Cisco Certified Network Consulting

Generally, routers depend on computation to steer traffic based on sophisticated algorithms, offering versatility at the expense of speed. Switches, in contrast, rely on largely predefined hardware configurations to send traffic at the fastest feasible rate. Today's routers typically include Layer 2 switching capability, and many of today's switches have L3 routing functionality. Routers offered by Cisco, the supplier of the vast majority of the world's routers, have advanced significantly in capability and performance and Cisco makes an extensive portfolio that includes routers designed to meet the needs of customers ranging from households to nationwide service providers.

The latest Integrated Services Routers released by Cisco have the performance and built-in features to support IP voice and video as well as virtual environments while also providing high availability, web-based management, easy extensibility, and advanced security and compliance. These routers enable you to establish a firm foundation for an information network that can evolve smoothly as you add more workers, open extra sites, configure additional services, extend your system to customers and vendors, and build an expanding mobile workforce. Progent's Cisco qualified CCIE network consultants can provide fast and economical remote support to help your company to plan, deploy, manage, upgrade, and troubleshoot Cisco's latest routers and can help you to maintain your older routers or move efficiently to Cisco's current router solutions.

Cisco Routers for Home Offices and Small Offices and Branches
Cisco's routers for small organizations and remote offices provide affordable and reliable entry-level alternatives that enable limited groups of workers to share safe connectivity to wide area networks. These fixed-configuration desktop devices include at least four 10/100 Ethernet switches with wireless options plus integrated firewall to provide enhanced security. Designed for easy setup, management, and troubleshooting, Cisco's entry-level routers reduce total cost of ownership by lowering acquisition and operational investments. Progent's online troubleshooting experts have in-depth experience delivering fast and affordable IT assistance for small companies to set up and support these routers, and Progent's CCIE-certified network consultants can help your company to determine whether and how Cisco's small office routers can add to the strategic value of your information system.

ISR 900 Series Routers
Cisco's ISR 900 Series routers are compact, quiet, set-configuration devices designed for SMBs, branches, and home offices. These entry-level routers have four GE switch ports and offer Metro Ethernet, LTE, and DSL WAN connectivity. Cisco's ISR 900 router family provides three times the IPsec throughput of the ISR 800 Series routers. All ISR 900 models offer GETVPN, DMVPN, Cisco FlexVPN, and firewall. VPN performance is as high as 250 Mbps. All versions support up to 50 VLANs. Supported dynamic failover technology for high availability include Virtual Router Redundancy Protocol (VRRP), Hot Standby Router Protocol (HSRP), and Multigroup HSRP (MHSRP). Setup and management can be performed with Cisco Configuration Professional Express, Cisco DNA Center, and Cisco IOS Software. ISR 900 Series devices do not work with Cisco SD-WAN.

Cisco's ISR 921 router features dual GE WAN, Category 4 LTE, and a built-in power supply. GE WAN VPN performance is 150 Mbps. Cisco's ISR 926 and ISR 927 models include external power supplies and feature a single WAN interface, Category 4 LTE, plus VDSL2 and ADSL2/2+. GE WAN VPN performance for both routers is 150 Mbps. The high-performance ISR 931 router supports dual GE WAN and has an internal power supply. VPN performance is 250 Mbps.

Cisco Meraki MX Series SD-WAN Security Appliances
The Cisco Meraki MX line of desktop routers combine SD-WAN and cloud-based unified threat management in one compact device able to support 50 to 200 users. Each MX series appliance needs to be licensed for the Meraki cloud. For sites having several external network connections (e.g., MPLS, fiber optic, cellular), SD-WAN technology permits administrators to assign the WAN interface an application should use or to create performance-based rules to determine the appropriate interface. Cisco Meraki MX fixed-configuration desktop routers share important capabilities that include:

• App and ID-based firewalling
• Content and web search filtering
• PCI-compliant Intrusion Detection and Prevention
• Cisco Advanced Malware Protection (AMP) with sandboxing
• Load balancing to combine multiple WAN links into a single high-speed interface with policy-based Quality of Services, traffic shaping, and fast failover
• Works with all IPsec VPN devices and services
• USB port for fast 3G/4G failover
• Wi-Fi versions have 802.11ac Wave 2 2x2 MU-MIMO

Cisco 1000 Series ISR Enterprise Branch Routers
Cisco 1000 family Integrated Services Routers (ISRs) using Cisco IOS XE internetworking operating system are a selection of fanless routers designed to deliver network service, wireless access, and multilayer cybersecurity for SMBs, enterprise branch offices, retail stores, kiosks, and M2M environments. Multiple parallel processing CPU cores and compatibly with Cisco IOS XE enable these routers to offer capabilities consistent with Cisco's entire line of Enterprise routers. 1000 and 1100 family ISR models are available with 4 or 8 LAN switch ports and offer Gigabit Ethernet packet forwarding. Available features include Power over Ethernet (PoE) and PoE+, auto provisioning, plus a range of integrated or pluggable options for LAN, WAN, wireless LAN, SHDSL, 3G/4G Advanced wireless, 802.11 Wi-Fi, and SFP. Cisco 1000 Series ISR routers can be used with Cisco's SD-WAN services for transparent multiple-cloud connectivity, advanced cybersecurity, and centralized management of hybrid network models.

Cisco's rackmount or desktop ISR 1100-4G router includes four built-in GE ports, integrated 3G/4G LTE wireless with two LTE SMA sockets, and a micro-SIM plug-in slot. Encryption packet processing performance 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 has four built-in switched GE interfaces, supports 802.11ac and 3G/4G LTE, and features encryption throughput of 280 Mbps. Cisco's ISR 1109-2P/4p desktop routers include two or four integrated GE interfaces and dual pluggable 3G/4G LTE wireless ports. Encryption packet processing speed is 200 Mbps.

The rackmount or desktop 111x-4P/8P ISR routers come with four or eight integrated switched GE ports (two or four provide Power over Ethernet) and feature VDSL2/ADSL2+, 802.11ac, 3G/4G LTE wireless, and SFP. Encryption speed is 280 Mbps. Cisco's 1RU or desktop 1111X-8P ISR router comes with eight built-in GE ports (four with Power over Ethernet) and supports SFP. Encryption packet processing performance is 340 Mbps. The 112x-8P ISR router features eight integrated switched GE interfaces with Power over Ethernet and features SHDSL, VDSL2/ADSL2+, 802.11ac, 3G/4G LTE wireless, and SFP. Encryption packet processing performance is 340 Mbps. The 1161X-8P ISR router has eight integrated GE ports with Power over Ethernet and supports 3G/4G LTE wireless and 1G SFP. Encryption packet processing performance is 450 Mbps.

Catalyst 8000 Series WAN Edge Platforms for SD-WAN and Routing
Cisco's Catalyst 8000 line of routers are modular appliances designed to operate at the WAN edge in support of hybrid networks that can incorporate a mix of public and private clouds and cloud-hosted applications. Catalyst 8000 devices use Cisco IOS XE SD-WAN Software and offer expandability, intelligent cybersecurity, and 5G connectivity. Throughput is enhanced using purpose-built silicon, 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 centralized management with enhanced cybersecurity, application-based policies, segmentation, and cloud integration.

Catalyst 8200 WAN Edge Routers
Catalyst 8200 routers are upgrades to Cisco's 4300 Series Integrated Services Routers, delivering higher IPsec throughput and expandability, accelerated encryption, plus higher integrated WAN port density. These one-rack unit routers are built to bring Cisco's Secure Access Service Edge, SD-WAN and 5G-interface technology to enterprise branch offices and the enterprise WAN edge. The Catalyst C8200L-1N-4T model includes four CPU cores, enables 500 Mbps IPsec performance, and allows 1,500 SD-WAN tunnels. Cisco's Catalyst 8200L router does not support container-based applications. Cisco's Catalyst C8200-1N-4T router includes eight CPU cores, provides 1Gb IPsec performance, permits 2,500 SD-WAN tunnels, and enables edge computing with existing container models. Both appliances include a NIM slot, a Pluggable Interface Module slot, two 1G Ethernet WAN copper interfaces, and two 1G Ethernet WAN Small-Form-Factor Pluggable (SFP) interfaces. 4-port and 8-port 1 Gigabit Ethernet switch NIM modules are available for both 8200 routers.

Catalyst 8300 Series WAN Edge Routers
Catalyst 8300 WAN Edge routers are designed to replace Cisco's 4400 Series ISR Routers, delivering Cisco's secure SD-WAN technology to mid-sized and large enterprise branches looking for high WAN IPSec performance with cohesive SD-WAN services. Advanced capabilities include 5G wireless support, integrated cybersecurity, WAN MACSec, integrated enhanced Layer 2 switching, and DPI with application optimization. Cisco Catalyst 8300 Series WAN Edge routers support edge computing for an in-place container architecture for Cisco UCS-E modules offered on Cisco's 4000 family of ISR routers. All models in the Cisco Catalyst 8300 Series portfolio support 4,000 SD-WAN tunnels and feature backup power supplies for high uptime.

The Cisco Catalyst 8300-1N1S-6T router is a one-rack unit device that features 8 CPU cores and delivers 2G SD-WAN performance and IPsec data rates as high as 1.9Gbps. The unit comes with a single SM plug-in slot, one NIM slot, and six integrated 1-Gigabit Ethernet WAN interfaces. The Catalyst 8300-2N2S-6T router is a two-rack unit router that features 8 CPU cores and offers 2G SD-WAN performance and IPsec performance of up to 1.9Gbps. The unit includes two Service Module plug-in slots, two NIM slots, and six built-in 1G Ethernet WAN ports. The Catalyst C8300-1N1S-4T2X router model is a 1RU appliance that has 8 CPU cores and delivers 5G SD-WAN throughput and IPsec performance up to 15Gbps. The device features one one Service Module plug-in slot, one Network Interface Module slot, two integrated 10-Gigabit Ethernet WAN ports, and four integrated 1G Ethernet WAN interfaces. The Catalyst C8300-2N2S-4T2X appliance is a 2RU device that features 12 CPU cores and delivers 5G SD-WAN throughput and IPsec data rates up to 18Gbps. The unit has two SM expansion slots, two NIM slots, two integrated 10-Gigabit Ethernet WAN ports, and four integrated 1G Ethernet WAN interfaces. LAN expansion modules available from Cisco range from a 4-port 1-Gigabit Ethernet switch Network Interface Module module to a 50-port Catalyst L2 switch Service Module.

Catalyst 8500 Series Aggregation Edge Routers
The Cisco Catalyst 8500 Aggregation Edge routers are fixed, one-rack unit aggregation models for SD-WAN and colocation environments. Built-in features include route processor, embedded services processor (ESP), and aggregation hardware for various connection choices. IPsec performance is double compared to Cisco's earlier generation ASR1001-X router. Available interface alternatives include 1GE, 10GE, 40GE, and 100GE WAN interfaces. 8500 Series routers come with dual AC or DC power supplies for enhanced resilience. 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, segmentation, and cloud connectivity optimization.

The Cisco Catalyst C8500L-8S4X router is designed 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 aggregate throughput. SD-WAN IPsec performance is up to 19Gbps. The Catalyst C8500-12X router has 12 integrated 1/10GE WAN interfaces and delivers up to 120 Gbps aggregate performance. SD-WAN IPsec throughput is up to 51 Gbps. The C8500-12X4QC aggregation router comes with four built-in 1/10GE WAN interfaces and eight 1GE interfaces and can support up to 200 Gbps aggregate throughput. SD-WAN IPsec performance is up to 68 Gbps.

Cisco Integrated Services Generation 2 Routers
Cisco's ISR Generation 2 routers are designed to provide satellite offices of enterprises with enhanced collaboration, virtualization, protection, and dependable WAN access. Integrated Services G2 routers feature an architecture that protects past investments in service modules for older Integrated Services Routers and lowers future costs by allowing easy installation of additional modules as they are developed. Compared to older Integrated Services Routers, Cisco's Integrated Services Generation 2 routers feature 2-7 times higher performance, substantially greater expandability, and easier maintenance. All Integrated Services Generation 2 routers support Gbit switching and incorporate multi-core processors and ultra-fast fabric for higher throughput. Integrated Services G2 routers also offer intelligent power management for improved energy conservation.

A key advance with Integrated Services Generation 2 routers is the IOS Universal image which includes all of the Cisco IOS technology sets so that your company can quickly license and deploy extra services as desired without needing to download and copy a new IOS image over to yourrouter. Progent's group of CCIE-certified network consultants offer proven skills to assist you to plan, configure, and maintain multi-site deployments of Cisco ISR Generation 2 routers that enhance branch office efficiency and reduce the price of upgrades and support.

Cisco's ISR 800 Family of Routers
The 800 Series of ISR routers has been superseded by the higher performance Cisco ISR 900 series but is still widely used. Cisco's comprehensive portfolio of 800 Series ISR routers is made up of desktop appliances intended for small businesses, branch offices, retail shops, telecommuters, and customers of broadband service providers. A wealth of devices in Cisco's 800 product line have been developed with various options over the course of many years. The 881 Series of ISR routers exemplifies the wide selection of options available within the Cisco 800 Series line of routers. Models in Cisco's 881 Series router portfolio can enable unified 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 ISR routers include redundant WAN connections or support for landline broadband WAN connections like DSL as well as multiple 3G and 4G wireless WAN connections all built into a single desktop appliance.

The basic Cisco 881 features a 4-port fast Ethernet managed switch that delivers 15 Mbps throughput, the ability to handle 20 users, 2-port integrated PoE, and IPv6 support. Cisco's 881W ISR router supports 802.11g/n Wi-Fi. The 881 SRST router includes 4 FXS ports and 1 FXO port for public-switched-telephone-network (PSTN) fallback with Cisco Survivable Remote Site Telephony. With a Cisco CUBE feature license, the Cisco 881 ISR router supports SIP trunking as a replacement for outdated Primary Rate Interface (PRI) lines or foreign exchange-office (FXO) voice connectivity to a PSTN service provider. CUBE-based SIP trunks also connect remote agents in Cisco Call Center deployments.

Cisco 4000 Series ISR Routers
Cisco's 4000 Series Integrated Services Routers are modular and scalable routers designed for businesses with multiple branches and offsite users who need direct communication with in-house data centers as well as public clouds via VPN tunnels and the Internet. The 4000 series provides the throughput required for hybrid WAN environments to support mobile workers, Cloud-based services, and HD video applications by using network optimization, deep packet inspection, and advanced traffic-management techniques. Models in Cisco's ISR 4000 family are powered by Cisco's powerful IOS XE software, come in a 1RU or 2RU form factor, are able to support as much as 2 Gbps of traffic, and can have up to 3 network interface module slots, 2 service module slots, 4 built-in 10/100/1000 Ethernet switches, and 8 CPU core server modules. ISR 4000 models can support integrated Gigabit Ethernet, T1/E1, T3/E3, PR1, xDSL and other interfaces. To handle unified communications, the 400o ISR offers comprehensive edge support technology for SBC, telephony fault tolerance, and Time Division Multiplexing gateways.

The major difference between the Cisco 4400 ISR and 4300 Series Routers is the inclusion of dual power supply support in the 4400 ISR Series, providing a higher degree of availability. The 4321 ISR Router has a 1 RU desktop package with two network interface modules, offers up to 100 Mbps throughput, and can handle 240 Digital Voice and Video Channels. The 4331 ISR Router has a 1 RU package with two network interface modules, provides as much as 300 Mbps performance, and supports 360 Digital Voice and Video Channels. Cisco's 4351 model has a 2 RU form factor and includes three network interface modules, provides up to 400 Mbps throughput, and can handle 720 Digital Voice/Video Channels. The power-redundant 4431 router features a 2 RU package and includes three network interface modules, provides up to 1 Gbps throughput, and allows up to 720 Digital Voice/Video Channels. Cisco's redundant-power 4431 Integrated Services Router features a 2 RU form factor with three NIMs, delivers up to 2 Gbps performance, and supports 1200 Digital Voice and Video Channels.

Cisco's WAN Edge Routers and Carrier-class Routers
Cisco's midrange and service provider routers can provide enterprises with high-performance, protected headends to aggregate branch office and off-site data packets and to offer ISPs cost-effective wide area network edge solutions. Cisco's WAN aggregation and carrier router product line features the Cisco ASR 1000 product line and the 9000 Series Aggregation Services family.

Progent's national team of Cisco CCIE certified network experts have extensive experience helping global businesses and ISPs to design efficient installations and seamless expansion of Cisco's WAN edge routers. Progent's GIAC-certified information assurance consultants can provide objective, third-party network security inventory assessments, penetration testing and advanced SIEM solutions to help enterprises that use Cisco's WAN aggregation routers to meet industry standards and government regulations for IT data security and reporting.

Cisco ASR 1000 Series Aggregation Services Routers
Cisco's ASR 1000 Aggregation Services family of routers is designed to fill the center of Cisco's midrange devices that focus on acting as headends at the WAN edge. ASR 1000 routers offer a small form factor, multi-function answer for large businesses looking for branch office aggregation at supergigabit Ethernet speeds. Cisco's ASR 1000 Series routers incorporate an innovative design that mixes on-board acceleration with software versatility to deliver a rich set of concurrent services without sacrificing consistent responsiveness.

Cisco's ASR 1000 WAN Edge routers feature Cisco's new QuantumFlow Processor incorporating 40 custom Packet Processing Engines (PPEs) that together can support as many as 160 concurrent processor threads. This parallel CPU architecture, combined with on-board acceleration for every service, enables the top-of-the-line ASR 1006 router to scale up to 000 hardware queues, 32,000 subscribers, 4K IPsec tunnels at 10,000 sessions per second, and 2M Netflow log records. This CPU power allows Cisco's ASR 1000 WAN Edge routers to support a variety of advanced services simultaneously in high volume while avoiding performance degradation that might compromise compliance with service level agreements. These advanced services include IOS Firewall, intrusion-detection services, NAT, FPM, and deep packet inspection. The ASR 1000 also permits sophisticated traffic control for applying numerous levels of QoS to a packet in one pass, enhancing the user experience for resource-intensive IP voice and video applications.

Cisco ASR 9000 Series Routers
Cisco ASR 9000 Series Aggregation Services Routers are intended as edge routers for service providers who are required to deliver the highest quality data, voice and video services to home, business, and mobile customers by offering non-stop availability, high performance, and application-aware intelligence. All models in the Cisco ASR 9000 line of Aggregation Services Routers are powered by the IOS XR, a self-healing, distributed OS built for non-stop uptime. Performance of the ASR 9000 Series of Routers can be expanded to as high as 96 Tbps per system. Cisco's ASR 9000 portfolio of Aggregation Services Routers support high-density Gigabit Ethernet (GE), 10 Gigabit Ethernet, and 100 GE and have fully redundant fabric and power modules, power entry modules, plus redundant control planes and switch fabric.

The ASR 9001 model is a provider-edge router in a 6 RU form factor that delivers 120 Gbps of nonblocking, full-duplex fabric capacity. The Cisco ASR 9001 has two bays to accept port adapters for 1, 10, and 40 Gigabit Ethernet. The base chassis has 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 comes in a 6 RU form factor and provides dense 10 and 100 GE connections in space-limited sites. The 4-slot ASR 9094 can support up to 4 Tbps of capacity in one box. The ASR 9912 platform has a 30 RU form factor with 10 line-card slots able to provide 550 Gbps of throughput. The ASR 9912 Router has 2 route CPUs and 6+1 Fabric Cards to provide N+1 redundancy.

Ways Progent Can Assist Your Business to Support Cisco Routers
Progent's Cisco certified engineers can help your company to design, setup, and manage an integrated network infrastructure that can simplify operations, reduce expenses, and speed the path to positive return on investment. By combining Cisco integrated services routers with Catalyst switches support and Cisco Catalyst and Meraki Wi-Fi wireless expertise, Progent can dramatically increase the strategic value of your integrated network. Progent offers onsite and off-site help and can provide data center support throughout the U.S.

For more information concerning Progent's professional expertise for Cisco networking products, pick a subject:

• Overview of Cisco Support
• Fast and Affordable Online Help from a Cisco CCIE Network Engineer
• Cisco Firepower Series Firewalls: Integration and Troubleshooting Support
• Cisco ASA 5500-X Firewall with Cisco Firepower Services: Consulting and Management Services
• Cisco ASA 5500 Series Firewall Troubleshooting Support
• PIX 500 Firewall Troubleshooting Expertise
• Cisco Wireless Engineering Services
• Aironet Wireless Access Points Design Support
• Cisco Small Business Wireless Access Points System Design Services
• Cisco Catalyst 802.11ax APs Planning, Deployment and Troubleshooting Expertise
• Cisco Wireless Controllers Integration Consulting
• Meraki Wireless APs Engineering Support
• Cisco Unified Communications Manager (CUCM or Unified CM) and CallManager Integration and Troubleshooting
• Cisco VoIP Phones and IP Video Phones Consulting Services and Cisco Wireless IP Phone Configuration
• Cisco Jabber Configuration and Troubleshooting Expertise
• Cisco Catalyst Switches Deployment Expertise
• Nexus Switches Deployment Expertise
• Meraki MS Switches Configuration and Maintenance Services
• Cisco VPN Setup and Troubleshooting Support
• SIP and CUBE Infrastructure Solutions: SIP Trunks and Cisco CUBE Integration Consulting
• Design Expertise for Cisco-based Data Centers
• Network Design Services for Internet Service Providers
• Streamlined Network Management Technologies for Cisco-based Infrastructure