Cisco Expert Network Consultants

Today's routers typically come with Layer 2 switches, and many modern switches include Layer 3 routing capability. Routers developed by Cisco, the source of 90% of the industry's routers, have advanced dramatically in capability and speed and Cisco now makes an extensive portfolio that includes routers built to handle the requirements of users ranging from households to the world's largest service providers.

The most recent Integrated Services Routers from Cisco have the performance and built-in functionality to support IP voice and video plus virtualization while at the same time offering high availability, remote management, seamless expandability, and enhanced security and compliance. Cisco's ISR routers allow you to build a firm foundation for an information environment that can evolve smoothly as you add more employees, open new offices, activate new capabilities, give access to your network to clients and partners, and support an expanding mobile workforce. Progent's Cisco certified CCIE network engineers offer fast and economical remote expertise to assist you to select, configure, manage, update, and support Cisco's most advanced router technology and can help you to maintain your legacy routers or move non-disruptively to Cisco's newer networking products. Cisco Routers for Home and Small Offices and Branch Offices
Cisco's routers for smaller organizations and remote offices provide affordable and reliable no-frills alternatives that allow limited sets of users to share safe connectivity to the Internet. All these fixed-configuration desktop routers include at least four 10/100 Ethernet ports with Wi-Fi options plus integrated firewall for advanced protection. Designed for easy setup, management, and troubleshooting, Cisco's small business and home routers reduce total cost of ownership by lowering equipment and operational expenses. Progent's remote troubleshooting experts have in-depth experience delivering fast and economical IT assistance for small businesses to configure and maintain these routers, and Progent's CCIE-certified network consultants can assist you to determine how these routers can add to the business value of your information network.

ISR 900 Series Routers
The Cisco ISR 900 Series routers are small-footprint, fanless, fixed-configuration appliances intended for SMBs, branch offices, and home offices. These entry-level routers include four managed GE LAN ports and can support Metro Ethernet, LTE, and DSL WAN connectivity. The ISR 900 router product line provides triple the IPsec performance of the ISR 800 Series family of routers. All ISR 900 models offer Group Encrypted Transport VPN, dynamic multipoint virtual private network VPN, FlexVPN, and firewall. VPN performance is up to 250 Mbps. All versions support up to 50 VLANs. Supported dynamic failover protocols for high availability and business continuity include Virtual Router Redundancy Protocol, Hot Standby Router Protocol, and Multigroup HSRP (MHSRP). Setup and management can be done with Cisco CP Express, Cisco DNA Center, and Cisco IOS Software. Cisco ISR 900 Series routers do not work with Cisco SD-WAN.

The Cisco ISR 921 router comes with dual GE WAN, LTE Cat 4, and an internal power supply. GE WAN VPN performance is 150 Mbps. Cisco's ISR 926 and ISR 927 routers include external power supplies and support one GE WAN port, LTE Cat 4, VDSL2 and ADSL2/2+ high-speed broadband. GE WAN VPN performance for both routers is 150 Mbps. The high-performance ISR 931 supports dual GE WAN ports and includes an internal power supply. GE WAN VPN throughput is 250 Mbps.

Cisco Meraki MX Series SD-WAN Security Appliances
The Cisco Meraki MX series of desktop routers provide software-defined wide area networking and cloud-based unified threat management (UTM) in a single 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, broadband, cellular), SD-WAN technology permits administrators to specify the WAN interface an app should use or to build performance-based algorithms to select the preferred interface. Cisco Meraki MX fixed-configuration desktop routers share key capabilities that include:

• Application and ID-based firewalling
• Content and web search filtering
• PCI-compliant Intrusion Detection and Prevention
• Advanced Malware Protection (AMP) with reputation-based filtering
• Load balancing to aggregate multiple WAN links into one high-speed interface with policy-based Quality of Services, traffic shaping, and fast failover
• Works with all IPsec VPN devices and services
• USB port for fast 3G/4G failover
• Wi-Fi versions of each model have 802.11ac Wave 2 2x2 MU-MIMO

Cisco 1000 Family ISR Enterprise Branch Routers
Cisco 1000 family Integrated Services Routers running Cisco IOS XE software are a line of fanless routers designed to provide network connectivity, wireless access, and advanced security for small and midsize businesses, enterprise branches, retail outlets, customer premises equipment (CPE), and machine-to-machine (M2M) environments. Parallel CPU cores and compatibly with Cisco IOS XE enable these routers to offer features consistent with Cisco's complete family of Enterprise routers. 1000 and 1100 Series ISR models are offered with 4 or 8 LAN switch ports and offer GE packet forwarding. Various models include PoE and PoE+, auto provisioning, plus a range of built-in or pluggable connections such as LAN, WAN, wireless LAN, VDSL2/ADSL2+, 3G/4G Advanced wireless, 802.11 wireless, and SFP Fiber. Cisco 1000 family ISR models work with Cisco's SD-WAN subscription services for transparent multiple-cloud connectivity, advanced security, and cohesive monitoring and management of hybrid network models.

Cisco's rackmount or desktop 1100-4G ISR router includes four integrated GE ports, built-in 3G/4G LTE with two LTE antenna SMA connectors, and one micro-SIM slot. Encryption packet processing speed is 200 Mbps. The Cisco ISR 1100-6G router also includes two 1G SFP Fiber connections and features encryption speed of 520 Mbps. Cisco's desktop ISR 1101-4P router has four built-in switched GE ports, supports 802.11ac Wi-Fi and 3G/4G LTE, and features encryption rates of 280 Mbps. Cisco's ISR 1109-2P/4p desktop routers include two or four built-in switched GE ports and two pluggable 3G/4G LTE wireless ports. Encryption speed is 200 Mbps.

The Cisco rackmount or desktop 111x-4P/8P ISR routers come with four or eight built-in switched GE ports (two or four with PoE) and feature VDSL2/ADSL2+, 802.11ac Wi-Fi, 3G/4G LTE wireless, and SFP. Encryption packet processing throughput is 280 Mbps. Cisco's 1RU or desktop 1111X-8P ISR router has eight built-in GE ports (four with POE) and supports 1G SFP. Encryption packet processing performance is 340 Mbps. The ISR 112x-8P router features eight built-in switched GE connections with Power over Ethernet and features SHDSL, VDSL2/ADSL2+, 802.11ac Wi-Fi, 3G/4G LTE wireless, and 1G SFP. Encryption performance is 340 Mbps. The Cisco 1161X-8P ISR router features eight integrated GE ports with Power over Ethernet and supports 3G/4G LTE wireless and SFP. Encryption packet processing speed 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 network environments that can incorporate multiple public and private clouds and SaaS applications. All Catalyst 8000 devices use Cisco IOS XE SD-WAN Software and offer expandability, intelligent cloud security, and 5G access. Performance is optimized using custom hardware, a multicore architecture, high port capacity, and in-line encryption. Cisco's subscription software services provide continual access to current SD-WAN technology and allow unified management with advanced cybersecurity, application-based policies, segmentation, and cloud integration.

Catalyst 8200 Enterprise Edge Routers
Cisco Catalyst 8200 routers are successors to Cisco's 4300 Series Integrated Services Routers (ISRs), delivering higher IPsec performance and expandability, accelerated encryption, plus greater integrated WAN port density. These 1RU appliances are built to provide Cisco's Secure Access Service Edge (SASE), Software-Defined WAN (SD-WAN) and 5G-connection technology to enterprise branch offices and the enterprise WAN edge. The Catalyst C8200L-1N-4T router features four CPU cores, supports 500 Mbps IPsec traffic, and permits 1,500 SD-WAN tunnels. The Catalyst 8200L platform does not support container-based apps. Cisco's Catalyst C8200-1N-4T model features eight CPU cores, delivers 1Gb IPsec performance, supports 2,500 SD-WAN tunnels, and enables edge computing with existing container models. Both appliances come with a Network Interface Module (NIM) slot, a PIM slot, two 1G Ethernet WAN ports, and two 1 Gigabit Ethernet WAN Small-Form-Factor Pluggable ports. Four-port and eight-port 1G Ethernet switch NIM modules are supported by both 8200 routers.

Cisco Catalyst 8300 Enterprise Branch Edge Routers
Catalyst 8300 Series WAN Edge routers are intended to replace Cisco's 4400 family of Integrated Services Routers, delivering Cisco's secure SD-WAN technology to medium-sized and large enterprise branch offices looking for high WAN IPSec throughput combined with unified SD-WAN services. Advanced features include 5G wireless connectivity, integrated cybersecurity, WAN MACSec, integrated enhanced Layer 2 switching, and Deep Packet Inspection (DPI) with application optimization. Catalyst 8300 WAN Edge routers support edge computing for an in-place container architecture for Cisco UCS-E modules available on Cisco's 4000 line of ISR appliances. All versions in the Cisco Catalyst 8300 Series line allow 4,000 SD-WAN tunnels and feature backup power supplies for high availability.

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

Catalyst 8500 Series Aggregation Edge Routers
The Cisco Catalyst 8500 Aggregation Edge routers are fixed form factor, 1RU aggregation appliances for SD-WAN and colocation deployments. Integrated features include route processor, embedded services processor, plus aggregation hardware for multiple interfaces and connectivity choices. IPsec performance is double compared to Cisco's earlier generation ASR1001-X aggregation services router. Available interface options include 1GE to 100 GE WAN interfaces. These routers include redundant power units for improved availability. Software subscription packages provide ongoing access to Cisco DNA Center Software for SD-WAN and routing and enable unified management of cybersecurity, application-based policies, segmentation, and cloud connectivity optimization.

The Catalyst C8500L-8S4X router is designed to provide the same key features as Cisco's ASR 1000 appliance. The C8500L-8S4X comes with four 1/10GE WAN ports and offers up to 20 Gbps aggregate throughput. SD-WAN IPsec performance is up to 19Gbps. The Catalyst C8500-12X router features 12 integrated 1/10GE WAN ports and supports up to 120 Gbps Cisco Express Forwarding aggregate data rates. SD-WAN IPsec performance is up to 51 Gbps. The C8500-12X4QC model includes four built-in 1/10GE WAN interfaces and eight 1G interfaces and delivers up to 200 Gbps aggregate throughput. SD-WAN IPsec performance is up to 68 Gbps. Cisco's C8500-20X6C router includes 20 built-in SFP+ interfaces and 6 x QSFP+ interfaces. The C8500-20X6C supports up to 500 Gbps Cisco Express Forwarding aggregate performance. Cisco ISR G2 Routers
Cisco's ISR Generation 2 routers are intended to offer satellite offices of large businesses with advanced collaboration, virtual networking, protection, and reliable WAN access. Integrated Services G2 routers introduce a design that preserves prior investments in service modules for older ISR routers and reduces down-the-line costs by permitting field installation of new modules as they become available. Compared to previous Integrated Services Routers, Cisco's ISR Generation 2 routers offer 2-7 times higher throughput, substantially more, and easier support. All Integrated Services Generation 2 routers offer GE switching and include multi-core CPUs and ultra-fast fabric for faster throughput. Integrated Services G2 routers also support intelligent power control for improved energy conservation.

A notable innovation with Integrated Services Generation 2 routers is the IOS Software Universal image which contains all of the IOS feature sets so that you can rapidly license and deploy extra functions when required without having to download and copy a new IOS Software image over to yourrouter. Progent's group of CCIE network engineers offer world-class expertise to assist your business to design, configure, and support multi-site deployments of Cisco ISR G2 routers that enhance branch office efficiency and cut the price of expansion and maintenance.

Cisco's ISR 800 Line of Routers
Cisco's 800 Series of ISR routers has been superseded by the higher performance Cisco ISR 900 series but remains widely deployed. Cisco's extensive portfolio of 800 Series ISR routers consists of desktop devices intended for small organizations, branch locations, retail venues, telecommuters, and customers of broadband service providers. Many models in the 800 family of routers have been released with many options over many years. Cisco's 881 Series of ISR routers suggests the wide array of options offered within the Cisco 800 Series product family. Various models in Cisco's 881 Series router portfolio can support unified media environments by delivering 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 survivability, available options for 881 ISR routers include duplicate wide area network links or support for wired broadband WAN links like DSL plus multiple 3G and 4G wireless WAN connections all built into one appliance.

The baseline Cisco 881 router includes a 4-port fast Ethernet managed switch with up to 15 Mbps throughput, the ability to handle 20 users, two-port integrated Power over Ethernet, and IPv6 compatibility. The Cisco 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 SRST. With a Cisco Unified Border Element (CUBE) feature license, the Cisco 881 ISR router allows SIP trunking as a replacement for outdated Primary Rate Interface (PRI) lines or foreign exchange-office (FXO) voice connectivity to a PSTN service provider. SIP trunks can also support remote agents in Cisco Call Center environments.

Cisco 4000 Series Integrated Services Routers
Cisco's 4000 Line of ISR Routers are compact modular and expandable platforms designed for businesses with multiple branch offices and remote users who need direct access to in-house data centers as well as public clouds via VPNs and the Internet. Cisco's 4000 series delivers the bandwidth needed for hybrid WAN environments to accommodate mobile users, Cloud-based services, and HD multimedia applications by using wide area network optimization, deep packet inspection, and traffic-management technology. Models in the 4000 product line are powered by Cisco's powerful IOS XE software, come in a 1-rack-unit (RU) or 2RU form factor, can support as much as 2 Gbps of throughput, and can have up to 3 network interface slots, 2 service module slots, 4 integrated 10/100/1000 Ethernet switches, and 8 CPU core server modules. ISR 4000 models support integrated Gigabit Ethernet, T1/E1, T3/E3, PR1, xDSL and other interfaces. To manage unified communications, Cisco's 400o ISR provides extensive edge support for policy-enhanced session border control, branch telephony fault tolerance, and TDM gateways.

The main difference between the Cisco 4400 ISR and 4300 Series is dual power supply capability in the 4400 ISR Series, providing a greater level of availability. Cisco's 4321 ISR Router has a 1 RU desktop form factor and includes two network interface modules, delivers up to 100 Mbps throughput, and can handle 240 Digital Voice and Video Channels. Cisco's 4331 Integrated Services Router comes in a 1 RU package with two NIMs, delivers as much as 300 Mbps performance, and can handle 360 Digital Voice and Video Channels. Cisco's 4351 router comes in a 2 RU package with three network interface modules, offers up to 400 Mbps performance, and can handle 720 Digital Voice and Video Channels. The power-redundant 4431 model has a 2 RU form factor and includes three NIMs, delivers up to 1 Gbps throughput, and supports 720 Digital Voice and Video Channels. Cisco's fault-tolerant 4431 router comes in a 2 RU form factor with three NIMs, offers as much as 2 Gbps performance, and can handle 1200 Digital Voice/Video Channels. Cisco's Midrange WAN Aggregation Routers and Carrier-class Routers
Cisco's WAN aggregation and service provider routers can provide enterprises with fast, secure head ends to manage satellite office and remote user data packets and to provide service providers cost-optimized WAN edge solutions. Cisco's WAN aggregation and carrier router portfolio includes the Cisco ASR 1000 routers and the 9000 Series Aggregation Services routers.

Progent's national group of Cisco CCIE certified network consultants have extensive backgrounds working with global businesses and Internet service providers to design optimal installations and smooth expansion of Cisco's midrange and carrier-class routers. Progent's GIAC-certified information assurance consultants offer objective, third-party security inventory assessments, penetration testing and advanced Security information and Event Management (SIEM) solutions to help companies with Cisco's Aggregation Services Routers to comply with business standards and government mandates for IT information protection and incident reporting. Progent also can provide expertise with Horizon3.ai's NodeZero platform for pentesting. NodeZero depends on AI technology to simplify the threat assessment cycle of finding cybersecurity gaps in perimeters and within the internal network infrastructure, prioritizing remediation, fixing weaknesses, and confirming fixes.

Cisco ASR 1000 WAN Edge Routers
Cisco's ASR 1000 WAN Edge line of routers is designed to fill the center of Cisco's midrange routers that focus on acting as headends at the WAN edge. Cisco's ASR 1000 routers provide a small form factor, multi-function solution for enterprises who need branch office aggregation at supergigabit Ethernet performance. ASR 1000 Series routers introduce a revolutionary design that combines hardware acceleration with programmable flexibility in order to offer a rich set of simultaneous services while preserving dependable responsiveness.

Cisco's ASR 1000 WAN Edge routers include Cisco's proprietary QuantumFlow Processor made up of 40 custom Packet Processing Engines that in combination can support up to 160 simultaneous threads. This massive parallelism, in conjunction with on-board acceleration for all services, enables the top-of-the-line ASR 1006 WAN Edge router to scale up to 128 queues, 32K clients, 4K IPsec tunnels at 10,000 sessions per second, and 2 million Netflow log records. This processing capability permits ASR 1000 Series WAN Edge routers to deliver a variety of sophisticated services concurrently in high volume while avoiding throughput decay that might threaten adherence to service level agreements. These advanced services include Cisco Firewall, IPS, Network Address Translation, Flexible Packet Matching, and deep packet inspection. The Cisco ASR 1000 also allows sophisticated traffic control for performing multiple levels of QoS to a packet in a single operation, improving the user experience for resource-intensive multimedia applications.

Cisco ASR 9000 Series Aggregation Services Routers
Cisco ASR 9000 Series Aggregation Services Routers are designed as edge routers for service providers who need to deliver the highest quality data, voice and video services to residential, business, and mobile users by providing non-stop availability, high speed, and application awareness. All models in the Cisco ASR 9000 line of Routers run Cisco's IOS XR, a distributed operating system designed for non-stop availability. Performance of the Cisco ASR 9000 portfolio of Aggregation Services Routers can be expanded to as high as 96 Tbps per chassis. the Cisco ASR 9000 portfolio of Routers support high-density Gigabit Ethernet, 10 Gigabit Ethernet, and 100 GE and feature fully redundant fabric and power supply, power entry modules, and fan trays plus backup control planes and switch fabric.

The ASR 9001 model is a provider-edge router in a 6 RU form factor that delivers 120 Gbps of nonblocking fabric performance. The ASR 9001 has two modular bays to accept adapters for 1, 10, and 40 Gigabit Ethernet. The chassis has four 10 Gbit Ethernet enhanced Small Form-Factor Pluggable (SFP+) ports and ports for GPS clocking, building integrated timing supply (BITS), and management. The ASR 9904 Router comes in a 6 RU chassis and offers line-rate 10 and 100 GE connectivity in space-limited sites. The 4-slot router can scale up to 4 Tbps of switching capacity in one box. The ASR 9912 Router has a 30 RU chassis with 10 line-card slots able to handle up to 550 Gbps of throughput. The ASR 9912 Router includes 2 route processors and 6+1 Fabric Cards for N+1 redundancy. Ways Progent's Consultants Can Assist Your Business to Support Cisco Router Products
Progent's CCIE and CCNP certified engineers can help your company to design, configure, and maintain an integrated network infrastructure that can streamline operations, reduce expenses, and accelerate the path to positive ROI. By teaming Cisco integrated services routers with Catalyst switches support and Catalyst and Meraki Wi-Fi wireless expertise, Progent can dramatically enhance the strategic value of your network infrastructure. Progent offers in-person and remote support and can provide data center support throughout the U.S. To find out additional information concerning Progent's consulting assistance for Cisco products, select a subject:

• Introduction to Cisco Engineering Services
• Fast and Affordable Online Support from a Cisco CCIE Consultant
• Cisco Firepower Firewalls: Configuration and Management Expertise
• ASA 5500-X Series Firewall with Cisco Firepower: Consulting and Troubleshooting Expertise
• Cisco ASA 5500 Firewall Consulting Services
• PIX Firewall Maintenance Expertise
• Cisco Wireless Deployment Help
• Cisco Aironet Wireless APs Engineering Expertise
• Cisco Small Business Wireless APs Engineering Support
• Catalyst 802.11ax Wi-Fi 6/6E Wireless APs Solution Design, Configuration and Debugging Expertise
• Cisco Wireless Controllers Integration Consulting
• Meraki Wireless Access Points Design Support
• Cisco Unified Communications Manager (CUCM or Unified CM) and Cisco CallManager Configuration and Technical Support
• Cisco Voice over IP (VoIP) Phones and IP Video Desktop Phones Expertise and Cisco Wireless VoIP Phone Configuration
• Cisco Jabber Consulting and Support Expertise
• Cisco Catalyst Switches Deployment Expertise
• Cisco Nexus Switches Deployment Services
• Cisco Meraki Switches Configuration and Maintenance Expertise
• Cisco Security and VPN Engineering Expertise
• SIP and CUBE Infrastructure Solutions: SIP Trunks and CUBE Integration Expertise
• Cisco Duo MFA Two-factor Authentication (2FA) Services for Remote Workers
• Infrastructure Design for Cisco-powered Datacenters and Colocation Centers
• Network Design Services for Service Providers
• Unified Cloud-based and Hybrid Network Management Strategies for Cisco-based Environments

In order to ask Progent about consulting support for Cisco technology, phone 1-800-993-9400 or refer to Contact Progent.