responsiveness for resource-intensive voice, video, and conferencing applications.
Cisco ASR 9000 Series Routers
Cisco's ASR 9000 Series Aggregation Services Routers are designed as WAN-edge routers for service providers who need to deliver world-class data, voice and video services to residential, business, and mobile customers by providing always-on operation, high performance, and application-aware intelligence. All platforms in the Cisco ASR 9000 line of Routers run the IOS XR, a distributed OS designed for continuous uptime. Performance of Cisco's ASR 9000 Series of Routers can be expanded up to 96 Tbps per chassis. Cisco's ASR 9000 family of Aggregation Services Routers support Gigabit Ethernet (GE), 10 GE, and 100 GE and feature fully redundant fabric and power modules, power entry modules, plus backup control planes and switch fabric.
The ASR 9001 model is a carrier-edge router that comes in a 6 RU package with 120 Gbps of nonblocking, full-duplex fabric capacity. The Cisco ASR 9001 has two modular bays to support port adapters for 1 GE, 10 GE, and 40 GE. The chassis includes four 10 GE SFP+ ports as well as ports for GPS clocking, building integrated timing supply, and management. The Cisco ASR 9904 Router has a 6 RU form factor and offers dense 10 and 100 Gigabit Ethernet connections in space-limited environments. The 4-slot router can scale up to 4 Tbps of capacity in one box. The Cisco ASR 9912 platform comes in a 30 RU form factor with 12 slots slots able to provide 550 Gbps of switching capacity. The Cisco ASR 9912 has 2 route CPUs as well as 6+1 Fabric Cards for N+1 redundancy.
Ways Progent Can Assist Your Company to Support Cisco Router Products
Progent's CCIE and CCNP certified consultants can assist you to plan, setup, and support an integrated business network that can automate processes, lower expenses, and accelerate time to positive return on investment. By teaming Cisco integrated services routers with Catalyst switches support and Cisco Catalyst and Meraki Wi-Fi wireless expertise, Progent can dramatically enhance the business value of your network infrastructure. Progent offers in-person and off-site support and can provide data center support throughout the U.S.
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