Cisco Certified Network Consulting and Support

Generally, routers rely on processors to move data using sophisticated algorithms, providing versatility at the cost of throughput. Switches, in contrast, depend on largely predefined hardware configurations to move traffic at the fastest feasible rate. The current generation of routers ordinarily include L2 switching capability, and many modern switches have L3 routing capability. Routers developed by Cisco, the source of 90% of the world's routers, have improved dramatically in function and speed and Cisco makes an extensive product line that features routers designed to meet the needs of customers ranging from individual telecommuters to the world's largest ISPs.

The latest Integrated Services Routers from Cisco offer the performance and integrated features to manage IP voice and video as well as virtualization while also offering high availability, remote management, easy extensibility, and enhanced security and compliance. Cisco's ISR routers allow you to establish a solid basis for an information network that can grow seamlessly as you hire new employees, establish new sites, configure additional functions, give access to your system to clients and partners, and support an an increasingly mobile workforce. Progent's Cisco certified CCIE network engineers offer immediate and economical online expertise to help you to plan, deploy, manage, update, and troubleshoot Cisco's latest router technology and can assist you to maintain your legacy routers or migrate non-disruptively to Cisco's newer router solutions.

Cisco Routers Designed for Home and Small Offices and Branch Offices
Cisco's routers for small organizations and branch offices offer affordable and dependable no-frills solutions that allow small sets of users to have secure connectivity to the Internet. These single-configuration desktop routers include at minimum four 10/100 switched Ethernet with Wi-Fi options and integrated firewall for enhanced security. Built for easy setup, administration, and troubleshooting, Cisco's entry-level routers minimize TCO by cutting acquisition and operational investments. Progent's remote troubleshooting experts have extensive backgrounds providing fast and affordable technical help for small businesses to configure and support these routers, and Progent's Cisco-certified CCIE network engineers can help you to determine ways these routers can add to the strategic value of your IT system.

ISR 900 Series Integrated Services Routers
Cisco's ISR 900 Series routers are compact, quiet, fixed-configuration appliances designed for small to medium-sized businesses, branches, and home offices. These value-priced routers have four GE switch ports and offer Metro Ethernet, LTE, and DSL WAN connections. The ISR 900 router product line delivers three times the IPsec throughput of Cisco's ISR 800 Series routers. All ISR 900 models offer Group Encrypted TransportVPN (GETVPN), dynamic multipoint virtual private network VPN, Cisco FlexVPN, and firewall. VPN throughput is up to 250 Mbps. All models support up to 50 virtual LANs. Supported automatic failover technology for high availability and business continuity include Virtual Router Redundancy Protocol (VRRP), Hot Standby Router Protocol, and Multigroup HSRP (MHSRP). Setup and management can be performed with Cisco CP Express, Cisco DNA Center, and Cisco IOS Software. ISR 900 Series routers do not support Cisco's SD-WAN solution.

Cisco's ISR 921 router features dual GE WAN ports, LTE Cat 4, and a built-in power supply. GE WAN VPN performance is 150 Mbps. Cisco's ISR 926 and ISR 927 models use external power and feature one GE WAN port, Category 4 LTE, plus VDSL2 and ADSL2/2+. GE WAN VPN throughput for both devices is 150 Mbps. The high-performance ISR 931 router supports dual GE WAN and includes 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 SD-WAN and cloud-hosted unified threat management in a single small-footprint appliance able to support 50 to 200 users. Each MX router must be licensed to the Meraki cloud. For venues with multiple WAN network connections (e.g., MPLS, broadband, cellular), SD-WAN technology allows administrators to assign the WAN connection an application should use or to create performance-based algorithms to determine the preferred interface. 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
• Advanced Malware Protection with reputation-based filtering
• Load balancing to aggregate multiple WAN connections 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 of each model have 802.11ac Wave 2 2x2 MU-MIMO

Cisco 1000 Family ISR Branch Routers
Cisco 1000 and 1100 family Integrated Services Routers using Cisco IOS XE internetworking operating system are a line of fanless routers intended to deliver high-performance network service, wireless support, and multilayer security for SMBs, enterprise branch offices, retail outlets, kiosks, and machine-to-machine environments. Multiple parallel CPU cores and compatibly with Cisco IOS XE allow these routers to deliver capabilities consistent with Cisco's complete line of modern Enterprise routers. 1000 family ISR routers are available with 4 or 8 LAN ports and provide Gigabit Ethernet (GE) packet forwarding. Various models include PoE and PoE+, auto provisioning, plus a range of built-in or pluggable connections including LAN, WAN, WLAN, VDSL2/ADSL2+, 4G LTE Advanced wireless, 802.11ac Wi-Fi, and SFP Fiber. Cisco 1000 Series ISR routers work with Cisco's SD-WAN services for seamless multi-cloud connectivity, advanced security, and cohesive administration of hybrid network models of any complexity.

Cisco's 1RU or desktop ISR 1100-4G router includes four integrated GE ports, built-in 3G/4G LTE wireless with two LTE antenna SMA sockets, and a micro-SIM plug-in slot. Encryption packet processing throughput is 200 Mbps. The Cisco ISR 1100-6G router also includes two 1G SFP ports and features encryption performance of 520 Mbps. Cisco's desktop 1101-4P ISR router has four integrated switched GE interfaces, offers 802.11ac Wi-Fi and 3G/4G LTE, and delivers encryption speed of 280 Mbps. Cisco's 1109-2P/4P ISR desktop routers include two or four integrated switched GE ports and two pluggable 3G/4G LTE wireless ports. Encryption packet processing throughput is 200 Mbps.

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

Catalyst 8000 Series WAN Edge Platforms for SD-WAN and Routing
Cisco Catalyst 8000 family of routers are modular devices intended to operate at the WAN edge in support of hybrid network environments that can include a mix of public and private clouds and SaaS applications. All Catalyst 8000 devices use Cisco IOS XE SD-WAN Software and offer expandability, advanced cybersecurity, and 5G connectivity. Throughput is optimized via custom hardware, a multicore design, high port density, and line-rate encryption. Cisco's subscription software suites offer continual access to current SD-WAN technology and allow centralized management with enhanced cybersecurity, application-optimized policies, segmentation, and cloud integration.

Cisco Catalyst 8200 Series WAN Edge Routers
Cisco Catalyst 8200 routers are upgrades to Cisco's 4300 Series Integrated Services Routers, offering higher IPsec performance and expandability, accelerated encryption, plus greater integrated WAN port density. These one-rack unit appliances are built to provide Cisco's SASE, Software-Defined WAN and 5G-interface technology to enterprise branch offices and the enterprise access edge. The Catalyst C8200L-1N-4T model features four CPU cores, supports 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 architectures. Both appliances include one Network Interface Module slot, one Pluggable Interface Module slot, two 1G Ethernet WAN copper interfaces, and two 1G Ethernet WAN SFP interfaces. 4-port and 8-port 1G Ethernet switch NIM modules are available for both 8200 models.

Cisco Catalyst 8300 Series WAN Edge Routers
Catalyst 8300 WAN Edge routers are intended to replace Cisco's 4400 Series Integrated Services Routers, delivering Cisco's secure SD-WAN architecture to mid-sized and large enterprise branches seeking high WAN IPSec throughput combined with cohesive SD-WAN services. Enhanced capabilities include 5G wireless connectivity, built-in security, WAN MACSec, enhanced Layer 2 switching, and Deep Packet Inspection (DPI) with application-aware optimization. Catalyst 8300 Series WAN Edge routers support edge computing for an existing container architecture for Cisco UCS-E modules offered on Cisco's 4000 line of ISR routers. All versions in the Cisco Catalyst 8300 Series line support 4,000 SD-WAN tunnels and include dual power supplies for high availability.

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

Cisco Catalyst 8500 Aggregation Edge Routers
The Catalyst 8500 Aggregation Edge routers are fixed form factor, 1RU aggregation routers for SD-WAN and colocation environments. Built-in features include route processor, ESP, and aggregation hardware for multiple connection options. IPsec throughput is double compared to Cisco's earlier generation ASR1001-X aggregation services router. Flexible interface options include 1GE to 100 GE WAN ports. The routers include dual AC or DC power supplies for improved availability. Software subscription suites allow ongoing use of Cisco DNA Center Software for SD-WAN and routing and offer unified management of security, application-based policies, network segmentation, and cloud connectivity optimization.

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

Cisco ISR G2 Routers
Cisco's Integrated Services Generation 2 routers are designed to offer branch offices of enterprises with advanced video and voice applications, virtualization, protection, and reliable connectivity. Integrated Services Generation 2 routers introduce a design that preserves prior investments in service modules for older Integrated Services Routers and lowers future expenses by permitting easy installation of additional modules when they are developed. In comparison to older ISR routers, Cisco's ISR G2 routers feature 2-7 times more performance, substantially more, and more affordable support. All Integrated Services G2 routers offer Gbit switching and incorporate multi-core processors and multigigabit fabric for faster performance. Integrated Services G2 routers also offer smart power control for improved energy conservation.

A notable advance with ISR Generation 2 routers is the IOS Software Universal image which includes all of the IOS technology sets so that your company can rapidly license and activate new functions when desired without having to download and transfer a new IOS Software image to yourrouter. Progent's team of CCIE-certified network engineers can provide world-class skills to help you to plan, implement, and support multi-location installations of Cisco Integrated Services G2 routers that enhance satellite office efficiency and cut the costs of expansion and maintenance.

Cisco's ISR 800 Line of Routers
Cisco's 800 Series of ISR routers has been superseded by the faster Cisco ISR 900 family but is still widely deployed. Cisco's comprehensive portfolio of 800 Series ISR routers consists of desktop devices intended for small organizations, branch offices, retail shops, telecommuters, and clients of broadband service providers. A wealth of models in the 800 Series product line have been released with many options for many years. Cisco's 881 line of ISR routers suggests the vast selection of options offered within Cisco's 800 Series product family. Various models in Cisco's 881 Series router catalog can support converged media environments by providing IP voice and video, wireless and data in a single integrated router and switch. Built-in security can include encryption, VPN, firewall, and URL filtering. For business continuity, available options for 881 ISR routers include duplicate wide area network links or support for landline broadband WAN links such as DSL plus multiple different 3G and 4G wireless WAN connections all built into one desktop appliance.

The baseline Cisco 881 router has a 4-port 10/100-Mbps managed switch that delivers 15 Mbps performance, support for 20 users, 2-port integrated Power over Ethernet, and IPv6 compatibility. The Cisco 881W ISR router supports 802.11g/n Wi-Fi. Cisco's 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) license, Cisco's 881 ISR router allows SIP trunk connectivity to replace legacy PRI lines or FXO voice connectivity to a PSTN carrier. CUBE-based SIP trunks can also connect remote agents in Cisco Call Center deployments.

4000 Series ISR Routers
Cisco's 4000 Series Integrated Services Routers are modular and scalable platforms designed for organizations with multiple branches and remote workers requiring direct communication with in-house data centers as well as public clouds via VPN tunnels and the Internet. Cisco's 4000 series provides the bandwidth needed for distributed enterprise sites to accommodate mobile users, cloud services, and multimedia applications by using network optimization, deep packet inspection, and traffic-management techniques. Models in Cisco's ISR 4000 family are powered by Cisco's powerful IOS XE operating system, come in a 1RU or 2RU form factor, can handle as much as 2 Gbps of throughput, and can have up to 3 interface module slots, 2 service module slots, 4 integrated Gigabit Ethernet switches, and 8 CPU core server modules. Cisco ISR 4000 models can support integrated Gigabit Ethernet, T1/E1, T3/E3, PRI and xDSL. For unified communications, the 400o ISR offers comprehensive edge support technology for SBC, branch telephony survivability, and Time Division Multiplexing gateways.

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

Cisco's Midrange WAN Aggregation Routers and Carrier-class Routers
Cisco's midrange and service provider routers can provide enterprises with fast, secure distribution points to manage satellite office and remote user traffic and to provide carriers cost-optimized wide area network edge solutions. Cisco's WAN aggregation and carrier router product line includes the ASR 1000 product line and the 9000 ASR routers.

Progent's nationwide group of CCIE network experts have extensive backgrounds helping enterprise businesses and service providers to design efficient deployments and smooth upgrades of Cisco's midrange and carrier-class routers. Progent's GIAC-certified information assurance consultants offer objective, independent security vulnerability evaluations, penetration services and advanced Security information and Event Management (SIEM) solutions to help companies that use Cisco's WAN aggregation routers to meet business standards and government mandates for IT data protection and incident reporting.

Cisco ASR 1000 Series WAN Edge Routers
Cisco's ASR 1000 Aggregation Services line of routers is designed to fill the middle of Cisco's midrange routers that focus on aggregating services at the WAN edge. ASR 1000 routers provide a small footprint, multi-function answer for enterprises looking for branch office service aggregation at supergigabit Ethernet performance. Cisco's ASR 1000 WAN Edge routers incorporate a revolutionary architecture that combines hardware acceleration with programmable flexibility in order to offer a multitude of concurrent services while preserving consistent performance.

ASR 1000 Aggregation Services routers include Cisco's proprietary QuantumFlow Processor incorporating 40 purpose-built Packet Processing Engines (PPEs) that in combination can support up to 160 concurrent processor threads. This parallel CPU architecture, combined with hardware acceleration for every service, enables the top-of-the-line ASR 1006 router to scale up to 128K queues, 32K subscribers, 4,000 IPsec tunnels at 10,000 sessions per second, and 2M Netflow records. This processing power allows Cisco's ASR 1000 Series Aggregation Services routers to support a wide variety of advanced services simultaneously in high volume without suffering performance decay that might threaten adherence to service level agreements. Examples of these advanced services include Cisco Firewall, IPS, Network Address Translation, FPM, and in-line deep packet inspection. The ASR 1000 also allows tiered traffic management for performing numerous levels of QoS to a packet in one operation, enhancing responsiveness for next-generation IP voice and video applications.

Cisco ASR 9000 Series Routers
Cisco's ASR 9000 Series Routers are designed as WAN-edge routers for service providers who need to support world-class data, voice and video services to home, commercial, and mobile customers by offering always-on operation, high performance, and application-aware intelligence. All models in Cisco's ASR 9000 line of Routers are powered by the IOS XR operating system, a self-healing, distributed OS designed for non-stop uptime. Performance of Cisco's ASR 9000 Series of Aggregation Services Routers can be expanded to as high as 96 Tbps per chassis. the Cisco ASR 9000 family of Routers support Gigabit Ethernet, 10 Gigabit Ethernet, and 100 GE and have fully redundant fabric and power supply, power entry modules, plus backup switch fabric.

The Cisco ASR 9001 platform is a carrier-edge router that comes in a 6 RU form factor with 120 Gbps of nonblocking, full-duplex fabric capacity. The ASR 9001 has two bays to accept port adapters for 1, 10, and 40 Gigabit Ethernet. The chassis has four 10 GE SFP+ ports as well as ports for Stratum 1 clocking, building integrated timing supply, and management. The Cisco ASR 9904 Router has a 6 RU form factor and offers dense 10 GE and 100 GE connectivity in space-limited sites. The 4-slot router can support up to 4 Tbps of switching capacity in one box. The Cisco ASR 9912 Router comes in a 30 RU chassis with 10 line-card slots able to provide up to 550 Gbps of throughput. The ASR 9912 Router includes 2 route CPUs as well as 6+1 Fabric Cards for N+1 redundancy.

Ways Progent Can Help You to Support Cisco Router Products
Progent's Cisco certified engineers can help you to plan, setup, and support an integrated network infrastructure that can automate processes, lower expenses, and accelerate time to positive ROI. By combining Cisco routers with Catalyst switches expertise and Cisco Catalyst and Meraki Wi-Fi wireless expertise, Progent can dramatically increase the strategic value of your integrated network. Progent can provide onsite and remote help and offers data center support throughout the U.S.

To learn additional information about Progent's professional assistance for Cisco technology, pick a subject:

• Introduction to Progent's Cisco Network Support
• Fast Remote Assistance from a Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert (CCIE) Network Engineer
• Cisco Firepower Series Firewalls: Configuration and Troubleshooting Services
• ASA 5500-X Firewall with Firepower Services: Integration and Management Support
• ASA 5500 Firewall Upgrade. Migration Help
• Cisco PIX Firewall Troubleshooting Help
• Cisco Wireless Deployment Help
• Cisco Aironet Wireless Access Points Consulting Help
• Cisco Small Business 100, 300 and 500 Wireless APs Consulting Help
• Cisco Catalyst Wi-Fi 6/6E Access Points Planning, Configuration and Debugging Consulting
• Cisco Wireless Controllers Experts
• Meraki Wireless Access Points Consulting Support
• Cisco Unified Communications Manager (CUCM or Unified CM) and CallManager Consulting and Technical Support
• Cisco VoIP Phones and IP Video Desktop Phones Consulting and Cisco Wireless VoIP Phone Integration
• Cisco Jabber Migration and Support Expertise
• Cisco Catalyst Switches Configuration and Maintenance Services
• Cisco Nexus Switches Configuration and Maintenance Services
• Cisco Meraki MS Switches Deployment Expertise
• Cisco Security and VPN Setup and Troubleshooting Assistance
• SIP and CUBE Infrastructure Solutions: SIP Trunks and CUBE Integration Expertise
• Infrastructure Design for Cisco-based Datacenters
• Infrastructure Design Consulting for Internet Service Providers
• Centralized Management Solutions for Cisco Infrastructure