Today's routers typically come with Layer 2 switches, and many modern switches have some Layer 3 routing functionality. Routers developed by Cisco, the supplier of the vast majority of the world's routers, have advanced dramatically in function and performance and Cisco offers an extensive product line that features routers built to meet the needs of users from households to nationwide service providers.
The most recent Integrated Services Routers released by Cisco have the performance and integrated functionality to support data voice and video as well as virtualization while also offering fault tolerance, web-based management, seamless scalability, and advanced protection. Cisco's ISR routers allow your company to establish a firm foundation for an information network that can grow seamlessly as you add new workers, establish new offices, configure additional services, extend your system to clients and partners, and support an an increasingly mobile user base. Progent's Cisco certified CCIE network engineers offer immediate and affordable remote expertise to assist your company to plan, configure, administer, upgrade, and troubleshoot Cisco's most advanced routers and can help you to support your legacy routers or move efficiently to Cisco's newer networking solutions.
Cisco Routers for Home and Small Offices and Branches
Cisco's routers for smaller companies and remote offices offer low-cost and dependable no-frills alternatives that enable small groups of users to have secure access to the Internet. All these single-configuration desktop routers include at least four 10/100 Ethernet ports with wireless options plus built-in firewall to provide advanced protection. Built for easy setup, administration, and support, Cisco's small business and home routers reduce total cost of ownership by lowering acquisition and maintenance investments. Progent's remote support experts have extensive backgrounds delivering immediate and affordable technical help for small organizations to set up and maintain these devices, and Progent's CCIE network engineers can help you to understand how Cisco's small office routers can add to the strategic value of your information network.
Cisco ISR 900 Series Integrated Services Routers
The Cisco ISR 900 Series desktop routers are small-footprint, fanless, fixed-configuration devices designed for small to medium-sized businesses, branch offices, and home offices. These value-priced routers have four managed GE switch ports and can support Metro Ethernet, LTE, and DSL WAN connections. The ISR 900 router family provides triple the IPsec performance of the ISR 800 Series routers. All ISR 900 models offer Group Encrypted TransportVPN (GETVPN), dynamic multipoint virtual private network VPN, FlexVPN, and firewall. VPN throughput is up to 250 Mbps. All router versions support up to 50 virtual LANs. Supported automatic failover protocols for business continuity include VRRP, Hot Standby Router Protocol, and MHSRP. Setup and management can be done with Cisco Configuration Professional Express, Cisco DNA Center, and Cisco IOS Software. Cisco ISR 900 Series routers do not work with 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. VPN performance is 150 Mbps. Cisco's ISR 926 and ISR 927 routers have external power supplies and feature a single WAN interface, Category 4 LTE, plus VDSL2 and ADSL2/2+ high-speed broadband. GE WAN VPN performance for both routers is 150 Mbps. The high-performance ISR 931 router features dual GE WAN and includes 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 SD-WAN and cloud-hosted unified threat management (UTM) in one small-footprint device able to handle 50 to 200 users. Every MX router needs to be licensed for the Meraki cloud. For sites having multiple external network options (e.g., MPLS, broadband, cellular), SD-WAN technology permits admins to assign the WAN interface a given app uses or to build performance-based algorithms to select the preferred interface. MX fixed-configuration desktop routers share key capabilities including:
Cisco 1000 and 1100 Series ISR Enterprise Branch Routers
Cisco 1000 family Integrated Services Routers (ISRs) running Cisco IOS XE software are a selection of fanless appliances intended to provide high-performance network service, wireless support, and advanced security for SMBs, enterprise branch offices, retail stores, customer premises equipment (CPE), and machine-to-machine environments. Parallel processing CPU cores and the ability to run Cisco IOS XE software enable these routers to deliver capabilities consistent with Cisco's complete family of modern Enterprise routers. 1000 family ISR routers are available with 4 or 8 LAN switch ports and offer Gigabit Ethernet (GE) packet forwarding. Various models include Power over Ethernet (PoE) and PoE+, auto provisioning, plus a range of built-in or pluggable connections for LAN, WAN, WLAN, G.fast DSL, LTE Advanced wireless, 802.11ac wireless, and SFP. Cisco 1000 Series ISR models work with Cisco's SD-WAN services for transparent multi-cloud connectivity, advanced cybersecurity, and centralized monitoring and management of hybrid networks.
Cisco's 1RU or desktop ISR 1100-4G router comes with four integrated GE ports, built-in 3G/4G LTE with two LTE antenna connectors, and one micro-SIM plug-in slot. Encryption performance is 200 Mbps. The ISR 1100-6G router also includes two 1G SFP ports and delivers encryption performance of 520 Mbps. Cisco's desktop-only 1101-4P ISR router includes four integrated GE ports, offers 802.11ac and 3G/4G LTE wireless, and features encryption throughput of 280 Mbps. The Cisco ISR 1109-2P/4p desktop routers include two or four integrated switched GE connections and dual pluggable 3G/4G LTE wireless ports. Encryption packet processing performance is 200 Mbps.
Cisco's rackmount or desktop 111x-4P/8P ISR routers have four or eight built-in switched GE connections (two or four with PoE) and feature VDSL2/ADSL2+, 802.11ac, 3G/4G LTE, and 1G SFP. Encryption packet processing speed is 280 Mbps. Cisco's rackmount or desktop 1111X-8P ISR router includes eight switched GE interfaces (four with POE) and a port for SFP Fiber. Encryption packet processing speed 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 speed is 340 Mbps. Cisco's 1161X-8P ISR router has eight GE interfaces with Power over Ethernet and provides 3G/4G LTE and SFP. Encryption packet processing throughput is 450 Mbps.
Catalyst 8000 Series Branch and WAN Edge Platforms for SD-WAN and Routing
Cisco Catalyst 8000 line of routers are modular devices designed to work at the enterprise branche and the WAN edge in support of hybrid network environments that can incorporate a mix of public and private clouds and SaaS applications. Catalyst 8000 routers are powered by Cisco IOS XE SD-WAN Software and provide scalability, advanced cloud security, and 5G connectivity. Throughput is enhanced via purpose-built hardware, a multicore design, high port density, 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, network segmentation, and cloud integration.
Cisco Catalyst 8200 Series Enterprise Edge Routers
Cisco Catalyst 8200 Series routers are successors to Cisco's 4300 Series ISRs, offering higher IPsec performance and expandability, accelerated encryption, plus higher integrated WAN interface density. These 1RU routers are built to bring Cisco's Secure Access Service Edge (SASE), SD-WAN and 5G-connection technology to enterprise branches and the enterprise access edge. The Catalyst C8200L-1N-4T router features four CPU cores, enables 500 Mbps IPsec traffic, and permits 1,500 SD-WAN tunnels. The Catalyst 8200L platform does not support container-based applications. Cisco's Catalyst C8200-1N-4T router includes eight CPU cores, delivers 1Gb IPsec throughput, supports 2,500 SD-WAN tunnels, and allows edge computing with existing container models. Both appliances include a Network Interface Module (NIM) slot, one PIM slot, two 1 Gigabit Ethernet WAN copper interfaces, and two 1 Gigabit Ethernet WAN Small-Form-Factor Pluggable interfaces. Four-port and eight-port 1G Ethernet switch NIM modules are available for both 8200 routers.
Catalyst 8300 Series Enterprise Branch Edge Routers
Catalyst 8300 Series WAN Edge routers are designed to supersede Cisco's 4400 family of ISR Routers, providing Cisco's secure SD-WAN architecture to mid-sized and large enterprise branch offices looking for high WAN IPSec throughput with cohesive SD-WAN services. Advanced features include 5G wireless connectivity, built-in security, WAN MACSec, integrated enhanced Layer 2 switching, and Deep Packet Inspection with application-aware optimization. Cisco Catalyst 8300 routers enable edge computing for an existing container environment for Cisco UCS-E modules available on Cisco's 4000 line of ISR routers. All models in the Cisco Catalyst 8300 Series portfolio allow 4,000 SD-WAN tunnels and feature dual power supplies for high uptime.
The Catalyst 8300-1N1S-6T router model is a one-rack unit device that features eight CPU cores and offers 2G SD-WAN performance and IPsec data rates as high as 1.9Gbps. The router comes with one Service Module plug-in slot, a NIM slot, and six integrated 1G Ethernet WAN ports. The Catalyst 8300-2N2S-6T router is a 2RU appliance that includes 8 CPU cores and offers 2G SD-WAN throughput and IPsec performance as high as 1.9Gbps. The device includes two Service Module expansion slots, two NIM slots, and six built-in 1-Gigabit Ethernet WAN ports. The Catalyst C8300-1N1S-4T2X router model is a one-rack unit device that includes 8 CPU cores and offers 5G SD-WAN data rates and IPsec data rates as high as 15Gbps. The device features one a single Service Module expansion slot, one NIM slot, two built-in 10-Gigabit Ethernet WAN ports, 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 up to 18Gbps. The router includes two SM expansion slots, two Network Interface Module slots, two integrated 10-Gigabit Ethernet WAN ports, and four integrated 1-Gigabit Ethernet WAN ports. LAN plug-in modules offered by Cisco range from a 4-port 1G Ethernet switch NIM module to a 50-port Catalyst L2 switch SM module.
Cisco Catalyst 8500 Aggregation Edge Routers
The Catalyst 8500 Series Aggregation Edge routers are fixed, 1RU aggregation devices for SD-WAN and colocation environments. Integrated features include route processor, ESP, plus aggregation hardware for multiple connection choices. IPsec throughput is double compared to Cisco's prior generation ASR1001-X router. Flexible connectivity alternatives include 1GE, 10GE, 40GE, and 100GE WAN interfaces. 8500 routers include redundant AC or DC power supplies for enhanced resilience. Software subscription suites provide ongoing use of Cisco DNA Center Software for SD-WAN and routing and enable centralized management of security, application-based policies, segmentation, and cloud support.
The Catalyst C8500L-8S4X Aggregation Edge router is designed to offer the same key features as Cisco's ASR 1000 router. The C8500L-8S4X includes four 1/10GE WAN ports and offers as high as 20 Gbps aggregate performance. SD-WAN IPsec throughput can reach 19Gbps. The Catalyst C8500-12X appliance has 12 integrated 1/10GE WAN ports and delivers up to 120 Gbps aggregate throughput. SD-WAN IPsec performance can reach 51 Gbps. The C8500-12X4QC unit includes four built-in 1/10GE WAN interfaces and eight 1G ports and delivers up to 200 Gbps aggregate performance. SD-WAN IPsec throughput can reach 68 Gbps. Cisco's C8500-20X6C router includes 20 built-in SFP+ interfaces and six x 40/100GE ports. The Catalyst C8500-20X6C delivers up to 500 Gbps Cisco Express Forwarding aggregate throughput.
Cisco ISR G2 Routers
Cisco's ISR Generation 2 routers are intended to provide satellite offices of enterprises with enhanced video and voice applications, virtualization, security, and dependable connectivity. ISR G2 routers introduce a design that preserves past investments in service modules for older Integrated Services Routers and reduces future expenses by permitting easy installation of additional modules as they become available. Compared to previous ISR routers, Cisco's Integrated Services G2 routers feature 2-7 times higher performance, far more, and more affordable maintenance. All Integrated Services Generation 2 routers offer Gbit switching and incorporate multi-core processors and ultra-fast fabric for faster throughput. ISR G2 routers also support intelligent power control for better energy efficiency.
A key innovation with Integrated Services G2 routers is the IOS Universal image which contains all of the Cisco IOS feature sets so that your company can rapidly license and activate new services as desired without having to acquire and copy a different IOS Software image to yourCisco router. Progent's group of CCIE network engineers can provide world-class expertise to assist you to design, configure, and support multi-site installations of Cisco Integrated Services G2 routers that enhance branch office productivity and reduce the costs of upgrades and maintenance.
Cisco's ISR 800 Series 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 comprehensive line of 800 Series ISR routers is made up of desktop, fanless appliances designed and priced for small organizations, branch locations, retail shops, telecommuters, and clients of ISPs. A wealth of devices in Cisco's 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 wide selection of options available within the Cisco 800 line of routers. Various models in Cisco's 881 Series router portfolio can enable unified media networks by delivering IP voice and video, wireless and data in one integrated router and switch. Advanced data protection can include encryption, VPN, firewall, and URL filtering. For business continuity, available options for Cisco 881 routers include duplicate wide area network links or support for landline broadband WAN links like DSL as well as multiple different cellular 3G and 4G wireless connections all on a single appliance.
The baseline Cisco 881 router includes a 4-port 10/100-Mbps managed switch that delivers 15 Mbps performance, the ability to handle up to 20 users, two-port integrated Power over Ethernet, 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 PSTN fallback with Cisco Survivable Remote Site Telephony. With a Cisco Unified Border Element (CUBE) license, the Cisco 881 ISR router supports SIP trunk connectivity to replace outdated PRI lines or FXO voice connectivity to a PSTN carrier. SIP trunks can also connect remote agents in Cisco Call Center deployments.
Cisco 4000 Series Integrated Services Routers
The Cisco 4000 Series Integrated Services Routers (ISRs) are modular and expandable platforms designed for businesses with multiple branch offices and offsite workers requiring direct communication with private 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 utilizing network optimization, deep packet inspection, and traffic-management techniques. Devices in the 4000 product line run Cisco's IOS XE operating system, come in a 1RU or 2RU form factor, are able to support Up to 2 Gbps of throughput, and can have up to 3 interface module slots, 2 service module slots, 4 built-in 10/100/1000 Ethernet ports, and 8 CPU core integrated server modules. ISR 4000 models support integrated Gigabit Ethernet, T1/E1, T3/E3, PR1, xDSL and other interfaces. To manage unified communications, the 400o ISR offers comprehensive edge support technology for policy-enhanced SBC, telephony fault tolerance, and Time Division Multiplexing gateways.
The primary difference between Cisco's 4400 ISR and 4300 Series is the inclusion of dual power supply support in the 4400 Series, offering a higher level of fault tolerance. The 4321 ISR Router has a 1 RU desktop form factor and includes two network interface modules, provides as much as 100 Mbps performance, and can handle 240 Digital Voice and Video Channels. Cisco's 4331 Integrated Services Router has a 1 RU form factor with two network interface modules, delivers as much as 300 Mbps throughput, and supports 360 Digital Voice/Video Channels. Cisco's 4351 router comes in a 2 RU package and includes three network interface modules, delivers as much as 400 Mbps performance, and supports 720 Digital Voice/Video Channels. Cisco's dual power supply 4431 Integrated Services Router has a 2 RU package and includes three network interface modules, offers up to 1 Gbps throughput, and can handle 720 Digital Voice and Video Channels. The redundant-power 4431 router features a 2 RU package and includes three NIMs, provides up to 2 Gbps performance, and can handle 1200 Digital Voice/Video Channels.
Cisco's Midrange WAN Aggregation Routers and Carrier-class Routers
Cisco's midrange and service provider routers offer larger businesses with fast, secure distribution points to manage branch office and off-site data packets and to provide carriers cost-optimized wide area network edge solutions. Cisco's WAN aggregation and carrier router product line includes the ASR 1000 product line and the 9000 Series Aggregation Services family.
Progent's nationwide group of CCIE network consultants have extensive backgrounds working with enterprises and service providers to design efficient installations and smooth expansion of Cisco's WAN edge routers. Progent's GIAC-certified information assurance consultants offer unbiased, independent network security vulnerability evaluations, penetration testing and comprehensive SIEM solutions to help enterprises that use Cisco's Aggregation Services Routers to meet industry standards and statutory regulations for network data protection and reporting. Progent also can provide expertise with Horizon3.ai's NodeZero platform for pentesting. NodeZero depends on AI technology to streamline the vulnerability assessment cycle of discovering cybersecurity gaps in perimeters and within the internal network, prioritizing remediation, mitigating weaknesses, and verifying fixes.
Cisco ASR 1000 WAN Edge Routers
Cisco's ASR 1000 WAN Edge family of routers is designed to fill the middle of Cisco's midrange devices that concentrate on acting as headends at the wide area network edge. Cisco's ASR 1000 Series WAN Edge routers provide a small footprint, multi-function solution for enterprises requiring satellite office aggregation at multigigabit Ethernet speeds. Cisco's ASR 1000 WAN Edge routers incorporate a revolutionary architecture that combines on-board acceleration with programmable flexibility to deliver a rich set of concurrent services without sacrificing consistent responsiveness.
Cisco's ASR 1000 routers feature Cisco's new QuantumFlow Processor composed of 40 custom Packet Processing Engines (PPEs) that together can support as many as 160 simultaneous threads. This massive parallelism, combined with hardware acceleration for all services, allows the high-end ASR 1006 router to expand up to 128K hardware queues, 32K clients, 4,000 IPsec tunnels at 10,000 sessions/second, and 2 million Netflow records. This CPU capability allows Cisco's ASR 1000 Aggregation Services routers to deliver a variety of sophisticated services simultaneously in massive volume while avoiding throughput decay that could threaten adherence to service level agreements. These services include Cisco Firewall, intrusion-detection services, Network Address Translation, Flexible Packet Matching, and deep packet inspection. The ASR 1000 also permits tiered traffic control for performing numerous levels of QoS to a packet in one operation, enhancing responsiveness for next-generation voice, video, and conferencing applications.
Cisco ASR 9000 Series Routers
Cisco's ASR 9000 Series Routers are designed as edge routers for service providers who need to support world-class data, voice and video services to home, business, and mobile customers by offering continual availability, high speed, and application awareness. All platforms in Cisco's ASR 9000 line of Routers are powered by Cisco's IOS XR operating system, a self-healing, distributed operating system built for continuous availability. Throughput of the ASR 9000 family of Routers can scale up to 96 Tbps per system. Cisco's ASR 9000 family of Aggregation Services Routers support high-density Gigabit Ethernet (GE), 10 GE, and 100 GE and have redundant fabric and power modules, power entry modules, and fan trays plus redundant control planes.
The ASR 9001 model is a carrier-edge router that comes in a 6 RU package with 120 Gbps of nonblocking, full-duplex fabric performance. The ASR 9001 has two modular bays to accept adapters for 1, 10, and 40 Gigabit Ethernet. The chassis has four 10 GE SFP+ ports and ports for Stratum 1 clocking, building integrated timing supply, and management. The ASR 9904 Router has a 6 RU form factor and offers dense 10 and 100 Gigabit Ethernet connectivity in space-limited environments. The 4-slot ASR 9094 can support up to 4 Tbps of switching capacity in one chassis. The Cisco ASR 9912 Router has a 30 RU form factor and includes 12 slots slots that can handle up to 550 Gbps of throughput. The Cisco ASR 9912 includes 2 route CPUs as well as 6+1 Fabric Cards to provide N+1 redundancy.
Ways Progent's Consultants Can Help Your Company to Support Cisco Router Products
Progent's CCIE and CCNP certified consultants can help your business to plan, setup, and maintain a converged business network that can automate operations, reduce costs, and speed time to positive return on investment. By combining Cisco routers with Cisco Catalyst switches expertise and Cisco Catalyst and Meraki Wi-Fi wireless expertise, Progent can significantly enhance the business value of your network infrastructure. Progent can provide onsite and remote help and offers data center support throughout the U.S.
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