Cisco Expert Network Consulting and Support

Today's routers usually come with Layer 2 switching capability, and many modern switches include some Layer 3 routing capability. Routers offered by Cisco, the producer of the vast majority of the world's routers, have improved significantly in function and performance and Cisco now makes an extensive product line that features routers built to handle the requirements of customers from individual telecommuters to nationwide service providers.

The most recent Integrated Services Routers from Cisco have the speed and integrated functionality to support data voice and video plus virtualization while at the same time offering high availability, remote management, seamless expandability, and advanced security and compliance. Cisco's ISR routers enable your business to establish a solid foundation for an information environment that can grow smoothly as you add more workers, establish new sites, configure additional services, extend your network to clients and vendors, and support an expanding mobile workforce. Progent's Cisco certified CCIE network consultants offer immediate and economical online support to help your company to select, configure, manage, upgrade, and support Cisco's most advanced router technology and can help you to support your legacy routers or migrate non-disruptively to Cisco's current router products. Cisco Routers Designed for Home Offices and Small Offices and Branches
Cisco's routers for smaller organizations and remote offices provide affordable and dependable no-frills solutions that enable small sets of workers to share secure access to wide area networks. All these fixed-configuration desktop routers feature at minimum four 10/100 switched Ethernet with Wi-Fi options plus integrated firewall to provide advanced protection. Designed for simple installation, administration, and troubleshooting, Cisco's entry-level routers reduce TCO by lowering acquisition and operational investments. Progent's remote support specialists have in-depth backgrounds providing fast and economical IT assistance for small businesses to set up and maintain these routers, and Progent's Cisco-certified CCIE network consultants can assist your company to understand ways Cisco's entry-level routers can add to the business value of your IT system.

Cisco ISR 900 Series Routers
Cisco's ISR 900 Series desktop routers are compact, quiet, set-configuration appliances intended for small to medium-sized businesses, branch offices, and home offices. These entry-level routers include four GE LAN ports and offer Metro Ethernet, LTE, and DSL WAN connections. Cisco's ISR 900 router family delivers three times the IPsec throughput of Cisco's ISR 800 Series family of routers. All ISR 900 models feature GETVPN, dynamic multipoint virtual private network VPN, Cisco FlexVPN, and firewall. VPN performance is up to 250 Mbps. All models support up to 50 VLANs. Supported automatic failover technology for high availability include VRRP, Hot Standby Router Protocol, and MHSRP. Provisioning and management can be done with Cisco Configuration Professional Express, Cisco DNA Center, and Cisco IOS Software. Cisco ISR 900 Series routers do not support Cisco SD-WAN.

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

Cisco Meraki MX Series SD-WAN Security Appliances
The Cisco Meraki MX line of desktop routers combine software-defined wide area networking and cloud-based unified threat management in a single compact device able to support 50 to 200 users. Every MX series appliance must be licensed to the Meraki cloud. For venues with multiple external network connections (e.g., MPLS, broadband, cellular), SD-WAN technology allows administrators to specify the WAN connection a given application should use or to build performance-based rules to determine the preferred connection. MX fixed-configuration desktop security appliances share key capabilities including:

• Application and ID-based firewalling
• Content and web search filtering
• PCI-compliant Intrusion Detection and Prevention
• Cisco Advanced Malware Protection with sandboxing
• Load balancing to combine several WAN links into a single high-speed 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 and 1100 Series Integrated Services Routers powered by Cisco IOS XE internetworking operating system are a selection of fanless routers designed to deliver network connectivity, wireless access, and advanced security for SMBs, branch offices, retail stores, kiosks, and machine-to-machine environments. Multiple parallel CPU cores and compatibly with Cisco IOS XE enable these routers to offer capabilities consistent with Cisco's complete line of modern Enterprise routers. 1000 and 1100 family ISR models are available with 4 or 8 LAN ports and provide Gigabit Ethernet packet forwarding. Various models include Power over Ethernet (PoE) and PoE+, zero-touch provisioning, plus a range of integrated or pluggable options for LAN, WAN, WLAN, VDSL2/ADSL2+, LTE Advanced wireless, 802.11 Wi-Fi, and SFP. Cisco 1000 and 1100 family ISR models can be used with Cisco's SD-WAN subscription services for seamless multi-cloud connectivity, advanced security, and unified administration of hybrid networks.

Cisco's rackmount or desktop ISR 1100-4G router includes four built-in GE ports, built-in 3G/4G LTE with two LTE SMA sockets, and one micro-SIM slot. Encryption packet processing throughput is 200 Mbps. The ISR 1100-6G router also includes two 1G SFP ports and delivers encryption performance of 520 Mbps. Cisco's desktop 1101-4P ISR router comes with four built-in GE interfaces, supports 802.11ac Wi-Fi as well as 3G/4G LTE, and delivers encryption performance of 280 Mbps. The 1109-2P/4P ISR desktop routers have two or four built-in GE ports and two pluggable 3G/4G LTE ports. Encryption packet processing throughput is 200 Mbps.

Cisco's 1RU or desktop ISR 111x-4P/8P routers have four or eight built-in GE ports (two or four provide PoE) and support VDSL2/ADSL2+, 802.11ac, 3G/4G LTE, and 1G SFP. Encryption packet processing throughput is 280 Mbps. Cisco's 1RU or desktop ISR 1111X-8P router comes with eight built-in switched GE connections (four with POE) and supports 1G SFP. Encryption performance is 340 Mbps. The ISR 112x-8P router has eight GE ports with Power over Ethernet and supports SHDSL, VDSL2/ADSL2+, 802.11ac Wi-Fi, 3G/4G LTE, and SFP Fiber. Encryption packet processing throughput is 340 Mbps. The ISR 1161X-8P router has eight switched GE connections with PoE and provides 3G/4G LTE and 1G SFP. Encryption throughput is 450 Mbps. Catalyst 8000 Series Branch and WAN Edge Platforms for SD-WAN and Routing
Cisco's Catalyst 8000 family of routers are modular devices intended to operate at the enterprise branche and the WAN edge to support hybrid network environments that can include a mix of public and private clouds and SaaS applications. All Catalyst 8000 routers use Cisco IOS XE SD-WAN Software and provide scalability, advanced cybersecurity, and 5G connectivity. Performance is enhanced via purpose-built silicon, a multicore architecture, high port density, and line-rate encryption. Cisco's subscription software suites offer ongoing access to current SD-WAN technology and allow centralized management with enhanced cybersecurity, application-based policies, segmentation, and cloud readiness.

Cisco Catalyst 8200 Series Enterprise Branch Edge Routers
Cisco Catalyst 8200 routers are successors to Cisco's 4300 Series Integrated Services Routers, offering higher IPsec performance and expandability, accelerated crypto, plus greater integrated WAN interface density. These 1RU routers are built to bring Cisco's SASE, SD-WAN and 5G-interface technology to enterprise branches and the enterprise WAN edge. The Catalyst C8200L-1N-4T router includes four CPU cores, enables 500 Mbps IPsec performance, and allows 1,500 SD-WAN tunnels. The Catalyst 8200L platform does not support container-based applications. Cisco's Catalyst C8200-1N-4T router features eight CPU cores, delivers 1Gb IPsec performance, supports 2,500 SD-WAN tunnels, and enables edge computing with in-place container models. Both devices include a Network Interface Module (NIM) slot, a Pluggable Interface Module slot, two 1G Ethernet WAN interfaces, and two 1G Ethernet WAN Small-Form-Factor Pluggable (SFP) ports. 4-port and 8-port 1G Ethernet switch NIM modules are supported by both 8200 routers.

Cisco Catalyst 8300 Series Enterprise Edge Routers
Cisco Catalyst 8300 Series WAN Edge routers are designed to supersede Cisco's 4400 line of ISR Routers, delivering Cisco's secure SD-WAN solution to medium-sized and large enterprise branch offices looking for high WAN IPSec throughput with integrated SD-WAN services. Enhanced features include 5G wireless connectivity, integrated security, WAN MACSec, enhanced Layer 2 switching, and Deep Packet Inspection with application optimization. Catalyst 8300 Series routers enable edge computing for an in-place container architecture for Cisco UCS-E modules offered on Cisco's 4000 line of ISR routers. All models in the Cisco Catalyst 8300 family allow 4,000 SD-WAN tunnels and include dual power supplies for improved uptime.

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

Cisco Catalyst 8500 Aggregation Edge Routers
The Cisco Catalyst 8500 Aggregation Edge routers are fixed form factor, 1RU aggregation appliances for SD-WAN and colocation environments. Integrated features include route processor, embedded services processor (ESP), and aggregation hardware for various connection choices. IPsec throughput is twice that of Cisco's earlier generation ASR1001-X aggregation services router. Flexible interface alternatives include 1GE, 10GE, 40GE, and 100GE WAN interfaces. These routers include redundant AC or DC power units for enhanced resilience. Software subscription suites allow continuing access to Cisco DNA Center Software for SD-WAN and routing and offer centralized management of cybersecurity, application-based policies, segmentation, and cloud connectivity optimization.

The Catalyst C8500L-8S4X Aggregation Edge router is designed to provide a similar key features as Cisco's ASR 1000 router. The C8500L-8S4X comes with four 1/10GE WAN interfaces and offers as high as 20 Gbps aggregate performance. SD-WAN IPsec throughput is up to 19Gbps. The Catalyst C8500-12X router has 12 integrated 1/10GE WAN ports and delivers up to 120 Gbps Cisco Express Forwarding aggregate throughput. SD-WAN IPsec throughput can reach 51 Gbps. The C8500-12X4QC aggregation router includes four built-in 1/10GE WAN interfaces and eight 1GE ports and can support up to 200 Gbps aggregate throughput. SD-WAN IPsec performance is up to 68 Gbps. The C8500-20X6C high-density router has 20 integrated 1/10GE ports and 6 x QSFP+ interfaces. The Catalyst C8500-20X6C supports as much as 500 Gbps Cisco Express Forwarding aggregate performance. Cisco Integrated Services G2 Routers
Cisco's Integrated Services G2 routers are designed to provide branch offices of large businesses with enhanced collaboration, virtual networking, security, and reliable connectivity. ISR Generation 2 routers feature an architecture that preserves prior investments in service modules for older Integrated Services Routers and reduces down-the-line costs by allowing field upgrades to additional modules as they are developed. In comparison to previous Integrated Services Routers, Cisco's Integrated Services Generation 2 routers offer 2-7 times more throughput, far greater expandability, and more affordable maintenance. All Cisco Integrated Services Generation 2 routers offer GE switching and include multi-core processors and ultra-fast fabric for faster throughput. Integrated Services G2 routers also support smart power control for improved energy conservation.

A key advance with Integrated Services Generation 2 routers is the Cisco IOS Software Universal image which contains all of the Cisco IOS technology sets so that your company can quickly license and activate new features when desired without needing to download and transfer a different IOS Software image over to yourrouter. Progent's group of CCIE-certified network consultants offer world-class expertise to help your business to design, configure, and maintain multi-location deployments of Cisco ISR G2 routers that enhance satellite office productivity and cut the price of expansion and maintenance.

Cisco's ISR 800 Series Routers
Cisco's 800 Series of ISR routers has been functionally replaced by the higher performance Cisco ISR 900 family but remains widely deployed. Cisco's extensive portfolio of 800 Series ISR routers consists of desktop, fanless appliances intended for small organizations, branch locations, retail venues, telecommuters, and clients of ISPs. Many devices in the 800 Series product line have been developed with many options for many years. The 881 Series of ISR routers suggests the wide array of options available within the Cisco 800 Series product family. Models in Cisco's 881 Series router catalog can support unified media environments by delivering voice and video, wireless and data in one integrated router and switch. Built-in security can include encryption, VPN, firewall, and URL filtering. For business continuity, available features for Cisco 881 ISR routers include duplicate WAN connections or support for landline high-speed WAN connections such as DSL as well as multiple different cellular 3G and 4G wireless WAN connections all on one appliance.

The basic Cisco 881 router features a 4-port 10/100-Mbps managed switch with up to 15 Mbps throughput, support for up to 20 users, two-port integrated PoE, and IPv6 support. Cisco's 881W 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) failover with Cisco Survivable Remote Site Telephony. With a Cisco CUBE license, Cisco's 881 ISR router supports SIP trunking as a replacement for outdated Primary Rate Interface (PRI) lines or FXO voice connectivity to a PSTN carrier. CUBE-based SIP trunks can also support remote call agents in Cisco Call Center environments.

4000 Series ISR Routers
Cisco's 4000 Line of ISR Routers are modular and scalable routers designed for organizations with multiple branch offices and offsite users who need direct communication with in-house data centers as well as public clouds via VPNs and the Internet. Cisco's 4000 series provides the bandwidth needed for distributed enterprise sites to accommodate mobile workers, cloud services, and multimedia applications by utilizing network optimization, deep packet inspection, and advanced traffic-management technology. Devices in the 4000 family are powered by Cisco's IOS XE software, come in a 1RU or 2RU form factor, are able to support as much as 2 Gbps of throughput, and can include up to 3 interface slots, 2 service module slots, 4 integrated 10/100/1000 Ethernet ports, and 8 CPU core integrated server modules. ISR 4000 models can support integrated Gigabit Ethernet, T1/E1, T3/E3, PR1, xDSL and other interfaces. To manage unified communications, the 400o ISR provides comprehensive edge support for policy-enhanced SBC, branch telephony survivability, and TDM gateways.

The main difference between the Cisco 4400 and 4300 Series is redundant power supply support in the 4400 Series, providing a higher level of availability. Cisco's 4321 Integrated Services Router has a 1 RU desktop package with two network interface modules, provides up to 100 Mbps performance, and can handle 240 Digital Voice/Video Channels. The 4331 Integrated Services Router comes in a 1 RU form factor with two NIMs, delivers up to 300 Mbps performance, and can handle 360 Digital Voice and Video Channels. Cisco's 4351 Integrated Services Router comes in a 2 RU package and includes three network interface modules, delivers as much as 400 Mbps throughput, and allows up to 720 Digital Voice/Video Channels. Cisco's power-redundant 4431 router comes in a 2 RU package with three network interface modules, provides as much as 1 Gbps throughput, and supports 720 Digital Voice/Video Channels. Cisco's redundant-power 4431 router has a 2 RU form factor with three network interface modules, delivers as much as 2 Gbps performance, and allows up to 1200 Digital Voice and Video Channels. Cisco's WAN Edge Routers and Service Provider Routers
Cisco's WAN edge and carrier routers can provide larger businesses with fast, secure headends to manage satellite office and remote user data packets and to offer service providers cost-optimized wide area network edge routing. Cisco's WAN aggregation and carrier router portfolio features the ASR 1000 routers and the 9000 ASR routers.

Progent's nationwide group of Cisco CCIE network engineers have in-depth backgrounds helping global businesses and ISPs to plan efficient deployments and smooth upgrades of Cisco's midrange and carrier-class routers. Progent's GIAC-certified information assurance consultants can provide unbiased, independent network security vulnerability evaluations, stealth penetration testing and advanced SIEM solutions to help enterprises with Cisco's WAN aggregation routers to comply with business guidelines and government requirements for network information security and reporting. Progent also offers expertise with Horizon3.ai's NodeZero platform for PEN testing. NodeZero relies on AI technology to simplify the threat evaluation cycle of discovering cybersecurity gaps in perimeters and within the internal network, prioritizing remediation, fixing problems, and confirming successful repairs.

Cisco ASR 1000 Series Aggregation Services Routers
Cisco's ASR 1000 Aggregation Services line of routers is designed to fill the middle of Cisco's midrange products that focus on acting as headends at the WAN edge. ASR 1000 Aggregation Services routers provide a small form factor, single-product solution for enterprises who need branch office service aggregation at multigigabit Ethernet performance. ASR 1000 routers introduce a revolutionary architecture that combines hardware acceleration with programmable flexibility to offer a multitude of simultaneous services while preserving dependable performance.

ASR 1000 Series routers feature Cisco's new QuantumFlow Processor incorporating 40 custom Packet Processing Engines that in combination can support as many as 160 concurrent processor threads. This multi-processing structure, combined with hardware acceleration for all services, enables the top-of-the-line ASR 1006 Aggregation Services router to expand up to 128 hardware queues, 32,000 clients, 4K IP security tunnels at 10,000 sessions per second, and 2M Netflow log records. This CPU capability allows Cisco's ASR 1000 routers to deliver a variety of sophisticated services simultaneously in massive volume while avoiding throughput degradation that could violate adherence to SLAs. Examples of these services include Cisco IOS Firewall, IPS, Network Address Translation, FPM, and in-line deep packet inspection. The ASR 1000 also allows tiered traffic management for applying multiple levels of QoS to a packet in a single pass, improving the user experience for high-bandwidth IP voice and video applications.

Cisco ASR 9000 Series Aggregation Services Routers
Cisco ASR 9000 Series Aggregation Services Routers are designed as WAN-edge routers for service providers who need to support the highest quality HD multimedia services to residential, commercial, and mobile customers by offering always-on operation, high speed, and application awareness. All models in Cisco's ASR 9000 line of Routers are powered by Cisco's IOS XR, a distributed operating system designed for continuous availability. Performance of the ASR 9000 family of Aggregation Services Routers can scale to as high as 96 Tbps per chassis. the ASR 9000 portfolio of Aggregation Services Routers support high-density Gigabit Ethernet (GE), 10 Gigabit Ethernet, and 100 GE and feature fully redundant fabric and power supply, power entry modules, and fan trays plus redundant control planes and switch fabric.

The ASR 9001 model is a carrier-edge router that comes in a 6 RU package that delivers 120 Gbps of full-duplex fabric performance. The ASR 9001 has two bays which can accept port adapters for 1, 10, and 40 Gigabit Ethernet. The base chassis incorporates four 10 Gbit Ethernet SFP+ ports and ports for GPS clocking, building integrated timing supply, and management. The ASR 9904 Router has a 6 RU chassis and provides line-rate 10 and 100 GE connections in space-limited environments. The 4-slot ASR 9094 can support up to 4 Tbps of switching capacity in one box. The Cisco ASR 9912 platform has a 30 RU chassis with 12 slots slots that can handle 550 Gbps of throughput. The ASR 9912 Router includes 2 route processors and 6+1 Fabric Cards to provide N+1 redundancy. Ways Progent Can Assist Your Company to Support Cisco Router Products
Progent's CCIE and CCNP certified consultants can assist your company to design, configure, and support an integrated business network that can simplify processes, reduce expenses, and speed the path to positive return on investment. By teaming Cisco routers with Cisco Catalyst switches support and Catalyst and Meraki Wi-Fi wireless integration, Progent can significantly increase the business value of your integrated network. Progent can provide in-person and remote help and offers data center support throughout the U.S. For more details about Progent's consulting assistance for Cisco products, choose a subject:

• Overview of Cisco Expertise
• Fast Remote Support from a Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert (CCIE) Network Engineer
• Cisco Firepower Firewalls: Configuration and Management Expertise
• ASA 5500-X Firewall with Cisco Firepower Services: Consulting and Troubleshooting Services
• Cisco ASA 5500 Firewall Engineering Assistance
• PIX 500 Firewall Troubleshooting Services
• Cisco Wireless Network Design Help
• Aironet APs Consulting Expertise
• Cisco Small Business 100, 300 and 500 WiFi Access Points System Design Help
• Catalyst Wi-Fi 6/6E Wireless APs Solution Design, Deployment and Troubleshooting Expertise
• Cisco Wireless Controllers Consulting
• Cisco Meraki Wireless Access Points Design Expertise
• Cisco Unified Communications Manager (CUCM or Unified CM) and Cisco CallManager Configuration and Troubleshooting
• Cisco VoIP Phones and IP Video Phones Consulting and Wireless IP Phone Integration
• Cisco Jabber Deployment Expertise
• Catalyst Switches Configuration and Maintenance Expertise
• Cisco Nexus Switches Deployment Expertise
• Meraki MS Switches Support and Troubleshooting Expertise
• Cisco Security and VPN Consulting Support
• SIP and CUBE Integration Solutions: SIP Trunks and CUBE Integration Expertise
• Cisco Duo MFA Two-factor Authentication (2FA) Services for Teleworkers
• Design and Support for Cisco-powered Datacenters
• Infrastructure Optimization Consulting for ISPs
• Centralized Cloud-based and Hybrid Network Management Solutions for Cisco-powered Environments

If you wish to contact Progent about technical help for Cisco networking, call 1-800-993-9400 or go to Contact Progent.