Cisco Expert Network Consulting and Support

Generally, routers depend on CPUs to send data using complex software, offering versatility at the cost of speed. Switches, on the other hand, depend on largely predefined hardware designs to steer traffic at the fastest feasible rate. Today's routers typically come with Layer 2 switches, and many of today's switches include Layer 3 routing functionality. Routers developed by Cisco, the supplier of 90% of the industry's routers, have improved dramatically in capability and performance and Cisco now makes an extensive portfolio that includes routers designed to handle the requirements of users ranging from households to nationwide ISPs.

The most recent ISR routers released by Cisco offer the performance and integrated functionality to support data voice and video plus virtualization while at the same time offering high availability, remote administration, seamless scalability, and advanced security and compliance. Cisco's ISR routers allow your business to build a firm foundation for an information environment that can grow smoothly as you hire more employees, open new sites, activate additional services, give access to your system to clients and partners, and build an expanding mobile user base. Progent's Cisco CCIE network engineers can provide fast and economical online expertise to help your company to plan, configure, manage, update, and troubleshoot Cisco's most advanced router technology and can assist you to support your older routers or migrate efficiently to Cisco's current router solutions.

Cisco Routers Designed for Home and Small Offices and Branch Offices
Cisco's routers for smaller organizations and remote offices provide affordable and reliable entry-level alternatives that allow limited groups of users to share safe access to the Internet. All these fixed-configuration desktop devices include at least four Ethernet switches with Wi-Fi options plus built-in firewall to provide enhanced protection. Designed for simple installation, management, and support, Cisco's entry-level routers minimize total cost of ownership by lowering equipment and operational investments. Progent's remote support specialists have in-depth experience providing immediate and affordable technical assistance for small businesses to configure and maintain these devices, and Progent's Cisco-certified CCIE network consultants can assist you to understand how Cisco's entry-level routers can increase the business value of your information system.

Cisco ISR 900 Series Integrated Services Routers
Cisco's ISR 900 Series routers are compact, quiet, fixed-configuration devices intended for small to medium-sized businesses, branch offices, 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 product line delivers 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 (DMVPN), FlexVPN, and firewall. VPN performance is as high as 250 Mbps. All router models allow up to 50 virtual LANs. Supported automatic failover protocols for high availability and business continuity include Virtual Router Redundancy Protocol (VRRP), Hot Standby Router Protocol, and Multigroup HSRP. Setup and management can be performed with Cisco Configuration Professional Express, Cisco DNA Center, and Cisco IOS. ISR 900 Series routers do not support Cisco SD-WAN.

The Cisco ISR 921 router comes with dual GE WAN, LTE Cat 4, and a built-in power supply. VPN performance is 150 Mbps. The ISR 926 and ISR 927 models include external power and feature a single WAN port, Category 4 LTE, VDSL2 and ADSL2/2+. VPN performance for both devices is 150 Mbps. The high-performance Cisco ISR 931 router features dual GE WAN ports 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 portfolio of desktop routers combine software-defined wide area networking (SD-WAN) and cloud-based unified threat management in one small-footprint appliance able to support 50 to 200 users. Every MX series appliance must be licensed to the Meraki cloud. For venues having multiple WAN network options (e.g., MPLS, fiber optic, cellular), SD-WAN technology allows administrators to assign the WAN connection a given app uses or to build performance-based algorithms to determine the appropriate interface. MX fixed-configuration desktop routers share important capabilities that include:

• App and identity-based firewalling
• Content and web search filtering
• PCI-compliant Intrusion Detection and Prevention
• Advanced Malware Protection (AMP) with reputation-based filtering
• Load balancing to combine multiple WAN links into one 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 of each model have 802.11ac Wave 2 2x2 MU-MIMO

Cisco 1000 and 1100 Series ISR Branch Routers
Cisco 1000 Series Integrated Services Routers using Cisco IOS XE software are a line of fanless routers intended to deliver high-performance network connectivity, wireless support, and multilayer cybersecurity for small and midsize businesses, branch offices, retail stores, kiosks, and machine-to-machine (M2M) venues. Parallel processing CPU cores and the ability to run Cisco IOS XE software enable these routers to deliver features consistent with Cisco's complete family of modern Enterprise routers. 1000 and 1100 Series ISR routers are offered with 4 or 8 LAN switch ports and offer Gigabit Ethernet packet forwarding. Available features include PoE and PoE+, zero-touch provisioning, plus a range of built-in or pluggable options including LAN, WAN, WLAN, G.fast DSL, 4G LTE Advanced wireless, 802.11ac wireless, and SFP Fiber. Cisco 1000 and 1100 family ISR routers work with Cisco's SD-WAN subscription services for transparent multi-cloud connectivity, multilayer security, and cohesive administration of hybrid network models of any complexity.

Cisco's rackmount or desktop ISR 1100-4G router comes with four built-in GE ports, integrated 3G/4G LTE with two LTE antenna SMA sockets, and a micro-SIM plug-in slot. Encryption packet processing speed is 200 Mbps. The ISR 1100-6G router also includes two 1G SFP ports and delivers encryption performance of 520 Mbps. Cisco's desktop 1101-4P ISR router includes four built-in switched GE interfaces, offers 802.11ac Wi-Fi and 3G/4G LTE wireless, and delivers encryption rates of 280 Mbps. Cisco's 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.

Cisco's 1RU or desktop 111x-4P/8P ISR routers come with four or eight built-in GE connections (two or four provide PoE) and support VDSL2/ADSL2+, 802.11ac, 3G/4G LTE, and SFP. Encryption packet processing speed is 280 Mbps. Cisco's 1RU or desktop 1111X-8P ISR router comes with eight integrated switched GE ports (four with Power over Ethernet) and a port for 1G SFP. Encryption rate is 340 Mbps. The 112x-8P ISR router features eight built-in switched GE connections with Power over Ethernet and supports SHDSL, VDSL2/ADSL2+, 802.11ac Wi-Fi, 3G/4G LTE, and SFP Fiber. Encryption performance is 340 Mbps. Cisco's 1161X-8P ISR router includes eight integrated switched GE ports with Power over Ethernet and supports 3G/4G LTE and 1G SFP. Encryption throughput is 450 Mbps.

Catalyst 8000 Series WAN Edge Platforms for SD-WAN and Routing
Cisco's Catalyst 8000 family of routers are modular appliances designed to work at the WAN edge in support of hybrid networks that can incorporate multiple public and private clouds and cloud-hosted applications. All Catalyst 8000 devices are powered by Cisco IOS XE SD-WAN Software and offer scalability, intelligent cloud security, and 5G access. Throughput is enhanced via purpose-built hardware, a multicore design, high port density, and line-rate encryption. Cisco's subscription software suites offer ongoing access to current SD-WAN technology and allow unified management with advanced cybersecurity, application-optimized policies, segmentation, and cloud integration.

Catalyst 8200 Series WAN Edge Routers
Catalyst 8200 routers are successors to Cisco's 4300 Series Integrated Services Routers, delivering higher IPsec throughput and scale, hardware-accelerated encryption, plus higher built-in WAN interface density. These 1RU appliances are designed to bring Cisco's Secure Access Service Edge, 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 throughput, and allows 1,500 SD-WAN tunnels. Cisco's Catalyst 8200L router does not support container-based apps. Cisco's Catalyst C8200-1N-4T model features eight CPU cores, delivers 1Gb IPsec throughput, supports 2,500 SD-WAN tunnels, and allows edge computing with in-place container models. Both devices include one Network Interface Module slot, a Pluggable Interface Module (PIM) slot, two 1 Gigabit Ethernet WAN copper interfaces, and two 1G Ethernet WAN SFP interfaces. 4-port and 8-port 1 Gigabit Ethernet switch NIM modules are available for both 8200 models.

Catalyst 8300 Series WAN Edge Routers
Cisco Catalyst 8300 WAN Edge routers are intended to replace Cisco's 4400 family of Integrated Services Routers, providing Cisco's secure SD-WAN architecture to medium-sized and large company branch offices seeking high WAN IPSec performance combined with integrated 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 routers support edge computing for an existing container architecture for Cisco UCS-E modules offered on Cisco's 4000 Series ISR routers. All versions in the Catalyst 8300 Series line allow 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 appliance that includes 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, one Network Interface Module slot, and six integrated 1G Ethernet WAN ports. The Catalyst 8300-2N2S-6T router is a two-rack unit router that features 8 CPU cores and delivers 2G SD-WAN throughput and IPsec performance as high as 1.9Gbps. The device includes two Service Module plug-in slots, two NIM slots, and six built-in 1-Gigabit Ethernet WAN interfaces. The Cisco Catalyst C8300-1N1S-4T2X router model is a 1RU appliance that has 8 CPU cores and delivers 5G SD-WAN performance and IPsec data rates up to 15Gbps. The appliance features one a single SM expansion slot, one Network Interface Module slot, two integrated 10-Gigabit Ethernet WAN interfaces, and four built-in 1G Ethernet WAN ports. The Catalyst C8300-2N2S-4T2X appliance is a two-rack unit appliance that features 12 CPU cores and supports 5G SD-WAN data rates and IPsec throughput up to 18Gbps. The router includes two Service Module expansion slots, two Network Interface Module slots, two built-in 10-Gigabit Ethernet WAN ports, and four built-in 1G Ethernet WAN interfaces. LAN modules modules offered by Cisco range from a four-port 1G Ethernet switch Network Interface Module module to a 50-port Catalyst L2 switch Service Module.

Cisco Catalyst 8500 Aggregation Edge Routers
The Cisco Catalyst 8500 Aggregation Edge routers are fixed, 1RU aggregation routers for SD-WAN and colocation deployments. Integrated features include route processor, ESP, and aggregation hardware for multiple connection options. IPsec throughput is double compared to Cisco's prior generation ASR1001-X router. Available interface options include 1GE to 100 GE WAN interfaces. The routers include dual power supplies for enhanced availability. Software subscription packages allow ongoing access to Cisco DNA Center Software for SD-WAN and routing and offer unified management of security, application-aware policies, network segmentation, and cloud support.

The Cisco Catalyst C8500L-8S4X router is designed to provide the same experience as Cisco's ASR 1000 appliance. The C8500L-8S4X includes four 1/10GE WAN ports and can deliver up to 20 Gbps aggregate throughput. SD-WAN IPsec throughput can reach 19Gbps. The Catalyst C8500-12X appliance includes 12 integrated 1/10GE WAN ports and delivers up to 120 Gbps Cisco Express Forwarding aggregate data rates. SD-WAN IPsec throughput can reach 51 Gbps. The C8500-12X4QC aggregation router includes four integrated 1/10GE WAN interfaces and eight 1G interfaces and delivers up to 200 Gbps aggregate throughput. SD-WAN IPsec throughput is up to 68 Gbps.

Cisco ISR Generation 2 Routers
Cisco's ISR G2 routers are intended to provide branch offices of enterprises with advanced collaboration, virtualization, security, and dependable connectivity. ISR Generation 2 routers introduce an architecture that preserves prior investments in service modules for first-generation ISR routers and lowers down-the-line expenses by permitting easy installation of new modules as they are developed. Compared to previous Integrated Services Routers, Cisco's ISR G2 routers feature 2-7 times more performance, substantially more, and easier maintenance. All Cisco ISR G2 routers offer gigabit switching and incorporate multi-core CPUs and ultra-fast fabric for higher performance. ISR Generation 2 routers also offer intelligent power management for better energy conservation.

A major innovation with Integrated Services Generation 2 routers is the Cisco IOS Universal image which contains all of the IOS feature sets so that you can quickly license and activate new features when required without needing to acquire and transfer a new IOS Software image over to yourrouter. Progent's group of CCIE-certified network consultants can provide proven skills to assist you to plan, implement, and maintain multi-site installations of Cisco Integrated Services G2 routers that improve satellite office efficiency and cut the price of expansion and support.

Cisco's ISR 800 Family of Routers
Cisco's 800 Series of ISR routers has been superseded by the faster Cisco ISR 900 series but is still widely deployed. Cisco's comprehensive portfolio of 800 Series ISR routers consists of desktop, fanless appliances designed and priced for small organizations, branch locations, retail venues, telecommuters, and customers of broadband service providers. Many devices in the 800 Series family of routers have been developed with many options over many years. Cisco's 881 line of ISR routers exemplifies the wide array of options available within the Cisco 800 Series product family. Various models in Cisco's 881 Series router catalog can support unified media networks by providing IP voice and video, Wi-Fi and cellular wireless and data in a single integrated router and switch. Advanced data protection can include encryption, VPN tunneling, firewall, and URL filtering. For survivability, available features for Cisco 881 ISR routers include redundant WAN connections or support for wired high-speed WAN connections like DSL plus multiple different cellular 3G and 4G wireless WAN connections all on a single desktop appliance.

The baseline Cisco 881 router includes a 4-port fast Ethernet managed switch with up to 15 Mbps throughput, support for up to 20 users, two-port integrated Power over Ethernet, and IPv6 compatibility. The Cisco 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 (SRST). With a Cisco Unified Border Element (CUBE) feature license, Cisco's 881 ISR router supports SIP trunk connectivity as a replacement for legacy PRI lines or foreign exchange-office (FXO) voice connectivity to a PSTN carrier. SIP trunks can also connect offsite call agents in Cisco Call Center environments.

Cisco 4000 Series Integrated Services Routers
The Cisco 4000 Line of Integrated Services Routers (ISRs) are modular and scalable routers designed for businesses with a large number of branch offices and offsite users who need direct access to in-house data centers and public clouds via VPN tunnels and the Internet. The 4000 series delivers the throughput required for hybrid WAN environments to accommodate mobile workers, Cloud-based services, and HD video applications by using wide area network optimization, deep packet inspection, and traffic-management technology. Devices in the ISR 4000 Series run Cisco's powerful IOS XE software, come in a 1RU or 2RU package, can support Up to 2 Gbps of traffic, and can have up to 3 interface slots, 2 service module slots, 4 built-in 10/100/1000 Ethernet ports, and 8 CPU core integrated server modules. Cisco ISR 4000 models support integrated Gigabit Ethernet, T1/E1, T3/E3, PRI and xDSL. To manage unified communications, Cisco's 400o ISR provides comprehensive edge support for policy-enhanced session border control, telephony fault tolerance, and TDM gateways.

The primary difference between the Cisco 4400 and 4300 Series Routers is dual power supply support in the 4400 ISR Series, offering a greater degree of fault tolerance. Cisco's 4321 Integrated Services Router has a 1 RU desktop form factor and includes two network interface modules, offers as much as 100 Mbps performance, and allows up to 240 Digital Voice and Video Channels. The 4331 ISR Router has a 1 RU form factor with two NIMs, provides as much as 300 Mbps throughput, and can handle 360 Digital Voice/Video Channels. Cisco's 4351 model has a 2 RU package with three NIMs, provides as much as 400 Mbps performance, and supports 720 Digital Voice/Video Channels. The power-redundant 4431 model has a 2 RU form factor and includes three NIMs, offers up to 1 Gbps throughput, and can handle 720 Digital Voice and Video Channels. Cisco's redundant-power 4431 model features a 2 RU package with three NIMs, delivers as much as 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 carrier routers offer enterprises with high-performance, protected head ends to manage satellite office and off-site traffic and to offer service providers cost-effective WAN edge routing. Cisco's WAN aggregation and service provider router portfolio includes the Cisco ASR 1000 product line and the 9000 Series Aggregation Services family.

Progent's nationwide team of Cisco CCIE network engineers have in-depth backgrounds helping enterprises and ISPs to design optimal installations and seamless upgrades of Cisco's WAN edge routers. Progent's GIAC-certified information assurance experts offer unbiased, third-party network security inventory assessments, penetration testing and comprehensive Security information and Event Management (SIEM) solutions to help companies that use Cisco's WAN aggregation routers to comply with business guidelines and statutory requirements for IT data protection and incident reporting.

Cisco ASR 1000 WAN Edge Routers
Cisco's ASR 1000 Aggregation Services line of routers is designed to fill the middle of Cisco's midrange products that focus on aggregating services at the WAN edge. Cisco's ASR 1000 WAN Edge routers offer a small footprint, single-product solution for enterprises requiring satellite office aggregation at multigigabit Ethernet speeds. ASR 1000 WAN Edge routers incorporate an innovative architecture that combines on-board acceleration with programmable versatility in order to offer a multitude of concurrent services while preserving consistent responsiveness.

Cisco's ASR 1000 Series Aggregation Services routers feature Cisco's proprietary QuantumFlow Processor incorporating 40 purpose-built Packet Processing Engines that in combination can handle as many as 160 concurrent threads. This multi-processing structure, in conjunction with on-board acceleration for all services, allows the high-end ASR 1006 router to scale up to 128K hardware queues, 32K subscribers, 4K IP security VPN tunnels at 10,000 sessions per second, and 2 million Netflow log records. This processing capability allows ASR 1000 WAN Edge routers to support a wide variety of sophisticated services concurrently in massive volume without suffering performance degradation that could threaten compliance with SLAs. These advanced services include Cisco IOS Firewall, intrusion-detection services, NAT, FPM, and deep packet inspection. The Cisco ASR 1000 also allows sophisticated traffic management for applying numerous levels of Quality of Service to a data packet in one pass, enhancing responsiveness for resource-intensive multimedia applications.

Cisco ASR 9000 Series Routers
Cisco ASR 9000 Series Aggregation Services Routers are intended as edge routers for carriers who need to deliver the highest quality HD multimedia services to home, business, and mobile users by providing non-stop availability, high speed, and application-aware intelligence. All models in Cisco's ASR 9000 family of Aggregation Services Routers run Cisco's IOS XR, a distributed operating system designed for continuous availability. Throughput of Cisco's ASR 9000 portfolio of Routers can scale to as high as 96 Tbps per system. the Cisco ASR 9000 portfolio of Aggregation Services Routers can handle Gigabit Ethernet, 10 GE, and 100 GE and feature redundant fabric and power modules, power entry modules, and fan trays plus redundant switch fabric.

The Cisco ASR 9001 model is a carrier-edge router in a 6 RU package with 120 Gbps of nonblocking fabric capacity. The Cisco ASR 9001 has two bays which can support port adapters for 1, 10, and 40 Gigabit Ethernet. The chassis incorporates four 10 GE enhanced Small Form-Factor Pluggable (SFP+) ports as well as ports for Stratum 1 clocking, BITS, and management. The ASR 9904 Router has a 6 RU chassis and provides line-rate 10 and 100 GE connections 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 platform comes in a 30 RU form factor with 10 line-card slots able to support up to 550 Gbps of throughput. The ASR 9912 Router incorporates 2 route processors and 6+1 Fabric Cards to provide N+1 redundancy.

How Progent Can Assist Your Business to Support Cisco Routers
Progent's CCIE Premier consultants can help you to design, configure, and manage an integrated business network that can simplify processes, lower costs, and accelerate time to profitability. By combining Cisco integrated services routers with Catalyst switches expertise and Aironet wireless expertise, Progent can significantly increase the business value of your network infrastructure. Progent can provide onsite and remote help and offers data center support throughout and select locations nationwide.

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