Today's routers typically incorporate L2 switching capability, and many of today's switches include some Layer 3 routing capability. Routers developed by Cisco, the producer of 90% of the industry's routers, have improved dramatically in capability and performance and Cisco makes an extensive portfolio that features routers built to handle the needs of users from households to nationwide ISPs.

The most recent Integrated Services Routers from Cisco offer the speed and integrated features to support data voice and video as well as virtualization while at the same time providing fault tolerance, web-based administration, easy expandability, and enhanced security and compliance. Cisco's ISR routers allow your company to build a firm basis for an IT environment that can evolve seamlessly as you hire more workers, establish extra sites, configure new services, give access to your system to clients and partners, and build an expanding mobile workforce. Progent's Cisco certified CCIE network consultants can provide immediate and economical remote expertise to assist you to plan, configure, manage, upgrade, and troubleshoot Cisco's most advanced router technology and can help you to support your older routers or move efficiently to Cisco's current networking solutions.
Cisco Routers for Home Offices and Small Offices and Branch Offices
Cisco's routers for small companies and remote offices offer affordable and dependable entry-level alternatives that enable small groups of workers to share secure connectivity to wide area networks. All these single-configuration desktop devices include at minimum four 10/100 Ethernet ports with wireless options plus built-in firewall to provide advanced protection. Built for easy installation, administration, and troubleshooting, Cisco's entry-level routers reduce total cost of ownership by lowering equipment and maintenance expenses. Progent's remote troubleshooting experts have in-depth backgrounds providing immediate and economical IT help for small organizations to set up and maintain these devices, and Progent's CCIE network consultants can help you to understand ways Cisco's small office routers can increase the strategic value of your information system.
ISR 900 Series Routers
The Cisco ISR 900 Series routers are compact, quiet, set-configuration devices designed for SMBs, branches, and home offices. These entry-level routers have four managed GE LAN ports and can support Metro Ethernet, LTE, and DSL WAN connections. The ISR 900 router product line provides three times the IPsec performance of the ISR 800 Series routers. All ISR 900 models offer Group Encrypted TransportVPN (GETVPN), dynamic multipoint virtual private network VPN, Cisco FlexVPN, and firewall. VPN performance is as high as 250 Mbps. All router models support up to 50 VLANs. Supported dynamic failover technology for business continuity include Virtual Router Redundancy Protocol, Hot Standby Router Protocol (HSRP), and Multigroup HSRP (MHSRP). Provisioning and management can be performed with Cisco CP Express, Cisco DNA Center, and Cisco IOS Software. Cisco ISR 900 Series devices do not support Cisco's SD-WAN solution.
The Cisco ISR 921 router features dual GE WAN ports, Category 4 LTE, and a built-in power supply. VPN throughput is 150 Mbps. Cisco's ISR 926 and ISR 927 routers have external power and support a single WAN interface, LTE Cat 4, VDSL2 and ADSL2/2+. VPN throughput for both routers is 150 Mbps. The high-performance Cisco ISR 931 features 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 family of desktop routers provide software-defined wide area networking (SD-WAN) and cloud-hosted unified threat management in one small-footprint appliance able to handle 50 to 200 users. Each MX router needs to be licensed for the Meraki cloud. For sites having multiple WAN network connections (e.g., MPLS, fiber optic, cellular), SD-WAN technology allows administrators to specify the WAN connection an application uses or to build performance-based rules 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 Series Integrated Services Routers running Cisco IOS XE software are a line of fanless routers intended to provide high-performance network connectivity, wireless support, and multilayer security for SMBs, enterprise branches, retail stores, kiosks, and machine-to-machine venues. Multiple parallel processing CPU cores and the ability to run Cisco IOS XE allow these routers to deliver capabilities consistent with Cisco's complete family of Enterprise routers. 1000 Series ISR routers are offered with 4 or 8 LAN ports and offer Gigabit Ethernet (GE) packet forwarding. Various models include PoE and PoE+, auto provisioning, plus a range of built-in or pluggable options such as LAN, WAN, WLAN, G.fast DSL, 3G/4G wireless, 802.11 Wi-Fi, and SFP. Cisco 1000 Series ISR models work with Cisco's SD-WAN services for seamless multiple-cloud access, multilayer cybersecurity, and centralized management of hybrid networks.

Cisco's 1RU or desktop 1100-4G ISR router comes with four integrated GE WAN/LAN ports, built-in 3G/4G LTE with two LTE SMA connectors, and one micro-SIM slot. Encryption performance is 200 Mbps. The 1100-6G ISR router also includes two 1G SFP Fiber ports and delivers encryption performance of 520 Mbps. Cisco's desktop ISR 1101-4P router has four built-in switched GE connections, offers 802.11ac and 3G/4G LTE wireless, and features encryption speed of 280 Mbps. The Cisco ISR 1109-2P/4p desktop routers include two or four built-in switched GE connections and two pluggable 3G/4G LTE wireless ports. Encryption performance is 200 Mbps.
The Cisco rackmount or desktop 111x-4P/8P ISR routers come with four or eight integrated switched GE ports (two or four provide PoE) and support VDSL2/ADSL2+, 802.11ac, 3G/4G LTE, and SFP. Encryption throughput is 280 Mbps. Cisco's 1RU or desktop 1111X-8P ISR router includes eight integrated GE connections (four with POE) and a port for SFP Fiber. Encryption packet processing performance is 340 Mbps. The ISR 112x-8P router has eight built-in GE ports with Power over Ethernet and supports SHDSL, VDSL2/ADSL2+, 802.11ac, 3G/4G LTE wireless, and SFP. Encryption packet processing speed is 340 Mbps. The Cisco 1161X-8P ISR router includes eight switched GE connections with Power over Ethernet and supports 3G/4G LTE and SFP. Encryption packet processing speed 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 to support hybrid networks that can include multiple public and private clouds and cloud-hosted applications. Catalyst 8000 routers use Cisco IOS XE SD-WAN Software and provide scalability, advanced cloud security, and 5G connectivity. Performance is optimized using custom silicon, a multicore design, high port density, and in-line encryption. Cisco's subscription software suites offer continual access to the latest SD-WAN technology and enable centralized management with enhanced security, application-optimized policies, segmentation, and cloud integration.
Cisco Catalyst 8200 Series Enterprise Edge Routers
Catalyst 8200 Series routers are successors to Cisco's 4300 Series Integrated Services Routers, delivering higher IPsec performance and expandability, hardware-accelerated encryption, plus higher integrated WAN port density. These one-rack unit routers are built to bring Cisco's SASE, Software-Defined WAN and 5G-interface technology to enterprise branches and the enterprise access edge. The Catalyst C8200L-1N-4T model features four CPU cores, enables 500 Mbps IPsec performance, and allows 1,500 SD-WAN tunnels. Cisco's Catalyst 8200L platform does not support container-based apps. The Catalyst C8200-1N-4T router includes eight CPU cores, provides 1Gb IPsec performance, permits 2,500 SD-WAN tunnels, and allows edge computing with in-place container models. Both appliances include one Network Interface Module slot, a Pluggable Interface Module (PIM) slot, two 1G Ethernet WAN interfaces, and two 1 Gigabit Ethernet WAN SFP interfaces. 4-port and 8-port 1G Ethernet switch NIM modules are available for both 8200 routers.
Cisco Catalyst 8300 Series Enterprise Branch Edge Routers
Cisco Catalyst 8300 WAN Edge routers are intended to supersede Cisco's 4400 family of Integrated Services Routers, delivering Cisco's secure SD-WAN solution to mid-sized and large company branch offices seeking high WAN IPSec throughput with cohesive SD-WAN services. Enhanced capabilities include 5G wireless support, built-in cybersecurity, WAN MACSec, integrated enhanced Layer 2 switching, and Deep Packet Inspection with application optimization. Catalyst 8300 routers enable edge computing for an in-place container architecture for Cisco UCS-E modules offered on Cisco's 4000 family of ISR routers. All versions in the Catalyst 8300 Series family allow 4,000 SD-WAN tunnels and include dual power supplies for high availability.
The Catalyst 8300-1N1S-6T router is a one-rack unit appliance that includes 8 CPU cores and delivers 2G SD-WAN performance and IPsec data rates as high as 1.9Gbps. The unit comes with one SM plug-in slot, a NIM slot, and six built-in 1G Ethernet WAN ports. The Catalyst 8300-2N2S-6T router is a 2RU model that features 8 CPU cores and offers 2G SD-WAN performance and IPsec data rates of up to 1.9Gbps. The device includes two Service Module expansion slots, two Network Interface Module slots, and six integrated 1-Gigabit Ethernet WAN ports. The Catalyst C8300-1N1S-4T2X router model is a 1RU appliance that includes eight CPU cores and delivers 5G SD-WAN data rates and IPsec data rates as high as 15Gbps. The router features one one Service Module expansion slot, a Network Interface Module slot, two integrated 10-Gigabit Ethernet WAN ports, and four built-in 1-Gigabit Ethernet WAN interfaces. The Catalyst C8300-2N2S-4T2X appliance is a 2RU model that features 12 CPU cores and delivers 5G SD-WAN data rates and IPsec data rates up to 18Gbps. The router has two Service Module plug-in slots, two NIM slots, two built-in 10-Gigabit Ethernet WAN interfaces, and four integrated 1-Gigabit Ethernet WAN ports. LAN expansion modules available from Cisco range from a four-port 1G Ethernet switch NIM module to a 50-port Catalyst L2 switch Service Module.
Catalyst 8500 Aggregation Edge Routers
The Cisco Catalyst 8500 Series Aggregation Edge routers are fixed form factor, 1RU aggregation appliances for SD-WAN and colocation environments. Built-in features include route processor, embedded services processor (ESP), plus aggregation hardware for various interfaces and connectivity options. IPsec performance is twice that of Cisco's prior generation ASR1001-X aggregation services router. Flexible connectivity options include 1GE to 100 GE WAN ports. These routers include redundant power supplies for enhanced availability. Software subscription suites provide ongoing use of Cisco DNA Center Software for SD-WAN and routing and enable unified management of security, application-aware policies, segmentation, and cloud support.
The Cisco Catalyst C8500L-8S4X router is designed to provide the same experience as Cisco's ASR 1000 router. The C8500L-8S4X includes four 1/10GE WAN interfaces and delivers as high as 20 Gbps Cisco Express Forwarding aggregate throughput. SD-WAN IPsec throughput is up to 19Gbps. The Cisco Catalyst C8500-12X appliance features 12 integrated 1/10GE WAN interfaces and delivers as high as 120 Gbps aggregate throughput. SD-WAN IPsec performance can reach 51 Gbps. The C8500-12X4QC unit comes with four built-in 1/10GE WAN interfaces and eight 1G interfaces and can support up to 200 Gbps aggregate performance. SD-WAN IPsec performance can reach 68 Gbps. The C8500-20X6C high-density router has 20 built-in SFP+ interfaces and six x QSFP+ interfaces. The Catalyst C8500-20X6C delivers up to 500 Gbps Cisco Express Forwarding aggregate performance.
Cisco ISR Generation 2 Routers
Cisco's ISR G2 routers are designed to provide branch offices of large businesses with advanced video and voice applications, virtual networking, protection, and dependable connectivity. ISR Generation 2 routers feature a design that protects prior investments in modules for older Integrated Services Routers and lowers future costs by allowing easy installation of new modules when they become available. In comparison to previous Integrated Services Routers, Cisco's ISR G2 routers offer 2-7 times higher throughput, far more, and easier maintenance. All Integrated Services Generation 2 routers support Gbit switching and include multi-core processors and multigigabit fabric for higher throughput. ISR Generation 2 routers also support smart power control for improved energy conservation.
A key innovation with ISR G2 routers is the IOS Software Universal image which includes all of the IOS feature sets so that your company can quickly license and activate new services when required without needing to acquire and transfer a different IOS Software image to yourCisco router. Progent's group of CCIE network engineers can provide world-class skills to assist you to design, configure, and support multi-location installations of Cisco ISR Generation 2 routers that improve satellite office productivity and cut the costs of upgrades and maintenance.
Cisco's ISR 800 Family of Routers
The 800 Series of ISR routers has been functionally replaced by the faster Cisco ISR 900 family but remains widely deployed. Cisco's comprehensive portfolio of 800 Series ISR routers consists of desktop devices intended for small organizations, branch locations, retail venues, teleworkers, and clients of ISPs. Many devices in Cisco's 800 family of routers have been developed with various options over the course of many years. The 881 Series of ISR routers suggests the wide selection of options available within the Cisco 800 Series product family. Various models in Cisco's 881 router portfolio can enable unified media networks by delivering voice and video, wireless and data in a single integrated appliance. Built-in security can include encryption, VPN tunneling, firewall, and URL filtering. For survivability, available features for 881 ISR routers include redundant wide area network links or support for wired high-speed WAN connections such as DSL plus multiple 3G and 4G wireless connections all on one desktop appliance.

The baseline Cisco 881 features a 4-port 10/100-Mbps managed switch with up to 15 Mbps throughput, support for up to 20 users, 2-port integrated PoE, and IPv6 compatibility. Cisco's 881W router includes 802.11g/n Wi-Fi. The 881 SRST router features four FXS ports and 1 FXO port for PSTN fallback with Cisco Survivable Remote Site Telephony (SRST). With a Cisco Unified Border Element (CUBE) feature license, Cisco's 881 ISR router allows SIP trunking to replace legacy Primary Rate Interface (PRI) lines or FXO voice connectivity to a PSTN carrier. CUBE-based SIP trunks also connect remote agents in Cisco Call Center deployments.
4000 Series ISR Routers
The Cisco 4000 Line of Integrated Services Routers are modular and scalable platforms designed for organizations with multiple branch offices and offsite workers who need direct access to in-house data centers as well as public clouds across VPN tunnels and the Internet. Cisco's 4000 series delivers the throughput needed for hybrid WAN environments to support mobile workers, cloud services, and multimedia applications by using WAN optimization, deep packet inspection, and traffic-management technology. Models in the ISR 4000 family are powered by Cisco's powerful IOS XE software, come in a 1RU or 2RU package, can support Up to 2 Gbps of throughput, and can have up to 3 network interface module slots, 2 service module slots, 4 built-in 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 for policy-enhanced session border control, telephony survivability, and Time Division Multiplexing gateways.

The primary difference between the Cisco 4400 and 4300 Series is the inclusion of dual power supply capability in the 4400 Series, offering a higher degree of fault tolerance. The 4321 Integrated Services Router has a 1 RU desktop form factor with two network interface modules (NIMs), delivers up to 100 Mbps throughput, and allows up to 240 Digital Voice and Video Channels. The 4331 router has a 1 RU form factor and includes two NIMs, provides up to 300 Mbps throughput, and supports 360 Digital Voice/Video Channels. The 4351 router has a 2 RU package and includes three NIMs, 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 as much as 1 Gbps performance, and allows up to 720 Digital Voice and Video Channels. The redundant-power 4431 router features a 2 RU package with three NIMs, delivers up to 2 Gbps performance, and allows up to 1200 Digital Voice and Video Channels.
Cisco's Midrange WAN Aggregation Routers and Carrier-class Routers
Cisco's midrange and carrier routers can provide enterprises with fast, protected distribution points to aggregate branch office and off-site data packets and to provide service providers cost-effective WAN edge routing. Cisco's WAN aggregation and carrier router product line includes the Cisco ASR 1000 product line and the 9000 Series Aggregation Services family.

Progent's national group of CCIE certified network consultants have extensive experience working with enterprises and service providers to design optimal installations and seamless expansion of Cisco's WAN edge routers. Progent's GIAC-certified information assurance consultants offer unbiased, independent network security inventory assessments, penetration testing services and advanced Security information and Event Management (SIEM) solutions to help companies with Cisco's Aggregation Services Routers to meet industry guidelines and government mandates for IT data protection and reporting. Progent also offers help with Horizon3.ai's NodeZero platform for threat assessment. NodeZero depends on AI technology to streamline the vulnerability assessment cycle of discovering security gaps in perimeters and inside the internal network infrastructure, prioritizing repairs, fixing problems, and verifying successful repairs.
Cisco ASR 1000 Series Aggregation Services Routers
Cisco's ASR 1000 Series Aggregation Services family of routers is positioned in the middle of Cisco's midrange devices that concentrate on acting as headends at the wide area network edge. ASR 1000 WAN Edge routers provide a small footprint, multi-function answer for large businesses who need branch office service aggregation at multigigabit Ethernet performance. ASR 1000 WAN Edge routers incorporate a revolutionary design that combines on-board acceleration with software versatility in order to deliver a rich set of simultaneous services without sacrificing dependable performance.
Cisco's ASR 1000 Series Aggregation Services routers feature Cisco's new QuantumFlow Processor made up of 40 custom Packet Processing Engines that together can support as many as 160 concurrent processor threads. This parallel CPU architecture, in conjunction with hardware acceleration for every service, enables the high-end ASR 1006 router to expand up to 000 queues, 32,000 clients, 4K IPsec tunnels at 10K sessions per second, and 2M Netflow records. This CPU power permits Cisco's ASR 1000 routers to deliver a variety of advanced services concurrently in high volume while avoiding throughput decay that might violate adherence to SLAs. Examples of these advanced services include Cisco IOS Firewall, intrusion-detection services, NAT, Flexible Packet Matching, and deep packet inspection. The Cisco ASR 1000 also permits sophisticated traffic management for applying numerous levels of Quality of Service to a packet in one operation, enhancing the user experience for resource-intensive multimedia applications.
Cisco ASR 9000 Series Aggregation Services Routers
Cisco's ASR 9000 Series Aggregation Services Routers are designed as WAN-edge routers for carriers who are required to deliver world-class data, voice and video services to home, business, and mobile users by offering always-on operation, high speed, and application awareness. All platforms in Cisco's ASR 9000 family of Routers run Cisco's IOS XR, a distributed operating system designed for continuous availability. Performance of the ASR 9000 family of Routers can be expanded up to 96 Tbps per system. Cisco's ASR 9000 family of Aggregation Services Routers can handle high-density Gigabit Ethernet (GE), 10 Gigabit Ethernet, and 100 GE and feature fully redundant fabric and power modules, power entry modules, plus backup control planes and switch fabric.
The ASR 9001 platform is a carrier-edge router in a 6 RU form factor with 120 Gbps of nonblocking fabric capacity. The ASR 9001 has two bays to support adapters for 1 GE, 10 GE, and 40 GE. The chassis incorporates four 10 Gbit Ethernet SFP+ ports as well as ports for GPS Stratum 1 clocking, BITS, and management. The Cisco ASR 9904 Router comes in a 6 RU chassis and offers dense 10 GE and 100 GE connectivity in space-constrained sites. The 4-slot router can scale up to 4 Tbps of switching capacity in one chassis. The Cisco ASR 9912 platform has a 30 RU chassis with 12 slots slots able to handle up to 550 Gbps of throughput. The ASR 9912 Router has 2 route CPUs as well as 6+1 Fabric Cards to provide N+1 redundancy.
Ways Progent Can Help Your Business with Cisco Router Products
Progent's Cisco certified engineers can help your company to plan, configure, and manage an integrated business network that can simplify operations, lower costs, and speed time to positive ROI. By teaming Cisco integrated services routers with Cisco Catalyst switches expertise and Catalyst and Meraki Wi-Fi wireless integration, Progent can dramatically increase the business value of your connectivity environment. Progent can provide in-person and off-site troubleshooting and can provide data center support throughout the U.S.
For additional information about Progent's engineering support for Cisco solutions, select a subject: