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Today's routers typically come with L2 switches, and many of today's switches have Layer 3 routing functionality. Routers developed by Cisco, the producer of the vast majority of the world's routers, have advanced dramatically in capability and performance and Cisco now makes an extensive product line that features routers designed to meet the needs of customers ranging from individual telecommuters to nationwide service providers.

The latest Integrated Services Routers from Cisco have the speed and integrated functionality to support data voice and video plus virtualization while at the same time providing high availability, remote management, easy scalability, and advanced protection. These routers enable you to establish a solid basis for an information environment that can grow seamlessly as you add new employees, establish extra sites, configure additional functions, give access to your system to clients and vendors, and build an expanding mobile workforce. Progent's Cisco CCIE network consultants can provide fast and affordable remote expertise to help your company to select, deploy, administer, update, and support Cisco's latest routers and can help you to support your older routers or move efficiently to Cisco's newer router products. Cisco Routers for Home and Small Offices and Branches
Cisco's routers for smaller businesses and branch offices provide low-cost and reliable entry-level solutions that allow limited groups of users to have secure connectivity to wide area networks. All these fixed-configuration desktop devices include at least four Ethernet switches with wireless options plus integrated firewall for advanced protection. Built for easy installation, management, and troubleshooting, Cisco's entry-level routers reduce total cost of ownership by lowering acquisition and operational investments. Progent's remote support specialists have extensive experience providing fast and affordable technical help for small organizations to set up and support these devices, and Progent's CCIE-certified network engineers can help your company to understand ways Cisco's small office routers can add to the strategic value of your IT network.

Cisco ISR 900 Series Routers
The Cisco ISR 900 Series desktop routers are small-footprint, fanless, set-configuration devices intended for SMBs, branch offices, and home offices. These entry-level routers include four GE LAN ports and can support Metro Ethernet, LTE, and DSL WAN connectivity. The ISR 900 router product line provides triple the IPsec throughput of the ISR 800 Series routers. All ISR 900 models feature Group Encrypted TransportVPN (GETVPN), DMVPN, Cisco FlexVPN, and firewall. VPN performance is up to 250 Mbps. All router versions support up to 50 virtual LANs. Supported dynamic failover technology for high availability include Virtual Router Redundancy Protocol (VRRP), HSRP, and Multigroup HSRP (MHSRP). Provisioning and management can be performed with Cisco CP Express, Cisco DNA Center, and Cisco IOS. ISR 900 Series devices do not work with Cisco's SD-WAN solution.

The Cisco ISR 921 router comes with dual GE WAN, LTE Cat 4, and an internal power supply. VPN performance is 150 Mbps. The ISR 926 and ISR 927 routers use external power and support one GE WAN interface, Category 4 LTE, plus VDSL2 and ADSL2/2+. GE WAN VPN throughput for both devices is 150 Mbps. The high-performance Cisco ISR 931 router features dual GE WAN and has an internal power supply. GE WAN VPN throughput is 250 Mbps.

Cisco Meraki MX Series SD-WAN Security Appliances
The Cisco Meraki MX portfolio of desktop routers provide software-defined wide area networking and cloud-hosted unified threat management in a single small-footprint appliance able to handle 50 to 200 users. Each MX series appliance needs to be licensed for the Meraki cloud. For sites with multiple external network options (e.g., MPLS, fiber optic, cellular), SD-WAN technology permits admins to assign the WAN connection a given app should use or to create performance-based rules to determine the appropriate interface. 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 several WAN connections into one fast connection with policy-based QoS, 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 and 1100 Series ISR Branch Routers
Cisco 1000 Series Integrated Services Routers (ISRs) using Cisco IOS XE software are a selection of fanless appliances designed to provide network service, wireless support, and multilayer cybersecurity for SMBs, enterprise branch offices, retail outlets, kiosks, and machine-to-machine (M2M) environments. Multiple parallel processing cores and compatibly with Cisco IOS XE allow these routers to deliver features consistent with Cisco's complete line of Enterprise routers. 1000 family ISR models are offered with 4 or 8 LAN switch ports and offer GE packet forwarding. Available features include PoE and PoE+, zero-touch provisioning, plus a range of integrated or pluggable connections for LAN, WAN, wireless LAN, G.fast DSL, 4G LTE Advanced wireless, 802.11 wireless, and SFP. Cisco 1000 and 1100 family ISR routers work with Cisco's SD-WAN services for seamless multi-cloud connectivity, advanced security, and unified monitoring and management across hybrid network models.

Cisco's rackmount or desktop 1100-4G ISR router comes with four built-in GE ports, built-in 3G/4G LTE wireless with two LTE antenna SMA sockets, and one micro-SIM plug-in slot. Encryption packet processing throughput is 200 Mbps. The 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 comes with four integrated switched GE interfaces, supports 802.11ac Wi-Fi as well as 3G/4G LTE wireless, and delivers encryption speed of 280 Mbps. The Cisco ISR 1109-2P/4p desktop routers include two or four built-in GE connections and dual pluggable 3G/4G LTE wireless ports. Encryption packet processing throughput is 200 Mbps.

The rackmount or desktop ISR 111x-4P/8P routers have four or eight integrated switched GE connections (two or four provide Power over Ethernet) and support VDSL2/ADSL2+, 802.11ac, 3G/4G LTE, and SFP Fiber. Encryption performance is 280 Mbps. Cisco's rackmount or desktop 1111X-8P ISR router has eight integrated switched GE connections (four with POE) and a port for 1G SFP. Encryption packet processing speed is 340 Mbps. The 112x-8P ISR router features eight built-in switched GE connections with PoE and supports SHDSL, VDSL2/ADSL2+, 802.11ac Wi-Fi, 3G/4G LTE, and 1G SFP. Encryption packet processing speed is 340 Mbps. Cisco's 1161X-8P ISR router includes eight built-in switched GE interfaces with Power over Ethernet and provides 3G/4G LTE wireless and SFP Fiber. Encryption packet processing rate is 450 Mbps. Catalyst 8000 Series Branch and WAN Edge Platforms for SD-WAN and Routing
Cisco's Catalyst 8000 Series routers are modular appliances designed to work at the enterprise branche and the WAN edge to support hybrid network environments that can include multiple public and private clouds and cloud-hosted applications. All Catalyst 8000 devices are powered by Cisco IOS XE SD-WAN Software and offer expandability, intelligent cybersecurity, and 5G connectivity. Performance is enhanced via purpose-built silicon, a multicore design, high port capacity, and line-rate encryption. Cisco's subscription software suites offer ongoing access to current SD-WAN technology and enable unified management with advanced cybersecurity, application-optimized policies, network segmentation, and cloud readiness.

Catalyst 8200 Series Enterprise Branch Edge Routers
Catalyst 8200 Series routers are upgrades to Cisco's 4300 Series Integrated Services Routers, offering higher IPsec throughput and expandability, accelerated encryption, plus higher built-in WAN port density. These one-rack unit appliances are built to bring Cisco's Secure Access Service Edge, SD-WAN and 5G-connection technology to enterprise branch offices and the enterprise access edge. Cisco's Catalyst C8200L-1N-4T model features four CPU cores, supports 500 Mbps IPsec performance, and allows 1,500 SD-WAN tunnels. The Catalyst 8200L platform does not support container-based apps. Cisco's Catalyst C8200-1N-4T router features eight CPU cores, provides 1Gb IPsec throughput, permits 2,500 SD-WAN tunnels, and enables edge computing with existing container models. Both devices include a NIM slot, a Pluggable Interface Module slot, two 1 Gigabit 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 models.

Catalyst 8300 Enterprise Branch Edge Routers
Cisco Catalyst 8300 Series WAN Edge routers are designed to supersede Cisco's 4400 Series ISR Routers, providing Cisco's secure SD-WAN architecture to medium-sized and large company branch offices seeking high WAN IPSec throughput combined with unified SD-WAN services. Enhanced capabilities include 5G wireless connectivity, integrated cybersecurity, WAN MACSec, enhanced Layer 2 switching, and DPI with application optimization. Cisco Catalyst 8300 routers support edge computing for an in-place container environment for Cisco UCS-E modules offered on Cisco's 4000 family of ISR routers. All versions in the Catalyst 8300 Series family support 4,000 SD-WAN tunnels and include dual power supplies for improved uptime.

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

Cisco Catalyst 8500 Series Aggregation Edge Routers
The Catalyst 8500 Aggregation Edge routers are fixed, one-rack unit aggregation routers for SD-WAN and colocation environments. Integrated features include route processor, ESP, plus aggregation hardware for multiple interfaces and connectivity options. IPsec throughput is twice that of Cisco's prior generation ASR1001-X router. Available interface alternatives include 1GE, 10GE, 40GE, and 100GE WAN ports. 8500 routers include redundant AC or DC power supplies for improved availability. Software subscription suites provide continuing use of Cisco DNA Center Software for SD-WAN and routing and offer centralized management of cybersecurity, application-aware policies, network segmentation, and cloud support.

The Cisco Catalyst C8500L-8S4X Aggregation Edge router is designed to provide the same key features as Cisco's ASR 1000 appliance. The C8500L-8S4X includes four 1/10GE WAN ports and offers as high as 20 Gbps Cisco Express Forwarding aggregate throughput. SD-WAN IPsec throughput can reach 19Gbps. The Cisco Catalyst C8500-12X router includes 12 integrated 1/10GE WAN ports and supports as high as 120 Gbps aggregate throughput. SD-WAN IPsec throughput is up to 51 Gbps. The C8500-12X4QC model comes with four integrated 1/10GE WAN ports and eight 1G ports and can support up to 200 Gbps aggregate performance. SD-WAN IPsec throughput can reach 68 Gbps. The Catalyst C8500-20X6C router includes 20 built-in SFP+ interfaces and six x 40/100GE interfaces. Cisco's C8500-20X6C delivers up to 500 Gbps Cisco Express Forwarding aggregate throughput. Cisco Integrated Services G2 Routers
Cisco's Integrated Services Generation 2 routers are intended to offer branch offices of enterprises with advanced video and voice applications, virtualization, security, and dependable WAN access. ISR G2 routers introduce an architecture that protects past investments in service modules for first-generation ISR routers and lowers future costs by allowing easy upgrades to additional modules as they become available. In comparison to previous ISR routers, Cisco's Integrated Services Generation 2 routers feature 2-7 times higher performance, far greater expandability, and easier maintenance. All Cisco Integrated Services Generation 2 routers support Gbit switching and include multi-core CPUs and multigigabit fabric for higher throughput. Integrated Services G2 routers also offer intelligent power management for improved energy conservation.

A major innovation with Integrated Services Generation 2 routers is the Cisco IOS Software Universal image which includes all of the IOS feature sets so that your company can quickly authorize and deploy new functions as required without having to acquire and transfer a different IOS image over to yourCisco router. Progent's group of Cisco-certified CCIE network consultants offer proven expertise to assist your business to design, configure, and support multi-site installations of Cisco Integrated Services G2 routers that improve satellite office productivity and reduce the price of expansion and support.

Cisco's ISR 800 Series Routers
The 800 Series of ISR routers has been functionally replaced by the faster Cisco ISR 900 series but remains widely deployed. Cisco's extensive portfolio of 800 Series ISR routers is made up of desktop, fanless devices intended for small businesses, branch offices, retail shops, teleworkers, and clients of ISPs. A wealth of devices in the 800 Series family of routers have been released with various options over many years. The 881 line of ISR routers suggests the vast array of options offered within the Cisco 800 Series line of routers. Models in Cisco's 881 router catalog can enable unified media networks by providing voice and video, Wi-Fi and cellular wireless and data in one integrated router and switch. Built-in data protection can include encryption, VPN tunneling, firewall, and URL filtering. For survivability, available options for 881 ISR routers include redundant WAN links or support for wired high-speed WAN connections such as DSL plus multiple different 3G and 4G wireless WAN connections all on a single appliance.

The baseline Cisco 881 router includes a 4-port 10/100-Mbps managed switch that delivers 15 Mbps performance, support for up to 20 users, 2-port integrated PoE, and IPv6 compatibility. The Cisco 881W router includes 802.11g/n Wi-Fi. Cisco's 881 SRST router features 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 allows SIP trunking as a replacement for legacy Primary Rate Interface (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 environments.

Cisco 4000 Series Integrated Services Routers
The Cisco 4000 Series ISR Routers are compact modular and scalable routers intended for businesses with multiple branches and offsite users who need direct access to private data centers as well as public clouds via VPNs and the Internet. The 4000 series delivers the throughput required for hybrid WAN environments to support mobile users, Cloud-based services, and HD video applications by using WAN optimization, deep packet inspection, and traffic-management techniques. Models in Cisco's 4000 family run Cisco's powerful IOS XE software, come in a 1RU or 2RU package, can handle Up to 2 Gbps of throughput, and can include up to 3 network interface module slots, 2 service module slots, 4 integrated 10/100/1000 Ethernet ports, and 8 CPU core integrated server modules. ISR 4000 models support integrated Gigabit Ethernet, T1/E1, T3/E3, PRI and xDSL. For unified communications, Cisco's 400o ISR offers comprehensive edge support for policy-enhanced session border control, telephony fault tolerance, and Time Division Multiplexing gateways.

The primary difference between Cisco's 4400 ISR and 4300 Series is dual power supply capability in the 4400 Series, offering a greater degree of availability. Cisco's 4321 ISR Router has a 1 RU desktop form factor and includes two network interface modules, offers up to 100 Mbps throughput, and allows up to 240 Digital Voice/Video Channels. The 4331 model comes in a 1 RU package with two NIMs, offers as much as 300 Mbps performance, and can handle 360 Digital Voice and Video Channels. Cisco's 4351 model comes in a 2 RU form factor with three NIMs, delivers up to 400 Mbps throughput, and can handle 720 Digital Voice and Video Channels. Cisco's power-redundant 4431 ISR Router has a 2 RU form factor with three NIMs, delivers up to 1 Gbps performance, and allows up to 720 Digital Voice and Video Channels. Cisco's fault-tolerant 4431 Integrated Services Router comes in a 2 RU package with three network interface modules, provides up to 2 Gbps throughput, and allows up to 1200 Digital Voice and Video Channels. Cisco's WAN Edge Routers and Carrier-class Routers
Cisco's WAN edge and carrier routers can provide larger businesses with fast, secure distribution points to aggregate satellite office and off-site data packets and to provide ISPs cost-effective WAN edge solutions. Cisco's WAN aggregation and carrier router product line features the ASR 1000 routers and the 9000 Series Aggregation Services routers.

Progent's national group of Cisco CCIE certified network consultants have in-depth experience helping enterprise businesses and service providers to plan optimal installations and seamless upgrades of Cisco's midrange and carrier-class routers. Progent's GIAC-certified information assurance consultants offer objective, independent security vulnerability assessments, stealth penetration testing services and advanced SIEM solutions to help enterprises with Cisco's WAN aggregation routers to comply with industry guidelines and statutory regulations for network data protection and reporting. Progent also offers help with Horizon3.ai's NodeZero platform for pentesting. NodeZero depends on AI technology to simplify the threat evaluation cycle of finding security gaps in perimeters and within the internal network infrastructure, recommending remediation, mitigating problems, and verifying successful repairs.

Cisco ASR 1000 Series WAN Edge Routers
Cisco's ASR 1000 Series WAN Edge family of routers is positioned in the middle of Cisco's midrange products that focus on aggregating services at the WAN edge. Cisco's ASR 1000 WAN Edge routers provide a small form factor, multi-function answer for enterprises who need satellite office aggregation at multigigabit Ethernet performance. Cisco's ASR 1000 Series routers incorporate an innovative architecture that combines on-board acceleration with software versatility to deliver a rich set of simultaneous services without sacrificing consistent performance.

Cisco's ASR 1000 routers include Cisco's new QuantumFlow Processor composed of 40 purpose-built Packet Processing Engines that together can support as many as 160 concurrent threads. This multi-processing structure, in conjunction with on-board acceleration for every service, allows the high-end ASR 1006 router to scale up to 128 queues, 32,000 subscribers, 4K IPsec tunnels at 10K sessions per second, and 2 million Netflow log records. This CPU capability allows ASR 1000 Aggregation Services routers to support a variety of advanced services concurrently in high volume while avoiding performance decay that might compromise adherence to service level agreements. Examples of these services include IOS Firewall, IPS, Network Address Translation, Flexible Packet Matching, and in-line deep packet inspection. The Cisco ASR 1000 also permits tiered traffic control for applying numerous levels of Quality of Service to a packet in one pass, enhancing the user experience for next-generation multimedia applications.

Cisco ASR 9000 Series Aggregation Services Routers
Cisco's ASR 9000 Series Routers are designed as edge routers for carriers who are required to support the highest quality HD multimedia services to home, business, and mobile customers by providing always-on availability, high speed, and application-aware intelligence. All platforms in the Cisco ASR 9000 Series of Routers are powered by Cisco's IOS XR operating system, a self-healing, distributed OS built for continuous availability. Throughput of the ASR 9000 portfolio of Routers can be expanded up to 96 Tbps per system. the ASR 9000 portfolio of Routers support Gigabit Ethernet, 10 GE, and 100 GE and have redundant fabric and power supply, power entry modules, plus backup control planes and switch fabric.

The Cisco ASR 9001 model is a carrier-edge router that comes in a 6 RU package with 120 Gbps of nonblocking, full-duplex fabric performance. The Cisco ASR 9001 has two bays to accept port adapters for 1 GE, 10 GE, and 40 GE. The chassis has four 10 Gbit Ethernet SFP+ ports as well as ports for Stratum 1 clocking, building integrated timing supply, and management. The Cisco ASR 9904 Router comes in a 6 RU chassis and offers line-rate 10 and 100 Gigabit Ethernet connections in space-constrained environments. The 4-slot router can scale up to 4 Tbps of switching capacity in a single 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 includes 2 route processors as well as 6+1 Fabric Cards for N+1 redundancy. How Progent's Consultants Can Assist Your Business to Support Cisco Routers
Progent's Cisco certified consultants can help your business to plan, setup, and manage an integrated network infrastructure that can streamline processes, reduce expenses, and speed time to positive ROI. By teaming Cisco routers with Catalyst switches support and Catalyst and Meraki Wi-Fi wireless expertise, Progent can dramatically increase the business value of your information network. Progent can provide in-person and remote help and can provide data center support throughout the U.S. To see more details concerning Progent's engineering help for Cisco products, pick a topic:

• Introduction to Progent's Cisco Support
• Timely Online Access to a CCIE Consultant
• Cisco Firepower Firewalls: Configuration and Troubleshooting Services
• ASA 5500-X Series Firewall with Cisco Firepower: Setup and Troubleshooting Support
• ASA 5500 Series Firewall Management Services
• Cisco PIX 500 Series Firewall Troubleshooting Expertise
• Cisco Wireless Engineering Support
• Cisco Aironet Wireless APs Deployment Services
• Cisco Small Business Wireless Access Points Consulting Services
• Catalyst Wi-Fi 6/6E Wireless Access Points Planning, Configuration and Troubleshooting Support
• Cisco WiFi Controllers Support Services
• Cisco Meraki Wireless Access Points Deployment Help
• Cisco Unified Communications Manager (CUCM or Unified CM) and CallManager Integration and Technical Support
• Cisco VoIP Phones and IP Video Desktop Phones Expertise and Wireless VoIP Phone Configuration
• Cisco Jabber Configuration and Troubleshooting Services
• Catalyst Switches Configuration and Maintenance Services
• Nexus Switches Consulting and Support Expertise
• Cisco Meraki MS Switches Configuration and Maintenance Expertise
• Cisco VPN Consulting Services
• SIP and CUBE Integration Solutions: SIP Trunks and CUBE Integration Expertise
• Cisco Duo MFA Two-factor Authentication (2FA) Services for an At-Home Workforce
• Design and Support for Cisco-based Datacenters and Colocation Centers
• Data Center Optimization Consulting for Service Providers
• Centralized Cloud-based and Hybrid Management Techniques for Cisco-powered Infrastructure

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