Cisco® 2900 Series Integrated Services
Routers build on 25 years of Cisco innovation and product leadership.
The new platforms are architected to enable the next phase of
branch-office evolution, providing rich media collaboration and
virtualization to the branch while maximizing operational cost savings
The Integrated Services Routers Generation 2 platforms are
future-enabled with multi-core CPUs, support for high capacity DSPs
(Digital Signal Processors) for future enhanced video capabilities, high
powered service modules with improved availability, Gigabit Ethernet
switching with enhanced POE, and new energy monitoring and control
capabilities while enhancing overall system performance. Additionally, a
new Cisco IOS® Software Universal image and Services Ready Engine module
enable you to decouple the deployment of hardware and software,
providing a flexible technology foundation which can quickly adapt to
evolving network requirements. Overall, the Cisco 2900 Series offer
unparalleled total cost of ownership savings and network agility through
the intelligent integration of market leading security, unified
communications, wireless, and application services.
Cisco 2900 Series builds on the best-in-class offering of the existing
Cisco 2800 Series Integrated Services Routers by offering four platforms
(Figure 1): the Cisco 2901, 2911, 2921, and 2951 Integrated Services
Routers.
All Cisco 2900 Series Integrated Services Routers offer embedded
hardware encryption acceleration, voice- and video-capable digital
signal processor (DSP) slots, optional firewall, intrusion prevention,
call processing, voicemail, and application services. In addition, the
platforms support the industries widest range of wired and wireless
connectivity options such as T1/E1, T3/E3, xDSL, copper and fiber GE.
Key Business Benefits
The Integrated Services Routers Generation 2 (ISR G2) provide superior
services integration and agility. Designed for scalability, the modular
architecture of these platforms enables you to grow and adapt with your
business needs. Table 1 lists the business benefits of the Cisco 2900
Series.
Platform Architecture and Modularity
The Cisco 2900 Series is architected to meet the application demands of
today’s branch offices with design flexibility for future applications.
The modular architecture is designed to support increasing bandwidth
requirements, time-division multiplexing (TDM) interconnections, and
fully integrated power distribution to modules supporting 802.3af Power
over Ethernet (PoE) and Cisco Enhanced PoE (ePoE). Table 2 lists the
architectural features and benefits of the Cisco 2900 Series.
Modularity Features and Benefits
The Cisco 2900 Series provides significantly enhanced modular
capabilities (refer to Table 3) offering investment protection for
customers. Most of the modules available on previous generations of
Cisco routers, such as the Cisco 2800 Series, are supported on the Cisco
2900 Series. Additionally, modules can be used on other supported Cisco
platforms to provide maximum investment protection. Taking advantage of
common interface cards across a network greatly reduces the complexity
of managing inventory requirements, implementing large network rollouts,
and maintaining configurations across a variety of branch-office sizes.
Cisco 2900 Series Integrated Services Routers deliver innovative
technologies running on industry-leading Cisco IOS Software. Developed
for wide deployment in the world's most demanding enterprise, access,
and service provider networks, the Integrated Services Routers
Generation 2 platforms are supported on Cisco IOS Software releases
15M&T. Release 15.0(1)M is available immediately and provides support
for a comprehensive portfolio of Cisco technologies, including the
functionality and features delivered in releases 12.4 and 12.4T. New
innovations in 15.0(1)M span multiple technology areas, including
security, voice, high availability, IP Routing and Multicast, quality of
service (QoS), IP Mobility, Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS), VPNs,
and embedded management.
Cisco IOS Software Licensing and Packaging
A single Cisco IOS Universal image encompassing all IOS technology
feature sets is delivered with the platforms. You can enable advanced
features by activating a software license on the Universal image. In
previous generations of access routers, these feature sets required you
to download a new software image. Technology packages and feature
licenses, enabled through the Cisco software licensing infrastructure,
simplify software delivery and decrease the operational costs of
deploying new features.
Key Branch-Office Services
The Cisco Integrated Services Routers are industry-leading platforms
that offer unprecedented levels of services integration. Designed to
meet the requirements of the branch office, these platforms provide a
complete solution with voice, video, security, mobility and application
services. Businesses enjoy the benefit of deploying a single device that
meets all their needs, reducing capital and operational expenses.
Unified Communications, Collaboration, and Voice-Gateway Services
The Cisco 2900 Integrated Services Router is the foundation for
collaboration in the small and midsize branch office, serving as a
critical component of a Cisco's video architecture (Medianet) and
enterprise Unified Communications solution. With embedded voice services
and a wide range of supported telephony interfaces, the Cisco 2900
Series delivers maximum deployment flexibility for the distributed
enterprise. Unified communications is enabled through a rich signaling
and media-processing infrastructure, including a variety of protocols,
media interworking, signal and media security, transcoding,
conferencing, and QoS. Cisco Integrated Services Routers also feature a
wide range of voice-gateway interfaces, supporting a broad array of
signaling and physical network interfaces.
The Cisco 2900 Series enables a full range of existing and emerging
video services, with scaling improvements to support Cisco TelePresence®
conferencing, security, and session control. The Cisco Unified Border
Element extends these capabilities for business-to-business TelePresence
communications. The Cisco 2900 Series adds support for the new Cisco
High-Density Packet Voice Digital Signal Processor (DSP) Module (PVDM3),
which has been optimized for voice and video support. The new PVDM3
modules support all voice-gateway functions of earlier generations of
PVDMs and add higher density and more processing power to support
emerging rich-media applications. The Cisco 2900 Series provides 2 or 3
onboard PVDM3 slots, depending on the platform.
Cisco Unified Communications Manager Express and Survivable Remote Site
Telephony
The Cisco Integrated Services Routers natively provide optional unified
communications services within the Cisco IOS Software, minimizing the IT
hardware footprint and total cost of ownership at the branch office.
Cisco Unified Communications Manager Express (CME) provides a broad
range of IP private-branch-exchange (PBX) and key-system features
integrated into the router for the small and midsize branch office.
Cisco Survivable Remote Site Telephony (SRST), also inherently available
in Cisco IOS Software, and an option on the Cisco 2900 Series, helps
ensure that branch-office employees have uninterrupted telephony
services and features, even if the connection to a centralized Cisco
Unified Communications Manager is disrupted.
Coupled with Cisco Unity® Express, the integrated solution for
voicemail, Automated Attendant, and interactive voice response (IVR),
the Cisco 2900 Series offers the branch office a complete range of
unified communications services while delivering industry-leading
security within a single platform.
VoiceXML Application Services
The Cisco 2900 Series also supports standards-certified VoiceXML browser
services. VoiceXML is an open-standard markup language used to create
voice-enabled web browsers and IVR applications. Just as HTML enables
you to retrieve data with a PC, VoiceXML enables you to retrieve data
using voice or dual-tone-multifrequency (DTMF) telephony input. The
Cisco 2900 Series can deliver a much higher range of concurrent
voice-gateway services combined with VoiceXML browser services, for up
to 200 sessions on the Cisco 2951.
Cisco Unified Border Element
The Cisco Unified Border Element capabilities supported on the Cisco
2900 Series address the emerging requirements in an IP-centric
interconnect for branch-office unified communications between
enterprises and service provider networks. Cisco Unified Border Element
provides intelligent border-element functions such as physical and
logical ingress and egress demarcation points, signaling and media
control, and consolidated security and management features. The Cisco
2900 Series supports higher scale than previously provided on the Cisco
2800 Series, up to three times the number of sessions.
Integrated Network Security for Data, Voice, Video, and Mobility
Security is essential to protect a business’ intellectual property while
also ensuring business continuity and providing the ability to extend
the corporate workplace to employees who need anytime, anywhere access
to company resources. As part of the Cisco' SAFE architectural framework
that allows organizations to identify, prevent, and adapt to network
security threats, the Cisco 2900 Series Integrated Services Routers
facilitate secure business transactions and collaboration.
The Cisco IOS Software Security technology package for the Cisco 2900
Series offers a wide array of common security features such as advanced
application inspection and control, threat protection, and encryption
architectures for enabling more scalable and manageable VPN networks.
The Cisco 2900 Series offers onboard hardware-based encryption
acceleration to provide greater IPSec throughput with less overhead for
the route processor when compared with software-based encryption
solutions. Cisco Integrated Services Routers offer a comprehensive and
adaptable security solution for branch offices that includes features
such as:
- Secure connectivity: Secure
collaborative communications with Group Encrypted Transport VPN,
Dynamic Multipoint VPN (DMVPN), or Enhanced Easy VPN
- Integrated threat control:
Responding to sophisticated network attacks and threats using Cisco
IOS Firewall, Cisco IOS Zone-Based Firewall, Cisco IOS IPS, Cisco
IOS Content Filtering, and Flexible Packet Matching (FPM)
- Identity management: Intelligently
protecting endpoints using technologies such as authentication,
authorization, and accounting (AAA) and public key infrastructure
(PKI)
Wireless LAN/WAN
The Cisco Integrated Services Routers supporting the Cisco Unified
Wireless Architecture enable deployment of secure, manageable wireless
LANs (WLANs) optimized for remote sites and branch offices, including
fast secure mobility, survivable authentication, and simplified
management. The Cisco Wireless LAN Controller Module on the Cisco 2900
Series allows small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) and enterprise
branch offices to cost-effectively deploy and manage secure WLANs. Cisco
Wireless LAN Controllers work in conjunction with Cisco lightweight
access points and the Cisco Wireless Control System (WCS) to provide
system-wide WLAN functions, managing up to 6, 12, and 25 access points.
Wireless WAN
Cisco third-generation (3G) wireless WAN (WWAN) modules combine
traditional enterprise router functions, such as remote management,
advanced IP services such as voice over IP (VoIP), and security, with
mobility capabilities of 3G WAN access. Using high-speed 3G wireless
networks, routers can replace or complement existing landline
infrastructure, such as dialup, Frame Relay, and ISDN. Cisco 3G
solutions support 3G standards High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA) and
Evolution Data Only/Evolution Data Optimized (EVDO) providing you with a
true multipath WAN backup and the ability to rapidly deploy primary WAN
connectivity.
Integrated LAN Switching
The Cisco 2900 Integrated Services Routers (Cisco 2911 through Cisco
2951) support the new Cisco Enhanced EtherSwitch® Service Modules, which
greatly expand router capabilities by integrating industry-leading Layer
2 or Layer 3 switching with feature sets identical to those found in the
Cisco Catalyst 2960 and Catalyst 3650-E Series Switches performing local
line-rate switching and routing.
The new Cisco Enhanced EtherSwitch Service Modules take advantage of the
increased power capabilities on the Cisco 2900 ISRs. Additionally, the
Cisco Enhanced EtherSwitch modules enable the newest Cisco power
initiatives, Cisco EnergyWise, Cisco Enhanced Power over Ethernet
(ePoE), per-port PoE power monitoring, and RPS-enabled PoE boost. These
technologies allow you to meet increased endpoint power requirements
without increasing the total power consumption of the branch.
Application Services
As organizations continue to centralize and consolidate their
branch-office IT infrastructure in an effort to reduce cost and
complexity, they are challenged to provide an excellent user experience,
ensure continuous service availability, and deliver business-relevant
applications when and where they are needed. To address these
challenges, the Cisco 2900 Series provides the capability to host Cisco,
third-party, and custom applications on a portfolio of high-performance
Cisco Services Ready Engine (SRE) modules that transparently integrate
into the router. The modules have their own processors, storage, network
interfaces, and memory that operate independently of the host router
resources, helping to ensure maximum concurrent routing and application
performance while reducing physical space requirements, lowering power
consumption, and consolidating management.
Application Acceleration
The Cisco 2900 Series seamlessly combines industry leading security,
IOS-based traffic control and visibility, with Cisco application
acceleration solutions. Cisco IOS Software features such as NBAR, IP
SLA, and NetFlow provide visibility and monitoring of traffic patterns
and application performance while IOS features such as QoS, ACLs, and
PfR intelligently control the traffic to maximize the quality of the
user experience and employee productivity. The user experience can be
further enhanced through the addition of a Cisco WAAS Network Module
which can be used to securely provide more advanced WAN optimization
techniques such as TCP optimization, caching, compression, and
application acceleration. Cisco Integrated Services Routers combined
with Cisco WAAS Network Modules, provide optimal performance for
applications delivered from a central data center to branch-office
users. The solution allows you to consolidate costly server, storage,
and backup infrastructure into data centers while maintaining LAN-like
service levels for remote users.
Cisco Services Ready Engine
The Cisco Services Ready Engine solution is available in a Service
Module (SM) and Internal Service Module (ISM) form factor. The Service
Module hardware offers up to a seven times performance improvement over
the previous generation Network Modules and provides a multi-core x86-64
processor. The SRE modules also support up to 1 terabyte of storage,
RAID configurations, hardware-assisted virtualization and cryptography
options. The Cisco SRE module enables on-demand provisioning of
branch-office applications on the Cisco 2900 Series platforms so that
you can deploy the right application, at the right time, in the right
place. The hardware and software decoupling provided by the
service-ready deployment model enables applications to be provisioned on
the module at the time of its installation or remotely anytime
thereafter. Supported solutions include Cisco Wide Area Application
Services (WAAS), Cisco Unity Express, Cisco Application Extension
Platform (AXP), Cisco Wireless LAN Controller (WLC), Cisco Video
Surveillance, and other applications under development. The Service
Ready Engine enables organizations of various sizes to future-proof
their network by allowing them to quickly deploy new branch-office
applications without deploying new hardware, reducing the cost of
rolling out branch-office services.
WAAS Express
Organizations today face several unique wide area network (WAN)
challenges: the need to provide employees with constant access to
centrally located information, the requirement to continuously back up
and replicate mission-critical data to centrally managed data centers,
the desire to provide satisfactory experience for IP phone and video
communication, and the mandate to control bandwidth costs without
sacrificing application availability and performance.
Cisco WAAS Express is designed to help organizations address these
challenges. Cisco WAAS Express extends the Cisco WAAS product portfolio
with a small-footprint, cost-effective IOS-based software solution
integrated into the ISR G2 to offer bandwidth optimization and
application acceleration capabilities. Cisco WAAS Express increases
remote user productivity, reduces WAN bandwidth costs, and offers
investment protection by interoperating with existing Cisco WAAS
infrastructure. Cisco WAAS Express is unique in providing network
transparency, improving deployment flexibility with on-demand service
enablement, and integrating with native IOS-based services such as
security, NetFlow, and QoS.
Medianet for 2900 ISRs
As video becomes pervasive in an organization and more video devices are
used, new demands are placed on the network. It can be challenging to
accommodate video needs while reducing complexity, planning for
capacity, and providing the best possible user experience.
Smarter Network, Endpoints, and Services
Traditional IP networks need to evolve to medianets to accommodate these
changes. A medianet is an end-to-end IP architecture that helps to
enable pervasive media experiences.
The medianet architecture includes a smarter network, smarter endpoints,
shared media services, cloud services, and shared media services.
More Medianet Benefits
A medianet reduces total cost of ownership and scales video through
features such as auto-configuration and media monitoring. At the same
time, it helps to ensure a quality user experience while optimizing
bandwidth use and efficiency.
Managing Your Integrated Services Routers
Network management applications are instrumental in lowering operating
expenses (OpEx) while improving network availability by simplifying and
automating many of the day-to-day tasks associated with managing an
end-to-end network. Day-one device support provides immediate
manageability support for the Integrated Services Router, enabling quick
and easy deployment, monitoring, and troubleshooting from Cisco and
third-party applications.
Organizations rely on Cisco, third-party, and in-house developed network
management applications to achieve their OpEx and productivity goals.
Underpinning those applications are the embedded management features
available in every Integrated Services Router. The new Integrated
Services Routers continue a tradition of broad and deep manageability
features such as IP service-level agreement (IP SLA), Cisco IOS Embedded
Event Manager (EEM), and NetFlow which allow you to know the status of
your network at all times. These features, along with Simple Network
Management Protocol (SNMP) and syslog, enable your organization’s
management applications. |
