Today's routers usually incorporate L2 switching capability, and many modern switches have some Layer 3 routing capability. Routers developed by Cisco, the producer of 90% of the world's routers, have advanced dramatically in function and performance and Cisco now makes a comprehensive product line that features routers engineered to meet the requirements of users ranging from households to the world's largest service providers.
The most recent ISR routers released by Cisco offer the performance and integrated features to support IP voice and video plus virtual environments while also providing fault tolerance, remote administration, seamless extensibility, and advanced security and compliance. These routers enable you to build a firm basis for an information environment that can evolve smoothly as you add new workers, open new offices, activate new services, extend your system to customers and vendors, and support an an increasingly mobile workforce. Progent's Cisco certified CCIE network consultants can provide immediate and economical remote expertise to assist you to plan, deploy, administer, update, and support Cisco's most advanced routers and can assist you to maintain your older routers or move non-disruptively to Cisco's newer router solutions.
Cisco Routers Designed for Home and Small Offices and Branches
Cisco's routers for small businesses and remote offices provide affordable and dependable entry-level alternatives that allow limited sets of users to have secure access to wide area networks. These single-configuration desktop devices include at minimum four Ethernet ports with wireless options plus integrated firewall for enhanced security. Built for easy installation, administration, and support, Cisco's entry-level routers reduce ownership costs by cutting equipment and operational expenses. Progent's online support specialists have in-depth experience delivering fast and economical IT assistance for small businesses to set up and support these devices, and Progent's Cisco-certified CCIE network consultants can assist you to determine how these routers can increase the strategic value of your information system.
ISR 900 Series Routers
The Cisco ISR 900 Series desktop routers are small-footprint, quiet, fixed-configuration appliances designed for SMBs, branch offices, and home offices. These entry-level routers include four GE LAN ports and can support Metro Ethernet, LTE, and DSL WAN connectivity. Cisco's ISR 900 router product line delivers three times the IPsec performance of Cisco's ISR 800 Series family of routers. All ISR 900 Series routers feature Group Encrypted TransportVPN (GETVPN), dynamic multipoint virtual private network VPN (DMVPN), Cisco FlexVPN, and firewall. VPN throughput is up to 250 Mbps. All router versions allow up to 50 virtual LANs. Supported dynamic failover technology for business continuity include Virtual Router Redundancy Protocol (VRRP), Hot Standby Router Protocol (HSRP), and Multigroup HSRP. Provisioning and management can be performed with Cisco Configuration Professional Express, Cisco DNA Center, and Cisco IOS Software. Cisco ISR 900 Series devices do not work with Cisco's SD-WAN solution.
The Cisco ISR 921 router comes with dual GE WAN, Category 4 LTE, and a built-in power supply. VPN performance is 150 Mbps. Cisco's ISR 926 and ISR 927 models use external power and support a single WAN port, LTE Cat 4, plus VDSL2 and ADSL2/2+ high-speed broadband. VPN throughput for both routers is 150 Mbps. The high-performance Cisco ISR 931 features dual GE WAN and includes an internal power supply. VPN throughput is 250 Mbps.
Cisco Meraki MX Series SD-WAN Security Appliances
The Cisco Meraki MX series of desktop routers combine SD-WAN and cloud-hosted unified threat management (UTM) in one small-footprint device able to support 50 to 200 users. Each MX router must be licensed for the Meraki cloud. For sites with several external network options (e.g., MPLS, broadband, cellular), SD-WAN technology permits admins to assign the WAN connection a given application uses or to build performance-based algorithms to select the appropriate interface. Cisco Meraki MX fixed-configuration desktop routers share key capabilities including:
Cisco 1000 Series ISR Enterprise Branch Routers
Cisco 1000 and 1100 family Integrated Services Routers using Cisco IOS XE software are a line of fanless appliances designed to deliver network connectivity, wireless access, and advanced cybersecurity for small and midsize businesses, branch offices, retail stores, kiosks, and M2M venues. Parallel processing cores and compatibly with Cisco IOS XE enable these routers to deliver capabilities consistent with Cisco's complete line of Enterprise routers. 1000 and 1100 Series ISR routers are offered with 4 or 8 LAN ports and provide Gigabit Ethernet packet forwarding. Available features include PoE and PoE+, zero-touch provisioning, plus a range of built-in or pluggable options such as LAN, WAN, wireless LAN, VDSL2/ADSL2+, LTE Advanced wireless, 802.11ac Wi-Fi, and SFP Fiber. Cisco 1000 and 1100 family ISR routers work with Cisco's SD-WAN subscription services for seamless multi-cloud connectivity, advanced cybersecurity, and cohesive administration across hybrid networks.
Cisco's 1RU or desktop 1100-4G ISR router comes with four built-in GE ports, integrated 3G/4G LTE with two LTE antenna sockets, and a micro-SIM plug-in slot. Encryption packet processing performance is 200 Mbps. The 1100-6G ISR router also includes two 1G SFP Fiber connections and features encryption speed of 520 Mbps. Cisco's desktop-only 1101-4P ISR router has four built-in switched GE ports, offers 802.11ac and 3G/4G LTE wireless, and features encryption speed 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 wireless ports. Encryption performance is 200 Mbps.
Cisco's 1RU or desktop 111x-4P/8P ISR routers include four or eight built-in switched GE interfaces (two or four provide PoE) and support VDSL2/ADSL2+, 802.11ac Wi-Fi, 3G/4G LTE wireless, and SFP Fiber. Encryption rate is 280 Mbps. Cisco's 1RU or desktop ISR 1111X-8P router has eight integrated switched GE connections (four with POE) and a port for 1G SFP. Encryption throughput is 340 Mbps. The 112x-8P ISR router has eight GE ports with PoE and supports SHDSL, VDSL2/ADSL2+, 802.11ac Wi-Fi, 3G/4G LTE wireless, and SFP. Encryption throughput is 340 Mbps. The Cisco ISR 1161X-8P router features eight built-in switched GE ports with PoE and supports 3G/4G LTE wireless and SFP. Encryption performance 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 intended to operate at the enterprise branche and the WAN edge to support hybrid network environments that can incorporate multiple public and private clouds and cloud-hosted applications. Catalyst 8000 devices are powered by Cisco IOS XE SD-WAN Software and offer scalability, advanced cybersecurity, and 5G access. Performance is optimized via purpose-built silicon, a multicore architecture, high port density, and in-line encryption. Cisco's subscription software suites offer ongoing access to current SD-WAN technology and allow centralized management with enhanced cybersecurity, application-based policies, segmentation, and cloud integration.
Cisco Catalyst 8200 Enterprise Branch Edge Routers
Catalyst 8200 routers are successors to Cisco's 4300 Series Integrated Services Routers, delivering higher IPsec throughput and scale, accelerated encryption, plus higher built-in WAN interface density. These one-rack unit routers are built to bring Cisco's Secure Access Service Edge (SASE), Software-Defined WAN and 5G-interface technology to enterprise branch offices and the enterprise WAN edge. The Catalyst C8200L-1N-4T router includes four CPU cores, enables 500 Mbps IPsec throughput, and allows 1,500 SD-WAN tunnels. The Catalyst 8200L router does not support container-based applications. Cisco's Catalyst C8200-1N-4T model features eight CPU cores, provides 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 Pluggable Interface Module slot, two 1 Gigabit Ethernet WAN ports, and two 1 Gigabit Ethernet WAN SFP interfaces. 4-port and 8-port 1 Gigabit Ethernet switch NIM modules are available for both 8200 models.
Catalyst 8300 Series Enterprise Edge Routers
Catalyst 8300 WAN Edge routers are designed to supersede Cisco's 4400 line of Integrated Services Routers, providing Cisco's secure SD-WAN technology to mid-sized and large enterprise branches looking for high WAN IPSec throughput combined with integrated SD-WAN services. Advanced capabilities include 5G wireless connectivity, integrated security, WAN MACSec, enhanced Layer 2 switching, and Deep Packet Inspection (DPI) with application optimization. Catalyst 8300 WAN Edge routers support edge computing for an existing container architecture for Cisco UCS-E modules available on Cisco's 4000 line of ISR routers. All versions in the Cisco Catalyst 8300 Series portfolio allow 4,000 SD-WAN tunnels and feature dual power supplies for improved uptime.
The Catalyst 8300-1N1S-6T router model is a 1RU appliance that includes eight CPU cores and delivers 2G SD-WAN throughput and IPsec performance of up to 1.9Gbps. The unit includes one SM expansion slot, a NIM slot, and six built-in 1G Ethernet WAN interfaces. The Catalyst 8300-2N2S-6T router is a 2RU router that features 8 CPU cores and supports 2G SD-WAN performance and IPsec data rates of up to 1.9Gbps. The appliance includes two SM expansion slots, two Network Interface Module slots, and six integrated 1G Ethernet WAN ports. The Cisco Catalyst C8300-1N1S-4T2X router model is a 1RU appliance that includes 8 CPU cores and supports 5G SD-WAN data rates and IPsec performance as high as 15Gbps. The appliance includes one a single Service Module expansion slot, one NIM slot, two built-in 10-Gigabit Ethernet WAN ports, and four integrated 1G Ethernet WAN ports. The Catalyst C8300-2N2S-4T2X model is a two-rack unit appliance that includes 12 CPU cores and offers 5G SD-WAN data rates and IPsec data rates as high as 18Gbps. The unit includes two SM plug-in slots, two Network Interface Module slots, two built-in 10-Gigabit Ethernet WAN interfaces, and four fixed 1G Ethernet WAN interfaces. LAN plug-in modules offered by Cisco range from a 4-port 1G Ethernet switch Network Interface Module module to a 50-port Catalyst L2 switch SM module.
Cisco Catalyst 8500 Series Aggregation Edge Routers
The Cisco Catalyst 8500 Series Aggregation Edge routers are fixed form factor, 1RU aggregation appliances for SD-WAN and colocation deployments. Built-in features include route processor, embedded services processor (ESP), plus aggregation hardware for various interfaces and connectivity options. IPsec performance is double compared to Cisco's earlier generation ASR1001-X aggregation services router. Flexible interface alternatives include 1GE to 100 GE WAN interfaces. The routers include dual power units for improved availability. Software subscription suites provide continuing use of Cisco DNA Center Software for SD-WAN and routing and enable unified management of cybersecurity, application-based policies, segmentation, and cloud support.
The Cisco Catalyst C8500L-8S4X router is intended to offer the same key features 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 throughput is up to 19Gbps. The Cisco Catalyst C8500-12X router includes 12 integrated 1/10GE WAN interfaces and delivers up to 120 Gbps Cisco Express Forwarding aggregate throughput. SD-WAN IPsec performance is up to 51 Gbps. The C8500-12X4QC unit comes with four built-in 1/10GE WAN interfaces and eight 1G ports and can support up to 200 Gbps aggregate throughput. SD-WAN IPsec performance can reach 68 Gbps. Cisco's C8500-20X6C router has 20 built-in SFP+ interfaces and six x QSFP+ interfaces. Cisco's C8500-20X6C delivers as much as 500 Gbps Cisco Express Forwarding aggregate performance.
Cisco ISR Generation 2 Routers
Cisco's ISR G2 routers are intended to offer satellite offices of large businesses with advanced video and voice applications, virtual networking, protection, and dependable WAN access. Integrated Services G2 routers feature an architecture that preserves prior investments in modules for first-generation Integrated Services Routers and reduces down-the-line expenses by allowing easy installation of new modules when they become available. Compared to previous Integrated Services Routers, Cisco's ISR G2 routers offer 2-7 times higher performance, far greater expandability, and easier maintenance. All Cisco ISR Generation 2 routers offer GE switching and include multi-core CPUs and ultra-fast fabric for faster throughput. ISR G2 routers also support intelligent power control for better energy conservation.
A major innovation with Integrated Services G2 routers is the Cisco IOS Software Universal image which contains all of the Cisco IOS technology sets so that you can rapidly authorize and activate new functions as desired without needing to acquire and transfer a new IOS image to yourrouter. Progent's team of CCIE-certified network consultants can provide proven expertise to help your business to design, configure, and maintain multi-site installations of Cisco Integrated Services G2 routers that improve satellite office efficiency 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 series but is still widely deployed. Cisco's comprehensive line of 800 Series ISR routers is made up of desktop, fanless devices designed and priced for small businesses, branch offices, retail shops, telecommuters, and customers of ISPs. A wealth of devices in the 800 Series family of routers have been developed with various options over the course of many years. Cisco's 881 Series of ISR routers suggests the wide selection of options offered within the Cisco 800 line of routers. Models in Cisco's 881 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. Built-in security can include encryption, VPN tunneling, firewall, and URL filtering. For business continuity, available features for Cisco 881 ISR routers include duplicate wide area network connections or support for landline broadband WAN links such as DSL as well as multiple different cellular 3G and 4G wireless connections all on a single desktop appliance.
The basic Cisco 881 features a 4-port 10/100-Mbps managed switch with up to 15 Mbps throughput, the ability to handle 20 users, 2-port integrated Power over Ethernet, and IPv6 support. The Cisco 881W router includes 802.11g/n Wi-Fi. Cisco's 881 SRST router features 4 FXS ports and 1 FXO port for public-switched-telephone-network (PSTN) fallback with Cisco Survivable Remote Site Telephony. With a Cisco Unified Border Element (CUBE) feature license, Cisco's 881 ISR router allows SIP trunk connectivity to replace outdated PRI lines or FXO voice connectivity to a PSTN service provider. CUBE-based SIP trunks can also connect offsite agents in Cisco Call Center deployments.
Cisco 4000 Series Integrated Services Routers
Cisco's 4000 Series Integrated Services Routers are compact modular and scalable platforms intended for organizations with multiple branch offices and remote workers who need direct communication with in-house data centers and public clouds across VPNs and the Internet. Cisco's 4000 series provides the bandwidth required for distributed enterprise sites to accommodate mobile users, cloud services, and HD video applications by utilizing wide area network optimization, deep packet inspection, and advanced traffic-management technology. Models in the 4000 Series are powered by Cisco's powerful IOS XE operating system, come in a 1-rack-unit (RU) or 2RU package, can handle Up to 2 Gbps of throughput, and can include up to 3 network interface slots, 2 service module slots, 4 integrated Gigabit Ethernet ports, and 8 CPU core integrated server modules. Cisco ISR 4000 models support integrated Gigabit Ethernet, T1/E1, T3/E3, PR1, xDSL and other interfaces. To manage unified communications, Cisco's 400o ISR offers comprehensive edge support technology for policy-enhanced SBC, branch telephony survivability, and TDM gateways.
The primary difference between Cisco's 4400 and 4300 Series Routers is redundant power supply support in the 4400 ISR Series, providing a higher level of fault tolerance. Cisco's 4321 ISR Router has a 1 RU desktop package and includes two network interface modules, delivers as much as 100 Mbps performance, and allows up to 240 Digital Voice and Video Channels. Cisco's 4331 Integrated Services Router has a 1 RU package with two NIMs, offers up to 300 Mbps performance, and supports 360 Digital Voice and Video Channels. Cisco's 4351 Integrated Services Router comes in a 2 RU package and includes three network interface modules, offers up to 400 Mbps performance, and can handle 720 Digital Voice and Video Channels. Cisco's power-redundant 4431 router comes in a 2 RU form factor and includes three network interface modules, delivers as much as 1 Gbps throughput, and supports 720 Digital Voice and Video Channels. The redundant-power 4431 Integrated Services Router features a 2 RU package and includes three network interface modules, delivers as much as 2 Gbps performance, and can handle 1200 Digital Voice and Video Channels.
Cisco's Midrange WAN Aggregation Routers and Service Provider Routers
Cisco's WAN aggregation and carrier routers can provide enterprises with fast, protected distribution points to manage branch office and remote user traffic and to provide carriers cost-optimized wide area network edge routing. Cisco's WAN aggregation and carrier router portfolio features the Cisco ASR 1000 routers and the 9000 Series Aggregation Services routers.
Progent's nationwide group of Cisco CCIE network experts have in-depth experience helping enterprise businesses and service providers to design optimal installations and smooth upgrades of Cisco's WAN edge routers. Progent's GIAC-certified information assurance consultants can provide objective, third-party network security inventory evaluations, stealth penetration testing and comprehensive SIEM solutions to help enterprises with Cisco's WAN aggregation routers to comply with industry standards and government mandates 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 simplify the vulnerability assessment cycle of discovering security gaps in perimeters and within the internal network infrastructure, prioritizing repairs, fixing weaknesses, and verifying fixes.
Cisco ASR 1000 WAN Edge Routers
Cisco's ASR 1000 Series Aggregation Services family of routers is designed to fill the center of Cisco's midrange devices that concentrate on acting as headends at the WAN edge. Cisco's ASR 1000 Aggregation Services routers offer a small form factor, multi-function solution for large businesses requiring satellite office aggregation at multigigabit Ethernet performance. Cisco's ASR 1000 Aggregation Services routers introduce an innovative design that mixes on-board acceleration with programmable versatility in order to offer a multitude of simultaneous services while preserving consistent responsiveness.
Cisco's ASR 1000 WAN Edge routers feature Cisco's proprietary QuantumFlow Processor incorporating 40 custom Packet Processing Engines (PPEs) that in combination can support as many as 160 simultaneous processor threads. This parallel CPU architecture, combined with hardware acceleration for all services, enables the top-of-the-line ASR 1006 router to expand up to 000 hardware queues, 32,000 subscribers, 4,000 IP security VPN tunnels at 10K sessions per second, and 2 million Netflow records. This processing power permits ASR 1000 WAN Edge routers to deliver a wide variety of advanced services concurrently in high volume without suffering throughput decay that could threaten compliance with service level agreements. These advanced services include Cisco Firewall, IPS, Network Address Translation, FPM, and in-line deep packet inspection. The Cisco ASR 1000 also allows sophisticated traffic control for performing multiple levels of Quality of Service to a packet in one operation, enhancing the user experience for high-bandwidth multimedia applications.
Cisco ASR 9000 Series Routers
Cisco's ASR 9000 Series Aggregation Services Routers are intended as edge routers for carriers who need to support the highest quality data, voice and video services to home, business, and mobile users by offering continual operation, high speed, and application awareness. All models in Cisco's ASR 9000 family of Routers run Cisco's IOS XR operating system, a distributed operating system built for non-stop uptime. Performance of Cisco's ASR 9000 family of Aggregation Services Routers can be expanded to as high as 96 Tbps per system. the ASR 9000 family of Routers can handle high-density Gigabit Ethernet, 10 Gigabit Ethernet, and 100 GE and have fully redundant fabric and power supply, power entry modules, plus redundant control planes.
The ASR 9001 platform is a carrier-edge router that comes in a 6 RU package that delivers 120 Gbps of nonblocking fabric performance. The Cisco ASR 9001 has two modular bays to support port adapters for 1 GE, 10 GE, and 40 GE. The base chassis has four 10 GE enhanced Small Form-Factor Pluggable (SFP+) ports and ports for Stratum 1 clocking, building integrated timing supply (BITS), and management. The Cisco ASR 9904 Router comes in a 6 RU chassis and provides dense 10 and 100 GE connections in space-constrained sites. The 4-slot ASR 9094 can support up to 4 Tbps of switching capacity in a single chassis. The ASR 9912 platform has a 30 RU chassis with 12 slots slots that can handle up to 550 Gbps of switching capacity. The Cisco ASR 9912 Router incorporates 2 route processors as well as 6+1 Fabric Cards for N+1 redundancy.
How Progent Can Assist Your Business to Support Cisco Router Products
Progent's Cisco certified consultants can help your company to plan, setup, and support a converged network infrastructure that can automate processes, lower costs, and accelerate time to positive ROI. By teaming Cisco routers with Catalyst switches expertise and Catalyst and Meraki Wi-Fi wireless expertise, Progent can dramatically increase the business value of your integrated network. Progent can provide on-premises and off-site troubleshooting and offers data center support throughout the U.S.
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