Cisco Router License

Since 1986, Cisco has been one of the largest sellers of networking equipment in the world. On January 2, 2002 Cisco Systems became arguably the most valuable company in the world.[1] Their first, and one of their most important product lines is their lineup of computer network routers. Cisco’s router product line started with their AGS. The AGS hardware was a clone of the Stanford University blue box router, which was a commodity Sun Microsystems computer, and the AGS software was also a clone of William Yeager’s routing software, in use, and owned by Stanford at the time. Cisco licensed the hardware and software and started selling the AGS. Cisco has a history of aggressive acquisition of other companies, bringing their networking products into the cisco lineup, and it also has a history of expansion. Cisco’s router lineup has expanded over the years to fill almost every space. With Cisco’s acquisition of Linksys, Cisco routers took a hold of the home, and home office router market.

Cisco arguably started out targeting the wider corporate world with routers targeted at central offices as well as branch offices, and Cisco slowly expanded into the competitive telecommunications and internet service provider markets. Cisco product lineups grew to include access routers, routers used by ISPs to connect to their customers, as well as core internet routers used by telecommunication giants as the central pillars of the internet. Cisco has also moved into the cellular routing with their USC offerings. Cisco has even targeted the space-borne communications market putting its routers into orbit.

Routers for networks of all types and sizes

Branch

Cisco 800 Series Routers

Small but mighty business-class routers

Do you have limited space, but need best-in-class routing, voice and video, security, application performance, cloud connection, and wireless capabilities? Cisco 800 Series routers offer all that in a single device. They are well suited for customer premises and priced for small and midsize businesses.

Cisco 4000 Series Integrated Services Routers

Get your branch site ready for digital

Delight customers and employees with new digital experiences. Simplify day-to-day IT management. Prepare your branch site and protect it for the future with the Cisco 4000 Series ISR digital-ready platform.

WAN aggregation

Cisco Network Convergence System 5000 Series

Cloud scale for metro aggregation and data center networks

Get a high-density, small-form-factor MPLS aggregation router for metro aggregation and MPLS-enabled data center networks. The Network Convergence System 5000 Series is designed to economically scale large enterprise, over-the-top (OTT), and service provider data center networking architectures.

Cisco Network Convergence System 5500 Series

Cloud scale for WAN aggregation

The Network Convergence System (NCS) 5500 Series offers industry-leading density of routed 100 GE ports for high-scale WAN aggregation. It is designed to efficiently scale between data centers and large enterprise, web, and service provider WAN and aggregation networks.

Edge

Cisco ASR 1000 Series Aggregation Services Routers

Reinvent your WAN edge network

Gain the resiliency of a digital business. Offer a superior user experience and security and compliance on demand. ASR 1000 Series Aggregation Services Routers can transform your service provider or enterprise network edge for the digital era.

Cisco ASR 9000 Series Aggregation Services Routers

A programmable and scalable network edge

9000 series routers are the cornerstone of modern edge and carrier Ethernet networks. They offer high platform density, low power consumption, and virtualization capabilities. The 9000 helps carriers monetize new, profitable services and optimize network performance and efficiency. You can also reduce costs and complexity and enhance customer experiences.

Service provider core

Cisco Network Convergence System 6000 Series Routers

Converged, elastic, and scalable

The Network Convergence System (NCS) 6000 helps enable superior network agility, packet optical convergence, and petabits-per-second system scale. It facilitates the Cisco Evolved Programmable Network to support virtualization and programmability at low total cost of ownership and delivers high-bandwidth mobile, video, and cloud services to end users.

Industrial

Cisco 800 Series Industrial Integrated Services Routers

Get the Internet of Things on the Move

Cisco 800 Industrial Integrated Services Routers are compact and designed for harsh environments. Use them to oversee a variety of Internet-of-Things (IoT) tasks, such as:

• Distribution automation
• Pipeline and roadway infrastructure monitoring
• Highly secure connectivity for remote assets
• Management of fleet vehicles
• Mass transit applications

Features and Capabilities

800 Series Industrial Integrated Services Routers are compact, ruggedized, Cisco IOS Software routers. They offer support for integrated 4G LTE wireless WAN (both 809 and 829 models) and wireless LAN capabilities (829 model only).

They are:

• Easily and rapidly deployable
• Highly available, highly secure, and reliable
• Designed for machine-to-machine (M2M) communication and for mobile vehicle communication in harsh environmental conditions
• Designed to withstand hostile environments, tolerating a wide temperature range

These industrialized routers deliver enterprise-class features, including highly secure data, voice, and video communications to stationary and mobile network nodes across wired and wireless links. They can deliver enterprise-grade, wireline-like functionality such as:

• Dynamic Multipoint VPN (DMVPN)
• Quality of service (QoS) for cellular
• Multi-VRF for cellular
• Voice over LTE (VoLTE)

The routers also support Cisco IOx Software, providing an open, extensible environment for hosting additional operating systems and applications directly at the network edge. They can enhance other Cisco IoT System products across multiple industries, including transportation, manufacturing, electrical utilities, and others.

Cisco 900 Series Industrial Routers

Open-Slot, Programmable, and Fog Computing

Easily adapt to a variety of wireless sensor technologies and host partners’ applications. Execute local data processing with agility. Cisco 900 Series Industrial Routers offer transparent integration with ecosystem partners’ solutions. They deliver versatile smart city applications, such as environment monitoring, smart parking, smart metering, smart street lighting, asset tracking, and more.

Features and Capabilities

Cisco 900 Series Industrial Routers are designed with an open platform to build a highly secure, reliable, and scalable field network infrastructure. They offer:

Open Slot

A field-replaceable sensor communication card can be inserted into the open-slot of the chassis. It is used to converge a variety of wireless sensor technologies complying with IEEE-802.15.4 or other proprietary technologies. This card can be built either by Cisco or the authorized partners. Through Cisco reference design specifications, partners can produce the card to match their solution’s needs. Taking advantage of this flexibility, partners can quickly support various wireless sensor radio frequencies and protocols, and agilely transform a solution to different use cases and regions.

Programmable Environment

It supports multiple compile languages, such as C and C++, Python, and Java. Partners can easily import and host their applications in the device.

Local Computing

It adheres to Cisco Fog Computing architecture to execute distributed data processing at the network edge. This approach offloads data center computing usage, and reduces IP backhaul bandwidth needs.

Comprehensive Interfaces

It provides various interfaces in models, such as Ethernet, fiber, serial, 3G (high-speed packet access—HSPA and evolution-data optimized—EVDO selective), Wi-Fi, USB, and solid-state drive (SSD) storage.

Cisco 1000 Series Connected Grid Routers

Reliable Communications for Field Area Networks

Utilities and energy providers can now deploy rugged multiservice routers in secondary substations, on pole tops, and in other harsh environments. Cisco 1000 Series Connected Grid Routers offer a reliable communications platform for smart metering, distribution automation, and remote workforce automation.

Features and Capabilities

The 1000 series routers are designed for use in field area networks. The portfolio’s two models are designed to operate reliably in various types of harsh environments, ranging from indoor substations to outdoor pole-top deployments.

Both models are modular and support a variety of communications interfaces, such as WiMAX, 2G, 3G, and 4G LTE, 900 MHz RF Mesh, Ethernet, and Wi-Fi.

This router series features:

• Rugged industrial design and compliance with IEC-61850-3 and IEEE 1613 for utility substation environments
• Multi-service features including IPv6, advanced routing, IP multicast, and quality of service
• Comprehensive security capabilities based on open standards
• A highly resilient design that optimizes communications network uptime and availability
• Network and device management tools for easy deployment, upgrades, and remote monitoring

Cisco 2000 Series Connected Grid Routers

Routing For Rugged Environments

The Cisco 2000 Series Connected Grid Router is designed specifically for the harsh, rugged environments often found in the energy and utility industries. Built to help ensure a highly secure, reliable, and scalable infrastructure, the Cisco 2000 Series provides industry-leading routing capabilities to support the Smart Grid and other energy delivery communications needs.

Enhanced Security and Reliability

The Cisco 2010 Connected Grid Router, the first in the Cisco 2000 Series, is an ideal platform to support the communications requirements of the energy delivery infrastructure across the generation, transmission, and distribution sectors. This product has been extensively tested and is KEMA-certified to meet challenging substation compliance standards, including IEEE 1613 and IEC 61850-3.

Cisco IOS Software delivers the benefits of integrated security for NERC/CIP compliance, quality of service, and network management to help ensure integrity and priority of operational data communications.

Features and Capabilities

• Rugged industrial design and substation compliance with IEC-61850-3 and IEEE 1613 for utility substation environments
• Integrated security to help utilities address compliance with critical infrastructure protection mandates
• High-availability design for optimum network up time and redundancy
• Network and device management tools for deployments, upgrades, and remote monitoring
• Advanced quality of service (QoS) capabilities to support mission-critical substation communications such as Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA)

Cisco 500 Series WPAN Industrial Routers

Deploy Enterprise-Class WPAN Communications

Cisco 500 Series Wireless Personal Area Network (WPAN) Industrial Routers (IR500) provides unlicensed 915 MHz industrial, scientific, and medical (ISM) band WPAN communications. They help to enable a diverse set of Internet of Things (IoT) applications. These include smart metering, smart grid, distribution automation, supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA), and street lighting.

Features and Capabilities

The IR500 series offers multiple platforms to help enable different use cases. These include:

Distribution Automation Gateway Platform- IR509

This provides enterprise class RF mesh connectivity to Ethernet and serial-enabled IoT devices such as recloser controls, cap bank controls, voltage regulator controls, and other remote terminal units (RTUs). These platforms are purpose built to withstand harsh environments, and are ideal for pad-mount and pole-mount cabinet installations.

Range Extender Platforms- IR529

These platforms provide range extension functionality to enhance the reliability of the RF mesh by adding multiple paths and battery backed-up nodes. They also enable RF mesh connectivity in case of low-end point density deployments. These platforms are purpose built to withstand harsh environments, and are ideal for pole-mount installations.

Key Hardware and Software Capabilities

Cisco IR500 routers offer rugged industrial hardware design and highly resilient solution architecture. This increases communications network uptime and grid availability to help ensure message delivery of critical traffic. Other features include:

• Standards-based integration of legacy assets for transport of IOT-specific protocols for graceful migration
• Comprehensive security capabilities based on open standards
• Enterprise-class network management and device management capabilities
• World-class networking technologies including IPv6, advanced routing, IP multicast, and quality of service (QoS)

The RF mesh solution adopts the following open-standards:

• IEEE 802.15.4 g/e
• IETF IPv6 over Low power WPAN (6LowPAN)
• IETF routing protocol for low-power and lossy networks (RPL)
• IETF Constrained Application Protocol (CoAP)

Virtual

Cisco IOS XRv 9000 Router Data Sheet

The Cisco IOS® XRv 9000 Router implements the feature set of Cisco IOS XR Software. Running on virtualized general x86 compute platforms, it complements existing physical Cisco® router platforms that rely on Cisco IOS XR Software, such as Cisco Network Convergence System routers, Cisco ASR 9000 Series Routers, and Cisco Carrier Routing System (CRS) platforms. Now, service providers can enhance their operational excellence and offerings based on physical routers – and move them easily to a virtual form factor. The Cisco IOS XRv 9000 Router (Figure 1) offers greater agility, improved network efficiency, lower capital and operational expenditures, and the ability to efficiently scale network capacity up and down, based on demand.

Main Features of the Cisco IOS XRv 9000 Router

• End-to-end solution with network functions virtualization (NFV) infrastructure, virtual network functions, and service orchestration and management
• Based on the extremely resilient, stable, and feature-rich Cisco IOS-XR Software, with the same northbound and management features as Cisco IOS XR Software, which helps ensure smooth integration with existing OSS and business support systems (BSS
• High-performance data plane with service provider edge features, such as Quality of Service, access control list, and NetFlow
• Architecture that separates the control plane and data plane, which allows for scaling up and down with multicore, multisocket, and multiserver systems

The Cisco IOS XRv 9000 Router can be deployed in the following two ways:

• For control plane functionality, such as a virtual route reflector
• As a high-performance data plane, based on an X86-optimized code base, developed specifically for Cisco nPower network processor units (NPUs), and the Intel® Data Plane Development Kit (DPDK)

Cisco IOS XRv 9000 Router as a control plane: The Cisco IOS XR Software is an industry-leading, carrier-class operating system supporting highly successful edge and core router platforms from Cisco. This modular OS provides a very high level of availability, and its multiprocess and multithread architecture enhances scale and performance by taking advantage of modern multisocket and multicore processors.

Cisco IOS XRv 9000 Router as a data plane (virtual forwarder): The virtual forwarder uses the feature and forwarding code developed for Cisco NPU-based physical platforms. However, it is optimized specifically for NFV-based general-purpose CPU environments. It uses Intel Streaming SIMD Extensions 2 (SSE2) and Advanced Vector Extensions (AVX) instructions for improved software-based classification. Memory access is asynchronous for parallel feature processing, and data structures are optimized for best utilization of the cache. In addition, batched packet delivery and processing and high-speed load balancing across the feature execution process help provide a very-high-performance data plane, with the features service providers require.

Cisco Cloud Services Router 1000V Series

Securely connect to any cloud

Extend your enterprise network to public and private clouds with the CSR 1000V Series. Offer routing, security, and network management as cloud services with multitenancy. The series is infrastructure agnostic and programmable across the LAN, WAN, and in the cloud. Try it free for 30 days on Amazon Web Services or with a US$200 credit on Microsoft Azure.