The current generation of routers ordinarily come with Layer 2 switching capability, and many of today's switches have Layer 3 routing capability. Routers developed by Cisco, the supplier of 90% of the industry's routers, have advanced dramatically in capability and speed and Cisco now offers an extensive portfolio that includes routers built to handle the requirements of customers ranging from households to nationwide ISPs.
The latest ISR routers from Cisco have the speed and integrated functionality to support data voice and video plus virtual environments while at the same time offering high availability, web-based administration, seamless extensibility, and advanced security and compliance. These routers enable your company to build a firm basis for an information network that can evolve smoothly as you add new workers, establish extra sites, activate additional capabilities, give access to your network to clients and vendors, and support an an increasingly mobile user base. Progent's Cisco qualified CCIE network consultants can provide fast and affordable online expertise to assist your company to select, deploy, manage, upgrade, and support Cisco's latest routers and can help you to support your legacy routers or migrate efficiently to Cisco's newer networking products.
Cisco Routers Designed for Home Offices and Small Offices and Branches
Cisco's routers for smaller organizations and remote offices offer low-cost and reliable entry-level alternatives that allow limited groups of workers to have secure connectivity to the Internet. These fixed-configuration desktop devices feature at least four Ethernet switches with Wi-Fi options plus integrated firewall to provide enhanced protection. Designed for easy installation, administration, and troubleshooting, Cisco's entry-level routers minimize ownership costs by lowering acquisition and operational expenses. Progent's online support experts have extensive experience providing immediate and affordable IT help for small businesses to set up and maintain these routers, and Progent's Cisco-certified CCIE network engineers can assist you to understand ways Cisco's small office routers can increase the strategic value of your information network.
ISR 900 Series Integrated Services Routers
Cisco's ISR 900 Series desktop routers are small-footprint, quiet, fixed-configuration appliances intended for small to medium-sized businesses, branches, and home offices. These value-priced routers include four managed GE LAN ports and offer Metro Ethernet, LTE, and DSL WAN connections. Cisco's ISR 900 router family delivers three times the IPsec performance of the ISR 800 Series routers. All ISR 900 models offer GETVPN, dynamic multipoint virtual private network VPN (DMVPN), FlexVPN, and firewall. VPN throughput is up to 250 Mbps. All router versions allow up to 50 VLANs. Supported automatic failover technology for business continuity include Virtual Router Redundancy Protocol, HSRP, and Multigroup HSRP. Setup and management can be performed with Cisco CP Express, Cisco DNA Center, and Cisco IOS Software. Cisco ISR 900 Series devices do not support Cisco's SD-WAN solution.
The Cisco ISR 921 router comes with dual GE WAN ports, LTE Cat 4, and a built-in power supply. GE WAN VPN throughput is 150 Mbps. Cisco's ISR 926 and ISR 927 routers have external power supplies and support a single WAN port, Category 4 LTE, VDSL2 and ADSL2/2+. GE WAN VPN throughput for both routers is 150 Mbps. The top-of-the-line Cisco ISR 931 features dual GE WAN and includes an internal power supply. GE WAN VPN performance is 250 Mbps.
Cisco Meraki MX Series SD-WAN Security Appliances
The Cisco Meraki MX line of desktop routers provide software-defined wide area networking and cloud-hosted unified threat management (UTM) in one compact appliance able to handle 50 to 200 users. Every MX series appliance needs to be licensed for the Meraki cloud. For sites having several external network options (e.g., MPLS, fiber optic, cellular), SD-WAN technology allows admins to assign the WAN interface an app should use or to build performance-based algorithms to determine the preferred interface. Cisco Meraki MX fixed-configuration desktop security appliances share important capabilities that include:
Cisco 1000 Series ISR Branch Routers
Cisco 1000 and 1100 family Integrated Services Routers (ISRs) powered by Cisco IOS XE software are a selection of fanless routers intended to provide high-performance network service, wireless access, and advanced cybersecurity for small and midsize businesses, enterprise branch offices, retail stores, customer premises equipment (CPE), and machine-to-machine environments. Parallel processing cores and compatibly with Cisco IOS XE allow these routers to deliver features consistent with Cisco's complete line of modern Enterprise routers. 1000 Series ISR routers are available with 4 or 8 LAN switch ports and offer Gigabit Ethernet packet forwarding. Available features include Power over Ethernet (PoE) and PoE+, zero-touch provisioning, plus a range of built-in or pluggable options including LAN, WAN, wireless LAN, VDSL2/ADSL2+, 3G/4G Advanced wireless, 802.11 wireless, and SFP Fiber. Cisco 1000 and 1100 Series ISR routers work with Cisco's SD-WAN subscription services for transparent multi-cloud access, multilayer security, and cohesive monitoring and management of hybrid network models of any complexity.
Cisco's rackmount or desktop 1100-4G ISR router comes with four built-in GE WAN/LAN ports, built-in 3G/4G LTE with two LTE SMA connectors, and a micro-SIM plug-in slot. Encryption speed is 200 Mbps. The ISR 1100-6G router also includes two 1G SFP connections and features encryption speed of 520 Mbps. Cisco's desktop 1101-4P ISR router comes with four built-in switched GE connections, offers 802.11ac and 3G/4G LTE, and delivers encryption performance of 280 Mbps. The Cisco 1109-2P/4P ISR desktop routers include two or four built-in GE connections and two pluggable 3G/4G LTE ports. Encryption speed is 200 Mbps.
Cisco's 1RU or desktop 111x-4P/8P ISR routers include four or eight built-in GE connections (two or four with PoE) and support VDSL2/ADSL2+, 802.11ac, 3G/4G LTE, and SFP Fiber. Encryption speed is 280 Mbps. Cisco's 1RU or desktop 1111X-8P ISR router has eight switched GE connections (four with POE) and supports SFP Fiber. Encryption performance is 340 Mbps. The 112x-8P ISR router features eight integrated switched GE interfaces with PoE and features SHDSL, VDSL2/ADSL2+, 802.11ac, 3G/4G LTE wireless, and 1G SFP. Encryption packet processing performance is 340 Mbps. The ISR 1161X-8P router has eight integrated GE interfaces with Power over Ethernet and provides 3G/4G LTE wireless and 1G SFP. Encryption packet processing speed is 450 Mbps.
Cisco Catalyst 8000 Series Branch and WAN Edge Platforms for SD-WAN and Routing
Cisco's Catalyst 8000 line of 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 are powered by Cisco IOS XE SD-WAN Software and offer scalability, advanced cloud security, and 5G connectivity. Throughput is enhanced via custom hardware, a multicore design, high port capacity, and line-rate encryption. Cisco's subscription software services provide ongoing access to current SD-WAN technology and enable centralized management with advanced cybersecurity, application-based policies, segmentation, and cloud integration.
Catalyst 8200 Enterprise Branch Edge Routers
Cisco Catalyst 8200 Series routers are upgrades to Cisco's 4300 Series Integrated Services Routers, delivering higher IPsec performance and scale, hardware-accelerated encryption, plus higher integrated WAN port density. These 1RU appliances are built to bring Cisco's Secure Access Service Edge (SASE), Software-Defined WAN and 5G-connection technology to enterprise branch offices and the enterprise WAN edge. The Catalyst C8200L-1N-4T router features four CPU cores, enables 500 Mbps IPsec performance, and allows 1,500 SD-WAN tunnels. The Catalyst 8200L router does not support container-based apps. Cisco's Catalyst C8200-1N-4T router includes eight CPU cores, delivers 1Gb IPsec throughput, supports 2,500 SD-WAN tunnels, and enables edge computing with existing container models. Both appliances include a NIM slot, a Pluggable Interface Module (PIM) slot, two 1 Gigabit Ethernet WAN copper ports, and two 1G Ethernet WAN Small-Form-Factor Pluggable (SFP) interfaces. 4-port and 8-port 1G Ethernet switch NIM modules are available for both 8200 models.
Cisco Catalyst 8300 Enterprise Branch Edge Routers
Catalyst 8300 WAN Edge routers are intended to replace Cisco's 4400 Series Integrated Services Routers, delivering Cisco's secure SD-WAN technology to mid-sized and large company branches looking for high WAN IPSec throughput with integrated SD-WAN services. Enhanced features include 5G wireless support, integrated security, WAN MACSec, enhanced Layer 2 switching, and Deep Packet Inspection with application optimization. Catalyst 8300 routers enable edge computing for an in-place container environment for Cisco UCS-E modules available on Cisco's 4000 line of ISR routers. All models in the Catalyst 8300 portfolio support 4,000 SD-WAN tunnels and feature dual power supplies for high availability.
The Cisco Catalyst 8300-1N1S-6T router is a 1RU device that includes 8 CPU cores and offers 2G SD-WAN throughput and IPsec performance of up to 1.9Gbps. The router includes one Service Module plug-in slot, one NIM slot, and six built-in 1G Ethernet WAN interfaces. The Catalyst 8300-2N2S-6T router is a two-rack unit router that includes 8 CPU cores and delivers 2G SD-WAN throughput and IPsec performance of up to 1.9Gbps. The unit has two Service Module expansion slots, two Network Interface Module slots, and six built-in 1-Gigabit Ethernet WAN ports. The Cisco Catalyst C8300-1N1S-4T2X router is a one-rack unit appliance that has eight CPU cores and supports 5G SD-WAN data rates and IPsec performance up to 15Gbps. The unit has one a single SM plug-in slot, one Network Interface Module slot, two built-in 10-Gigabit Ethernet WAN ports, and four fixed 1G Ethernet WAN ports. The Catalyst C8300-2N2S-4T2X router is a two-rack unit device that includes 12 CPU cores and supports 5G SD-WAN throughput and IPsec throughput up to 18Gbps. The device includes two SM expansion slots, two NIM slots, two built-in 10-Gigabit Ethernet WAN interfaces, and four integrated 1G Ethernet WAN ports. LAN expansion modules offered by Cisco range from a four-port 1G Ethernet switch Network Interface Module 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, 1RU aggregation appliances for SD-WAN and colocation environments. Integrated features include route processor, ESP, plus aggregation hardware for multiple interfaces and connectivity choices. IPsec performance is double compared to Cisco's earlier generation ASR1001-X aggregation services router. Flexible interface alternatives include 1GE, 10GE, 40GE, and 100GE WAN ports. These routers include redundant power supplies for enhanced resilience. Software subscription suites provide ongoing use of Cisco DNA Center Software for SD-WAN and routing and offer centralized management of cybersecurity, application-based policies, network segmentation, and cloud connectivity optimization.
The Catalyst C8500L-8S4X Aggregation Edge router is designed to offer a similar experience as Cisco's ASR 1000 router. The C8500L-8S4X has four 1/10GE WAN interfaces and offers as high as 20 Gbps aggregate data rates. SD-WAN IPsec throughput can reach 19Gbps. The Catalyst C8500-12X appliance has 12 built-in 1/10GE WAN interfaces and supports up to 120 Gbps aggregate throughput. SD-WAN IPsec throughput is up to 51 Gbps. The C8500-12X4QC unit includes four built-in 1/10GE WAN ports and eight 1G interfaces and delivers up to 200 Gbps aggregate performance. SD-WAN IPsec performance can reach 68 Gbps. The C8500-20X6C router comes with 20 integrated SFP+ interfaces and six x QSFP+ ports. The C8500-20X6C supports up to 500 Gbps Cisco Express Forwarding aggregate performance.
Cisco ISR G2 Routers
Cisco's ISR Generation 2 routers are intended to offer branch offices of enterprises with advanced video and voice applications, virtual networking, security, and reliable WAN access. Integrated Services G2 routers introduce an architecture that protects past investments in modules for older Integrated Services Routers and reduces down-the-line expenses by allowing field installation of additional modules when they become available. Compared to older Integrated Services Routers, Cisco's ISR G2 routers feature 2-7 times more performance, far more, and easier support. All Cisco Integrated Services Generation 2 routers offer gigabit switching and include multi-core CPUs and ultra-fast fabric for higher performance. Integrated Services Generation 2 routers also support smart power control for better energy conservation.
A major advance with Integrated Services G2 routers is the Cisco IOS Universal image which includes all of the Cisco IOS technology sets so that your company can rapidly authorize and activate extra features when desired without having to acquire and copy a different IOS Software image to yourrouter. Progent's team of Cisco-certified CCIE network consultants offer proven expertise to assist your business to design, implement, and support multi-location installations of Cisco Integrated Services Generation 2 routers that enhance branch office efficiency and reduce the price of upgrades and maintenance.
Cisco's ISR 800 Family of Routers
The 800 Series of ISR routers has been functionally replaced by the faster Cisco ISR 900 line but is still widely deployed. Cisco's extensive line of 800 Series ISR routers is made up of desktop appliances intended for small businesses, branch locations, retail venues, teleworkers, and clients of broadband service providers. Many devices in the 800 Series product line have been developed with various options over the course of many years. Cisco's 881 Series of ISR routers exemplifies the vast selection of options offered within Cisco's 800 product family. Models in Cisco's 881 Series router portfolio can support unified media networks by providing voice and video, wireless and data in a single integrated router and switch. Advanced security can include encryption, VPN, firewall, and URL filtering. For business continuity, available features for 881 ISR routers include duplicate wide area network links or support for landline broadband WAN links like DSL as well as multiple 3G and 4G wireless WAN connections all on one desktop appliance.
The basic Cisco 881 router features a 4-port fast Ethernet managed switch that delivers 15 Mbps throughput, the ability to handle up to 20 users, 2-port integrated Power over Ethernet, and IPv6 support. The Cisco 881W router supports 802.11g/n Wi-Fi. The 881 SRST router includes four FXS ports and 1 FXO port for 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 outdated Primary Rate Interface (PRI) lines or FXO voice connectivity to a PSTN service provider. SIP trunks can also support offsite agents in Cisco Call Center deployments.
Cisco 4000 Series Integrated Services Routers
Cisco's 4000 Line of ISR Routers are modular and expandable routers designed for organizations with multiple branch offices and offsite workers who need direct communication with in-house data centers as well as public clouds across VPNs and the Internet. Cisco's 4000 series provides the bandwidth required for distributed enterprise sites to support mobile users, Cloud-based services, and HD video applications by utilizing WAN optimization, deep packet inspection, and traffic-management technology. Devices in the ISR 4000 Series are powered by Cisco's powerful IOS XE operating system, come in a 1RU or 2RU form factor, can support as much as 2 Gbps of throughput, and can include up to 3 network interface module slots, 2 service module slots, 4 built-in Gigabit Ethernet switches, and 8 CPU core server modules. Cisco ISR 4000 models can support integrated Gigabit Ethernet, T1/E1, T3/E3, PRI and xDSL. For unified communications, Cisco's 400o ISR offers comprehensive edge support technology for policy-enhanced session border control, branch telephony fault tolerance, and Time Division Multiplexing gateways.
The main difference between Cisco's 4400 ISR and 4300 Series Routers is the inclusion of dual power supply capability in the 4400 Series, offering a higher degree of fault tolerance. The 4321 ISR Router has a 1 RU desktop form factor and includes two network interface modules (NIMs), delivers up to 100 Mbps performance, and can handle 240 Digital Voice and Video Channels. Cisco's 4331 model comes in a 1 RU form factor and includes two NIMs, delivers up to 300 Mbps throughput, and allows up to 360 Digital Voice/Video Channels. Cisco's 4351 model comes in a 2 RU package and includes three NIMs, provides up to 400 Mbps throughput, and allows up to 720 Digital Voice and Video Channels. The dual power supply 4431 model has a 2 RU form factor with three network interface modules, delivers as much as 1 Gbps performance, and supports 720 Digital Voice/Video Channels. The redundant-power 4431 ISR Router comes in a 2 RU form factor and includes three NIMs, provides as much as 2 Gbps throughput, and allows up to 1200 Digital Voice and Video Channels.
Cisco's Midrange WAN Aggregation Routers and Service Provider Routers
Cisco's WAN edge and carrier routers can provide enterprises with fast, secure head ends to aggregate branch office and remote user data packets and to provide service providers cost-effective wide area network edge routing. Cisco's WAN aggregation and service provider router product line features the Cisco ASR 1000 routers and the 9000 Series Aggregation Services routers.
Progent's nationwide team of CCIE certified network experts have extensive backgrounds working with enterprises and Internet service providers to design optimal installations and smooth upgrades of Cisco's WAN edge routers. Progent's GIAC-certified information assurance experts can provide objective, third-party security inventory assessments, stealth penetration testing services and advanced Security information and Event Management (SIEM) solutions to help enterprises with Cisco's WAN aggregation routers to comply with business guidelines and statutory regulations for network data protection and reporting.
Cisco ASR 1000 WAN Edge Routers
Cisco's ASR 1000 Series Aggregation Services family of routers is positioned in the center of Cisco's midrange products that focus on acting as headends at the wide area network edge. ASR 1000 Aggregation Services routers provide a small form factor, multi-function answer for enterprises looking for branch office aggregation at supergigabit Ethernet speeds. ASR 1000 Series Aggregation Services routers incorporate an innovative design that combines hardware acceleration with software versatility to offer a rich set of simultaneous services while preserving dependable responsiveness.
ASR 1000 Series routers feature Cisco's proprietary QuantumFlow Processor made up of 40 purpose-built Packet Processing Engines that together can support up to 160 simultaneous threads. This massive parallelism, in conjunction with on-board acceleration for every service, enables the top-of-the-line ASR 1006 router to expand up to 128K queues, 32,000 subscribers, 4,000 IP security tunnels at 10,000 sessions/second, and 2M Netflow log records. This processing power permits Cisco's ASR 1000 Series routers to deliver a wide variety of sophisticated services simultaneously in high volume while avoiding performance decay that might compromise compliance with service level agreements. These advanced services include Cisco Firewall, intrusion-detection services, NAT, Flexible Packet Matching, and deep packet inspection. The Cisco ASR 1000 also permits tiered traffic control for applying 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 Routers are designed as WAN-edge routers for service providers who are required to support world-class data, voice and video services to residential, commercial, and mobile customers by providing non-stop operation, high speed, and application awareness. All platforms in the Cisco ASR 9000 portfolio of Routers run the IOS XR, a self-healing, distributed OS built for non-stop availability. Throughput of the ASR 9000 line of Routers can scale to as high as 96 Tbps per chassis. the ASR 9000 family of Routers can handle Gigabit Ethernet (GE), 10 Gigabit Ethernet, and 100 GE and have fully redundant fabric and power supply, power entry modules, and fan trays plus redundant switch fabric.
The Cisco ASR 9001 model is a provider-edge router in a 6 RU package with 120 Gbps of full-duplex fabric capacity. The ASR 9001 has two modular bays which can accept adapters for 1 GE, 10 GE, and 40 GE. The base chassis incorporates four 10 GE SFP+ ports as well as ports for Stratum 1 clocking, building integrated timing supply, and management. The ASR 9904 Router comes in a 6 RU chassis and provides line-rate 10 and 100 Gigabit Ethernet connectivity in space-limited sites. The 4-slot ASR 9094 can scale up to 4 Tbps of switching capacity in a single chassis. The ASR 9912 platform has a 30 RU form factor and includes 10 line-card slots able to support 550 Gbps of throughput. The ASR 9912 includes 2 route CPUs as well as 6+1 Fabric Cards for N+1 redundancy.
How Progent's Consultants Can Help Your Company to Support Cisco Router Products
Progent's Cisco certified engineers can assist your company to plan, configure, and maintain an integrated business network that can streamline operations, reduce costs, and accelerate time to positive ROI. By teaming Cisco integrated services routers with Catalyst switches expertise and Catalyst and Meraki Wi-Fi wireless integration, Progent can dramatically increase the business value of your integrated network. Progent can provide on-premises and remote troubleshooting and can provide data center support throughout the U.S.
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