Today's routers typically incorporate L2 switching capability, and many modern switches have Layer 3 routing functionality. Routers offered by Cisco, the supplier of 90% of the industry's routers, have advanced significantly in capability and speed and Cisco now offers an extensive portfolio that features routers engineered to handle the needs of customers ranging from individual telecommuters to nationwide service providers.
The most recent Integrated Services Routers released by Cisco offer the speed and integrated functionality to support data voice and video as well as virtualization while at the same time providing high availability, web-based administration, seamless extensibility, and enhanced security and compliance. These routers allow your business to establish a solid basis for an IT network that can evolve seamlessly as you hire new workers, open new sites, configure new functions, extend your network to customers and vendors, and support an an increasingly mobile user base. Progent's Cisco certified CCIE network consultants offer immediate and economical online expertise to assist you to plan, deploy, manage, update, and support Cisco's most advanced router technology and can assist you to support your legacy routers or move non-disruptively to Cisco's newer router solutions.
Cisco Routers for Home Offices and Small Offices and Branch Offices
Cisco's routers for small businesses and branch offices offer affordable and dependable no-frills alternatives that enable limited sets of users to have safe connectivity to the Internet. These single-configuration desktop routers feature at least four switched Ethernet with wireless options plus built-in firewall to provide enhanced protection. Designed for easy installation, administration, and troubleshooting, Cisco's small business and home routers minimize total cost of ownership by lowering acquisition and maintenance expenses. Progent's online troubleshooting experts have in-depth experience delivering fast and economical IT help for small companies to set up and maintain these devices, and Progent's CCIE-certified network consultants can assist you to determine how Cisco's entry-level routers can increase the strategic value of your IT network.
ISR 900 Series Routers
Cisco's ISR 900 Series routers are compact, fanless, set-configuration appliances designed for SMBs, branches, and home offices. These entry-level routers have four managed GE switch ports and can support Metro Ethernet, LTE, and DSL WAN connections. Cisco's ISR 900 router product line provides three times the IPsec performance of the ISR 800 Series family of routers. All ISR 900 models feature Group Encrypted TransportVPN (GETVPN), dynamic multipoint virtual private network VPN, Cisco FlexVPN, and firewall. VPN performance is as high as 250 Mbps. All models support up to 50 virtual LANs. Supported dynamic failover protocols for business continuity include 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 comes with dual GE WAN ports, LTE Cat 4, and an internal power supply. VPN performance is 150 Mbps. Cisco's ISR 926 and ISR 927 models have external power supplies and support a single WAN port, LTE Cat 4, VDSL2 and ADSL2/2+. VPN performance for both routers is 150 Mbps. The top-of-the-line ISR 931 supports dual GE WAN ports and includes an internal power supply. VPN throughput is 250 Mbps.
Cisco Meraki MX Series SD-WAN Security Appliances
The Cisco Meraki MX portfolio of desktop routers combine SD-WAN and cloud-hosted unified threat management in one small-footprint device able to support 50 to 200 users. Every MX router needs to be licensed to the Meraki cloud. For sites with several external network connections (e.g., MPLS, broadband, cellular), SD-WAN technology permits admins to specify the WAN connection a given app should use or to build performance-based rules to select the appropriate interface. MX fixed-configuration desktop routers share important capabilities that include:
Cisco 1000 and 1100 Family ISR Branch Routers
Cisco 1000 family Integrated Services Routers (ISRs) powered by Cisco IOS XE software are a line of fanless routers intended to deliver network connectivity, wireless support, and advanced security for SMBs, enterprise branch offices, retail outlets, kiosks, and M2M venues. Parallel processing cores and compatibly with Cisco IOS XE enable these routers to deliver capabilities consistent with Cisco's complete family of modern Enterprise routers. 1000 and 1100 family ISR models are offered with 4 or 8 LAN ports and offer Gigabit Ethernet packet forwarding. Available features include PoE and PoE+, auto provisioning, plus a range of integrated or pluggable connections including LAN, WAN, WLAN, VDSL2/ADSL2+, 4G LTE wireless, 802.11 wireless, and SFP. Cisco 1000 family ISR models work with Cisco's SD-WAN subscription services for seamless multiple-cloud access, advanced cybersecurity, and centralized management across hybrid networks.
Cisco's rackmount or desktop 1100-4G ISR router includes four built-in GE ports, integrated 3G/4G LTE wireless with two LTE antenna SMA connectors, and one micro-SIM slot. Encryption performance is 200 Mbps. The ISR 1100-6G router also includes two 1G SFP connections and features encryption speed of 520 Mbps. Cisco's desktop 1101-4P ISR router comes with four built-in switched GE connections, supports 802.11ac and 3G/4G LTE wireless, and delivers encryption speed of 280 Mbps. The ISR 1109-2P/4p desktop routers include two or four built-in switched GE ports and two pluggable 3G/4G LTE wireless ports. Encryption packet processing performance is 200 Mbps.
The Cisco rackmount or desktop ISR 111x-4P/8P routers come with four or eight integrated GE connections (two or four provide Power over Ethernet) and support VDSL2/ADSL2+, 802.11ac Wi-Fi, 3G/4G LTE wireless, and SFP Fiber. Encryption rate is 280 Mbps. Cisco's rackmount or desktop ISR 1111X-8P router includes eight GE ports (four with POE) and a port for 1G SFP. Encryption packet processing speed is 340 Mbps. The ISR 112x-8P router features eight integrated GE ports with Power over Ethernet and features SHDSL, VDSL2/ADSL2+, 802.11ac, 3G/4G LTE wireless, and 1G SFP. Encryption speed is 340 Mbps. Cisco's 1161X-8P ISR router has eight built-in GE interfaces with PoE and supports 3G/4G LTE wireless and SFP. Encryption packet processing performance is 450 Mbps.
Cisco Catalyst 8000 Series Branch and WAN Edge Platforms for SD-WAN and Routing
Cisco Catalyst 8000 Series routers are modular devices intended to operate at the enterprise branche and the WAN edge to support hybrid networks that can incorporate multiple public and private clouds and SaaS applications. All Catalyst 8000 devices use Cisco IOS XE SD-WAN Software and provide scalability, intelligent cybersecurity, and 5G connectivity. Performance is enhanced using purpose-built hardware, a multicore architecture, high port capacity, and line-rate encryption. Cisco's subscription software suites offer ongoing access to the latest SD-WAN technology and enable centralized management with enhanced security, application-based policies, segmentation, and cloud readiness.
Catalyst 8200 Series Enterprise Edge Routers
Cisco Catalyst 8200 Series routers are successors to Cisco's 4300 Series Integrated Services Routers, offering higher IPsec performance and scale, hardware-accelerated encryption, plus greater integrated WAN port density. These 1RU routers are designed to provide Cisco's SASE, Software-Defined WAN and 5G-connection technology to enterprise branch offices and the enterprise access edge. The Catalyst C8200L-1N-4T model features four CPU cores, enables 500 Mbps IPsec throughput, and permits 1,500 SD-WAN tunnels. Cisco's Catalyst 8200L platform 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 appliances come with a NIM slot, a PIM slot, two 1 Gigabit Ethernet WAN ports, and two 1G Ethernet WAN Small-Form-Factor Pluggable ports. 4-port and 8-port 1 Gigabit Ethernet switch NIM modules are available for both 8200 routers.
Catalyst 8300 Enterprise Branch Edge Routers
Cisco Catalyst 8300 WAN Edge routers are intended to supersede Cisco's 4400 Series Integrated Services Routers, delivering Cisco's secure SD-WAN solution to mid-sized and large enterprise branch offices looking for high WAN IPSec throughput combined with cohesive SD-WAN services. Advanced capabilities include 5G wireless connectivity, integrated security, WAN MACSec, integrated enhanced Layer 2 switching, and Deep Packet Inspection with application optimization. Catalyst 8300 Series WAN Edge routers support edge computing for an in-place container environment for Cisco UCS-E modules available on Cisco's 4000 family of ISR appliances. All models in the Cisco Catalyst 8300 Series family support 4,000 SD-WAN tunnels and feature dual power supplies for improved availability.
The Catalyst 8300-1N1S-6T router is a 1RU device that includes 8 CPU cores and offers 2G SD-WAN performance and IPsec performance as high as 1.9Gbps. The router includes one SM plug-in slot, a Network Interface Module slot, and six integrated 1-Gigabit Ethernet WAN ports. The Catalyst 8300-2N2S-6T model is a two-rack unit router that includes 8 CPU cores and offers 2G SD-WAN throughput and IPsec performance of up to 1.9Gbps. The appliance includes two SM expansion slots, two Network Interface Module slots, and six built-in 1G Ethernet WAN ports. The Cisco Catalyst C8300-1N1S-4T2X router model is a one-rack unit appliance that has eight CPU cores and supports 5G SD-WAN data rates and IPsec throughput as high as 15Gbps. The device has one one SM plug-in slot, one Network Interface Module slot, two integrated 10-Gigabit Ethernet WAN interfaces, and four fixed 1-Gigabit Ethernet WAN interfaces. The Cisco Catalyst C8300-2N2S-4T2X model is a two-rack unit router that includes 12 CPU cores and supports 5G SD-WAN data rates and IPsec performance up to 18Gbps. The device includes two SM expansion slots, two Network Interface Module slots, two built-in 10-Gigabit Ethernet WAN ports, and four fixed 1-Gigabit Ethernet WAN interfaces. LAN plug-in modules available from Cisco range from a 4-port 1G Ethernet switch Network Interface Module module to a 50-port Catalyst L2 switch SM module.
Catalyst 8500 Aggregation Edge Routers
The Cisco Catalyst 8500 Aggregation Edge routers are fixed, one-rack unit 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 double compared to Cisco's earlier generation ASR1001-X router. Available connectivity options include 1GE to 100 GE WAN ports. These routers include redundant power supplies for improved availability. Software subscription suites provide ongoing use of Cisco DNA Center Software for SD-WAN and routing and enable centralized management of security, application-based policies, segmentation, and cloud connectivity optimization.
The Catalyst C8500L-8S4X Aggregation Edge router is intended to provide the same experience as Cisco's ASR 1000 router. The C8500L-8S4X has four 1/10GE WAN ports and can deliver as high as 20 Gbps Cisco Express Forwarding aggregate throughput. SD-WAN IPsec performance can reach 19Gbps. The Catalyst C8500-12X appliance includes 12 built-in 1/10GE WAN ports and supports up to 120 Gbps aggregate performance. SD-WAN IPsec performance is up to 51 Gbps. The C8500-12X4QC unit includes four integrated 1/10GE WAN interfaces and eight 1G ports and delivers up to 200 Gbps aggregate throughput. SD-WAN IPsec performance is up to 68 Gbps. The C8500-20X6C router comes with 20 built-in SFP+ interfaces and 6 x QSFP+ interfaces. Cisco's C8500-20X6C supports up to 500 Gbps Cisco Express Forwarding aggregate throughput.
Cisco ISR Generation 2 Routers
Cisco's ISR G2 routers are intended to offer satellite offices of large businesses with enhanced collaboration, virtualization, security, and dependable WAN access. ISR Generation 2 routers feature a design that preserves prior investments in service modules for first-generation Integrated Services 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 Integrated Services G2 routers feature 2-7 times higher performance, substantially greater expandability, and more affordable support. All ISR Generation 2 routers support GE switching and include multi-core CPUs and multigigabit fabric for faster performance. ISR G2 routers also support intelligent power management for better energy efficiency.
A major innovation with ISR Generation 2 routers is the IOS Software Universal image which contains all of the IOS technology sets so that you can quickly license and activate extra services when required without needing to download and transfer a new IOS image to yourrouter. Progent's group of Cisco-certified CCIE network engineers can provide world-class expertise to assist your business to plan, configure, and support multi-location installations of Cisco Integrated Services Generation 2 routers that improve branch office efficiency and reduce the costs of expansion and maintenance.
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 extensive line of 800 Series ISR routers is made up of desktop appliances intended for small businesses, branch locations, retail shops, telecommuters, and customers of broadband service providers. A wealth of models in Cisco's 800 family of routers have been released with many options for many years. Cisco's 881 Series of ISR routers exemplifies the vast selection of options offered within the Cisco 800 Series product family. Models in Cisco's 881 Series router portfolio can support converged media networks by providing voice and video, wireless and data in one integrated appliance. Advanced security can include encryption, VPN, firewall, and URL filtering. For business continuity, available options for 881 routers include redundant WAN links or support for landline broadband WAN connections such as DSL plus multiple cellular 3G and 4G wireless connections all built into a single desktop appliance.
The basic Cisco 881 router features a 4-port 10/100-Mbps managed switch with up to 15 Mbps performance, the ability to handle up to 20 users, two-port integrated Power over Ethernet, and IPv6 support. Cisco's 881W ISR router includes 802.11g/n Wi-Fi. The 881 SRST router includes four FXS ports and 1 FXO port for public-switched-telephone-network (PSTN) failover with Cisco SRST. With a Cisco CUBE license, Cisco's 881 ISR router supports SIP trunk connectivity to replace legacy PRI lines or foreign exchange-office (FXO) voice connectivity to a PSTN carrier. CUBE-based SIP trunks can also support offsite agents in Cisco Call Center deployments.
Cisco 4000 Series ISR Routers
Cisco's 4000 Series Integrated Services Routers (ISRs) are modular and scalable routers intended for businesses with a large number of branch offices and remote workers who need direct communication with private data centers and public clouds across VPNs and the Internet. The 4000 series delivers the throughput needed for distributed enterprise sites to support mobile workers, cloud services, and HD multimedia applications by using WAN optimization, deep packet inspection, and traffic-management techniques. Devices in the 4000 product line run Cisco's IOS XE software, come in a 1RU or 2RU package, can handle as much as 2 Gbps of traffic, and can include up to 3 network interface slots, 2 service module slots, 4 integrated Gigabit Ethernet ports, and 8 CPU core server modules. ISR 4000 models support integrated Gigabit Ethernet, T1/E1, T3/E3, PR1, xDSL and other interfaces. To handle unified communications, the 400o ISR provides comprehensive edge support for SBC, telephony survivability, and TDM 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 greater level of availability. Cisco's 4321 Integrated Services Router comes in a 1 RU desktop package with two network interface modules (NIMs), delivers as much as 100 Mbps performance, and can handle 240 Digital Voice/Video Channels. Cisco's 4331 router has a 1 RU package and includes two NIMs, provides as much as 300 Mbps performance, and allows up to 360 Digital Voice/Video Channels. The 4351 Integrated Services Router has a 2 RU form factor and includes three network interface modules, provides up to 400 Mbps performance, and can handle 720 Digital Voice and Video Channels. Cisco's power-redundant 4431 model features a 2 RU form factor with three network interface modules, delivers as much as 1 Gbps throughput, and allows up to 720 Digital Voice and Video Channels. The redundant-power 4431 router has a 2 RU package and includes three network interface modules, provides up to 2 Gbps performance, and supports 1200 Digital Voice/Video Channels.
Cisco's Midrange WAN Aggregation Routers and Service Provider Routers
Cisco's WAN edge and service provider routers can provide enterprises with high-performance, secure distribution points to aggregate branch office and off-site traffic and to offer ISPs cost-effective WAN edge routing. Cisco's WAN aggregation and service provider router product line includes the Cisco ASR 1000 routers and the 9000 Series Aggregation Services routers.
Progent's nationwide team of Cisco CCIE network engineers have extensive experience helping enterprise businesses and service providers to design optimal deployments and smooth upgrades of Cisco's midrange and carrier-class routers. Progent's GIAC-certified information assurance experts can provide unbiased, third-party network security inventory evaluations, stealth penetration testing and advanced SIEM solutions to help companies that use Cisco's Aggregation Services Routers to meet industry standards and government regulations for IT data security and incident reporting. Progent also can provide help with Horizon3.ai's NodeZero platform for threat assessment. NodeZero depends on AI technology to simplify the vulnerability evaluation cycle of discovering security gaps in perimeters and inside the internal network infrastructure, prioritizing repairs, fixing weaknesses, and verifying successful repairs.
Cisco ASR 1000 Aggregation Services Routers
Cisco's ASR 1000 Series Aggregation Services line of routers is positioned in the middle of Cisco's midrange routers that concentrate on aggregating services at the wide area network edge. Cisco's ASR 1000 Series WAN Edge routers offer a small footprint, multi-function answer for large businesses looking for satellite office service aggregation at multigigabit Ethernet performance. Cisco's ASR 1000 Series routers introduce a revolutionary architecture that combines hardware acceleration with programmable versatility in order to deliver a multitude of concurrent services without sacrificing consistent performance.
ASR 1000 routers feature Cisco's proprietary QuantumFlow Processor made up of 40 purpose-built Packet Processing Engines (PPEs) 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 WAN Edge router to scale up to 128 queues, 32K subscribers, 4K IPsec tunnels at 10,000 sessions/second, and 2M Netflow records. This CPU power allows ASR 1000 Series routers to support a wide variety of advanced services simultaneously in massive volume without suffering throughput degradation that could violate compliance with SLAs. Examples of these services include IOS Firewall, intrusion-detection services, NAT, Flexible Packet Matching, and deep packet inspection. The Cisco ASR 1000 also permits tiered traffic control for performing multiple levels of Quality of Service to a data packet in a single pass, improving responsiveness for resource-intensive IP voice and video applications.
Cisco ASR 9000 Series Routers
Cisco ASR 9000 Series Routers are intended as WAN-edge routers for service providers who need to support world-class data, voice and video services to residential, business, and mobile users by providing zero downtime operation, high speed, and application awareness. All models in the ASR 9000 line of Aggregation Services Routers are powered by the IOS XR, a distributed OS built for non-stop availability. Performance of the ASR 9000 Series of Aggregation Services Routers can scale to as high as 96 Tbps per system. the Cisco ASR 9000 family of Routers can handle Gigabit Ethernet, 10 GE, and 100 GE and feature redundant fabric and power modules, power entry modules, plus backup control planes.
The ASR 9001 platform is a carrier-edge router that comes in a 6 RU form factor with 120 Gbps of nonblocking fabric performance. The ASR 9001 has two modular bays which can accept adapters for 1 GE, 10 GE, and 40 GE. The base chassis has four 10 Gbit Ethernet SFP+ ports and ports for GPS clocking, BITS, and management. The Cisco ASR 9904 Router comes in a 6 RU chassis and provides dense 10 and 100 GE connectivity in space-constrained sites. The 4-slot ASR 9094 can support up to 4 Tbps of capacity in one chassis. The Cisco ASR 9912 platform comes in a 30 RU chassis and includes 12 slots slots that can support up to 550 Gbps of throughput. The Cisco ASR 9912 incorporates 2 route CPUs as well as 6+1 Fabric Cards for N+1 redundancy.
Ways Progent's Consultants Can Assist You with Cisco Routers
Progent's CCIE certified engineers can assist your business to plan, setup, and support a converged network infrastructure that can streamline processes, lower costs, and accelerate the path to positive return on investment. By combining Cisco integrated services routers with Cisco Catalyst switches expertise and Cisco Catalyst and Meraki Wi-Fi wireless expertise, Progent can significantly increase the business value of your information network. Progent offers onsite and off-site support and can provide data center support throughout the U.S.
To learn more details concerning Progent's engineering assistance for Cisco networking products, select a subject: