The current generation of routers usually incorporate L2 switches, and many modern switches have some Layer 3 routing functionality. Routers offered by Cisco, the source of 90% of the industry's routers, have advanced dramatically in function and speed and Cisco now offers a comprehensive portfolio that includes routers built to handle the requirements of customers ranging from households to nationwide ISPs.
The most recent ISR routers from Cisco have the performance and integrated features to support data voice and video as well as virtual environments while also offering fault tolerance, web-based management, easy extensibility, and advanced security and compliance. Cisco's ISR routers enable your company to build a solid basis for an IT environment that can evolve smoothly as you hire more workers, establish extra offices, activate new services, give access to your system to clients and vendors, and build an expanding mobile user base. Progent's Cisco qualified CCIE network consultants offer immediate and affordable remote support to help you to plan, deploy, administer, upgrade, and support Cisco's latest router technology and can assist you to support your legacy routers or move non-disruptively to Cisco's newer networking products.
Cisco Routers for Home Offices and Small Offices and Branch Offices
Cisco's routers for small organizations and branch offices provide affordable and reliable no-frills solutions that enable limited sets of users to share secure connectivity to wide area networks. These fixed-configuration desktop devices include at least four Ethernet switches with Wi-Fi options and integrated firewall for enhanced security. Designed for simple setup, administration, and support, Cisco's entry-level routers reduce TCO by cutting acquisition and maintenance investments. Progent's online troubleshooting experts have in-depth backgrounds delivering immediate and economical technical help for small organizations to set up and support these routers, and Progent's CCIE network consultants can help you to understand whether and how Cisco's small office routers can increase the business value of your IT system.
ISR 900 Series Routers
The Cisco ISR 900 Series routers are small-footprint, fanless, set-configuration devices designed for SMBs, branch offices, and home offices. These value-priced routers include four managed GE LAN ports and can support Metro Ethernet, LTE, and DSL WAN connections. The ISR 900 router family provides three times the IPsec performance of the ISR 800 Series family of routers. All ISR 900 Series routers offer GETVPN, dynamic multipoint virtual private network VPN (DMVPN), Cisco FlexVPN, and firewall. VPN throughput is up to 250 Mbps. All router versions support up to 50 virtual LANs. Supported dynamic failover protocols for business continuity include VRRP, Hot Standby Router Protocol, and Multigroup HSRP (MHSRP). Provisioning and management can be done with Cisco Configuration Professional Express, Cisco DNA Center, and Cisco IOS Software. ISR 900 Series routers do not work with Cisco SD-WAN.
The Cisco ISR 921 router comes with dual GE WAN, Category 4 LTE, and a built-in power supply. GE WAN VPN throughput is 150 Mbps. Cisco's ISR 926 and ISR 927 routers include external power and feature a single WAN port, Category 4 LTE, VDSL2 and ADSL2/2+ high-speed broadband. VPN performance for both devices is 150 Mbps. The high-performance ISR 931 features 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 family of desktop routers combine software-defined wide area networking (SD-WAN) and cloud-hosted unified threat management (UTM) in a single small-footprint device able to support 50 to 200 users. Each MX series appliance must be licensed for the Meraki cloud. For venues with multiple WAN network options (e.g., MPLS, fiber optic, cellular), SD-WAN technology allows administrators to assign the WAN connection an application should use or to create performance-based rules to determine the appropriate interface. MX fixed-configuration desktop routers share important features including:
Cisco 1000 and 1100 Family ISR Enterprise Branch Routers
Cisco 1000 family Integrated Services Routers running Cisco IOS XE internetworking operating system are a selection of fanless appliances intended to provide high-performance network connectivity, wireless access, and multilayer security for SMBs, enterprise branch offices, retail stores, customer premises equipment (CPE), and machine-to-machine venues. Parallel processing cores and compatibly with Cisco IOS XE enable these routers to deliver capabilities consistent with Cisco's entire line of Enterprise routers. 1000 Series ISR routers are available with 4 or 8 LAN switch ports and offer Gigabit Ethernet (GE) packet forwarding. Various models include PoE and PoE+, auto provisioning, plus a range of integrated or pluggable connections including LAN, WAN, wireless LAN, G.fast DSL, 3G/4G Advanced wireless, 802.11 Wi-Fi, and SFP Fiber. Cisco 1000 family ISR models can be used with Cisco's SD-WAN services for transparent multi-cloud connectivity, advanced cybersecurity, and centralized administration across hybrid networks.
Cisco's 1RU or desktop 1100-4G ISR router includes four built-in GE WAN/LAN ports, built-in 3G/4G LTE wireless with two LTE antenna connectors, and one micro-SIM slot. Encryption packet processing throughput is 200 Mbps. The 1100-6G ISR router also includes two 1G SFP Fiber connections and features encryption speed of 520 Mbps. Cisco's desktop-only 1101-4P ISR router has four integrated switched GE ports, offers 802.11ac as well as 3G/4G LTE, and features encryption throughput of 280 Mbps. The ISR 1109-2P/4p desktop routers include two or four integrated GE ports and two pluggable 3G/4G LTE ports. Encryption speed is 200 Mbps.
The 1RU or desktop 111x-4P/8P ISR routers come with four or eight integrated GE interfaces (two or four with PoE) and feature VDSL2/ADSL2+, 802.11ac Wi-Fi, 3G/4G LTE, and 1G SFP. Encryption rate is 280 Mbps. Cisco's 1RU or desktop ISR 1111X-8P router includes eight integrated GE ports (four with Power over Ethernet) and a port for SFP. Encryption speed is 340 Mbps. The ISR 112x-8P router features eight GE ports with PoE and supports SHDSL, VDSL2/ADSL2+, 802.11ac, 3G/4G LTE wireless, and SFP. Encryption packet processing throughput is 340 Mbps. Cisco's 1161X-8P ISR router features eight built-in switched GE interfaces with Power over Ethernet and supports 3G/4G LTE wireless and SFP Fiber. Encryption packet processing rate is 450 Mbps.
Catalyst 8000 Series Branch and WAN Edge Platforms for SD-WAN and Routing
Cisco Catalyst 8000 Series routers are modular appliances intended to operate at the enterprise branche and the WAN edge in support of hybrid network environments that can incorporate multiple public and private clouds and SaaS applications. All Catalyst 8000 routers use Cisco IOS XE SD-WAN Software and provide expandability, advanced cybersecurity, and 5G connectivity. Throughput is enhanced using custom silicon, a multicore architecture, high port capacity, and in-line encryption. Cisco's subscription software services offer continual access to the latest SD-WAN technology and enable unified management with enhanced security, application-based policies, segmentation, and cloud readiness.
Cisco Catalyst 8200 Enterprise Edge Routers
Cisco Catalyst 8200 Series routers are upgrades to Cisco's 4300 Series Integrated Services Routers, delivering higher IPsec throughput and expandability, accelerated encryption, plus greater built-in WAN port density. These 1RU appliances are designed to bring Cisco's Secure Access Service Edge (SASE), SD-WAN and 5G-connection technology to enterprise branch offices and the enterprise WAN edge. Cisco's Catalyst C8200L-1N-4T model features four CPU cores, supports 500 Mbps IPsec traffic, and permits 1,500 SD-WAN tunnels. The Catalyst 8200L router does not support container-based applications. The Catalyst C8200-1N-4T router includes eight CPU cores, delivers 1Gb IPsec performance, permits 2,500 SD-WAN tunnels, and allows edge computing with existing container architectures. Both appliances include one NIM slot, one PIM slot, two 1G Ethernet WAN copper interfaces, and two 1 Gigabit Ethernet WAN Small-Form-Factor Pluggable ports. 4-port and 8-port 1G Ethernet switch NIM modules are available for both 8200 routers.
Catalyst 8300 Series Enterprise Branch Edge Routers
Catalyst 8300 WAN Edge routers are designed to replace Cisco's 4400 Series ISR Routers, providing Cisco's secure SD-WAN solution to medium-sized and large company branch offices looking for high WAN IPSec performance with integrated SD-WAN services. Enhanced capabilities include 5G wireless connectivity, integrated cybersecurity, WAN MACSec, enhanced Layer 2 switching, and Deep Packet Inspection with application-aware optimization. Cisco Catalyst 8300 routers support edge computing for an existing container environment for Cisco UCS-E modules offered on Cisco's 4000 family of ISR routers. All models in the Cisco Catalyst 8300 line support 4,000 SD-WAN tunnels and include backup power supplies for high availability.
The Cisco Catalyst 8300-1N1S-6T router is a one-rack unit device that includes 8 CPU cores and delivers 2G SD-WAN performance and IPsec data rates of up to 1.9Gbps. The unit includes one SM expansion slot, one Network Interface Module slot, and six integrated 1-Gigabit Ethernet WAN ports. The Catalyst 8300-2N2S-6T device is a two-rack unit router that includes 8 CPU cores and supports 2G SD-WAN throughput and IPsec data rates of up to 1.9Gbps. The model includes two SM expansion slots, two Network Interface Module slots, and six integrated 1G Ethernet WAN interfaces. The Cisco Catalyst C8300-1N1S-4T2X router model is a 1RU device that includes eight CPU cores and delivers 5G SD-WAN throughput and IPsec performance as high as 15Gbps. The unit features one one SM expansion slot, a Network Interface Module slot, two integrated 10-Gigabit Ethernet WAN ports, and four built-in 1-Gigabit Ethernet WAN ports. The Cisco Catalyst C8300-2N2S-4T2X appliance is a two-rack unit appliance that includes 12 CPU cores and supports 5G SD-WAN performance and IPsec throughput as high as 18Gbps. The device includes two Service Module expansion slots, two Network Interface Module slots, two built-in 10-Gigabit Ethernet WAN ports, and four fixed 1-Gigabit Ethernet WAN interfaces. LAN expansion modules available from Cisco range from a 4-port 1-Gigabit Ethernet switch NIM module to a 50-port Catalyst L2 switch SM module.
Cisco Catalyst 8500 Aggregation Edge Routers
The Cisco Catalyst 8500 Aggregation Edge routers are fixed form factor, one-rack unit aggregation routers for SD-WAN and colocation deployments. Integrated features include route processor, ESP, and aggregation hardware for multiple interfaces and connectivity options. IPsec throughput is double compared to Cisco's prior generation ASR1001-X aggregation services router. Available connectivity alternatives include 1GE, 10GE, 40GE, and 100GE WAN ports. 8500 routers include dual AC or DC power supplies for improved availability. Software subscription packages provide continuing access to Cisco DNA Center Software for SD-WAN and routing and offer centralized management of cybersecurity, application-aware policies, network segmentation, and cloud connectivity optimization.
The Cisco Catalyst C8500L-8S4X Aggregation Edge router is intended to provide a similar experience as Cisco's ASR 1000 router. The C8500L-8S4X comes with four 1/10GE WAN ports and delivers as high as 20 Gbps Cisco Express Forwarding aggregate data rates. SD-WAN IPsec performance can reach 19Gbps. The Catalyst C8500-12X appliance has 12 integrated 1/10GE WAN ports and supports as high as 120 Gbps aggregate performance. SD-WAN IPsec throughput can reach 51 Gbps. The C8500-12X4QC unit comes with four integrated 1/10GE WAN ports and eight 1G interfaces and delivers up to 200 Gbps aggregate throughput. SD-WAN IPsec throughput is up to 68 Gbps. Cisco's C8500-20X6C high-density router comes with 20 integrated SFP+ interfaces and six x 40/100GE interfaces. Cisco's C8500-20X6C supports up to 500 Gbps Cisco Express Forwarding aggregate performance.
Cisco ISR G2 Routers
Cisco's Integrated Services G2 routers are intended to offer satellite offices of enterprises with advanced video and voice applications, virtual networking, protection, and dependable WAN access. Integrated Services G2 routers introduce an architecture that preserves prior investments in modules for older ISR routers and lowers future expenses by permitting field installation of additional modules when they are developed. Compared to older Integrated Services Routers, Cisco's Integrated Services Generation 2 routers offer 2-7 times higher throughput, substantially greater expandability, and easier maintenance. All ISR Generation 2 routers offer Gbit switching and include multi-core CPUs and ultra-fast fabric for faster throughput. ISR G2 routers also offer smart power management for better energy conservation.
A notable innovation with Integrated Services G2 routers is the IOS Universal image which includes all of the Cisco IOS feature sets so that your company can quickly license and deploy extra features as desired without needing to download and transfer a different IOS Software image to yourCisco router. Progent's team of CCIE network engineers can provide world-class skills to help your business to plan, configure, and maintain multi-site deployments of Cisco Integrated Services Generation 2 routers that improve satellite office efficiency and reduce the price of expansion and maintenance.
Cisco's ISR 800 Family of Routers
The 800 Series of ISR routers has been superseded by the faster Cisco ISR 900 family but is still widely deployed. Cisco's comprehensive portfolio of 800 Series ISR routers is made up of desktop appliances intended for small businesses, branch locations, retail shops, teleworkers, and customers of broadband service providers. A wealth of models in the 800 product line have been released with various options over many years. Cisco's 881 line of ISR routers exemplifies the wide selection of options available within Cisco's 800 Series product family. Various models in Cisco's 881 Series router catalog can support converged media networks by providing voice and video, Wi-Fi and cellular wireless and data in one integrated router and switch. Built-in security can include encryption, VPN, firewall, and URL filtering. For business continuity, available options for Cisco 881 routers include redundant wide area network links or support for wired high-speed WAN connections such as DSL as well as multiple 3G and 4G wireless WAN connections all built into one desktop appliance.
The basic Cisco 881 router includes a 4-port fast Ethernet managed switch with up to 15 Mbps throughput, the ability to handle 20 users, two-port integrated PoE, and IPv6 compatibility. Cisco's 881W ISR router includes 802.11g/n Wi-Fi. The 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 CUBE license, the Cisco 881 ISR router allows SIP trunking as a replacement for legacy Primary Rate Interface (PRI) lines or FXO voice connectivity to a PSTN service provider. CUBE-based SIP trunks also connect offsite agents in Cisco Call Center environments.
4000 Series ISR Routers
Cisco's 4000 Series Integrated Services Routers are modular and scalable platforms intended for organizations with multiple branches and remote workers requiring direct access to in-house data centers as well as public clouds across VPNs and the Internet. Cisco's 4000 series provides the throughput required for hybrid WAN environments to support mobile workers, cloud services, and HD multimedia applications by using wide area network optimization, deep packet inspection, and advanced traffic-management techniques. Devices in the 4000 family run Cisco's powerful IOS XE operating system, come in a 1-rack-unit (RU) or 2RU form factor, can handle Up to 2 Gbps of traffic, and can have up to 3 network interface slots, 2 service module slots, 4 integrated 10/100/1000 Ethernet ports, and 8 CPU core server modules. Cisco ISR 4000 models can support integrated Gigabit Ethernet, T1/E1, T3/E3, PRI and xDSL. To handle unified communications, Cisco's 400o ISR offers extensive edge support technology for SBC, telephony fault tolerance, and TDM gateways.
The main difference between Cisco's 4400 ISR and 4300 Series Routers is the inclusion of dual power supply capability in the 4400 ISR Series, providing a greater level of availability. Cisco's 4321 Integrated Services Router has a 1 RU desktop form factor and includes two network interface modules (NIMs), offers as much as 100 Mbps performance, and supports 240 Digital Voice/Video Channels. The 4331 Integrated Services Router has a 1 RU form factor with two network interface modules, provides as much as 300 Mbps throughput, and allows up to 360 Digital Voice and Video Channels. The 4351 ISR Router comes in a 2 RU package and includes three network interface modules, offers as much as 400 Mbps performance, and supports 720 Digital Voice/Video Channels. The power-redundant 4431 ISR Router features a 2 RU form factor with three NIMs, provides as much as 1 Gbps performance, and can handle 720 Digital Voice and Video Channels. Cisco's redundant-power 4431 Integrated Services Router features a 2 RU package with three network interface modules, provides up to 2 Gbps throughput, 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 can provide larger businesses with high-performance, secure distribution points to aggregate satellite office and off-site data packets and to provide ISPs cost-optimized WAN edge solutions. Cisco's WAN aggregation and carrier router portfolio features the ASR 1000 routers and the 9000 ASR family.
Progent's national group of Cisco CCIE certified network engineers have extensive experience helping global businesses and ISPs to design optimal installations and seamless expansion of Cisco's WAN edge routers. Progent's GIAC-certified information assurance consultants offer unbiased, independent security vulnerability evaluations, penetration testing and comprehensive SIEM solutions to help companies with Cisco's WAN aggregation routers to meet business standards and statutory requirements for IT data protection and incident reporting.
Cisco ASR 1000 Series WAN Edge Routers
Cisco's ASR 1000 Series Aggregation Services line of routers is designed to fill the middle of Cisco's midrange devices that focus on aggregating services at the wide area network edge. Cisco's ASR 1000 Series Aggregation Services routers provide a small footprint, multi-function answer for enterprises requiring branch office service aggregation at multigigabit Ethernet performance. Cisco's ASR 1000 Aggregation Services routers introduce a revolutionary design that mixes on-board acceleration with software flexibility in order to deliver a multitude of concurrent services without sacrificing dependable performance.
ASR 1000 routers include Cisco's proprietary QuantumFlow Processor incorporating 40 purpose-built Packet Processing Engines that together can handle as many as 160 concurrent threads. This parallel CPU architecture, combined with hardware acceleration for all services, allows the top-of-the-line ASR 1006 WAN Edge router to expand up to 128K queues, 32,000 clients, 4,000 IP security tunnels at 10,000 sessions per second, and 2M Netflow records. This CPU power allows Cisco's ASR 1000 Aggregation Services routers to deliver a variety of advanced services simultaneously in high volume while avoiding performance degradation that could threaten adherence to service level agreements. These services include Cisco Firewall, IPS, Network Address Translation, FPM, and deep packet inspection. The ASR 1000 also permits sophisticated traffic control for performing multiple levels of Quality of Service to a packet in a single operation, improving responsiveness for high-bandwidth IP voice and video applications.
Cisco ASR 9000 Series Aggregation Services Routers
Cisco's ASR 9000 Series Routers are intended as edge routers for service providers who are required to support world-class HD multimedia services to residential, business, and mobile customers by offering continual operation, high performance, and application awareness. All platforms in the Cisco ASR 9000 line of Routers are powered by the IOS XR operating system, a distributed OS designed for continuous availability. Performance of the Cisco ASR 9000 family of Aggregation Services Routers can be expanded to as high as 96 Tbps per chassis. the Cisco ASR 9000 family of Routers can handle high-density Gigabit Ethernet (GE), 10 Gigabit Ethernet, and 100 GE and feature fully redundant fabric and power modules, power entry modules, and fan trays plus redundant control planes.
The Cisco ASR 9001 platform is a provider-edge router in a 6 RU package with 120 Gbps of nonblocking fabric capacity. The ASR 9001 has two modular bays to accept port adapters for 1 Gigabit, 10 Gigabit, and 40 Gigabit Ethernet. The base chassis includes four 10 Gbit Ethernet enhanced Small Form-Factor Pluggable (SFP+) ports as well as ports for GPS clocking, BITS, and management. The ASR 9904 Router has a 6 RU form factor and offers dense 10 and 100 GE connectivity in space-limited sites. The 4-slot ASR 9094 can scale up to 4 Tbps of switching capacity in a single box. The Cisco ASR 9912 Router has a 30 RU form factor with 10 line-card slots able to handle up to 550 Gbps of switching capacity. The ASR 9912 Router incorporates 2 route processors as well as 6+1 Fabric Cards for N+1 redundancy.
Ways Progent Can Assist Your Business with Cisco Router Products
Progent's CCIE certified engineers can assist your company to plan, setup, and maintain an integrated network infrastructure that can streamline processes, lower expenses, and speed time to positive ROI. By combining Cisco routers with Cisco Catalyst switches support and Catalyst and Meraki Wi-Fi wireless integration, Progent can significantly enhance the business value of your integrated network. Progent offers in-person and remote support and offers data center support throughout the U.S.
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