Cisco introduced the second generation of its Integrated Services Router (the ISR G2) and outlined a five-phase plan designed "to help deliver services and applications to anyone, anywhere, on any device, at anytime - seamlessly, reliably, and securely."
Cisco's new "Borderless Networks" architecture combines Cisco's routing, switching, wireless, and security technologies into a more tightly integrated networking infrastructure that allows businesses to embrace the growing use of video, collaborative applications, and other networked services and deliver them across their enterprises. Cisco said its Borderless Networks concept would help information technology managers more easily manage, scale, govern, and protect networks while tightening the synergy between users, devices, applications, and business processes.
The Cisco ISR G2 portfolio offers as much as five times the performance of its predecessor. More than 7 million units of the original Cisco ISR have been sold since its introduction in 2004. The new generation is aimed at addressing the major trends in enterprise networking, including:
Business video: Cisco forecasts business video adoption will climb to 77.6 percent by 2012 (Cisco VNI Research).
Service virtualization with an "on-demand" service delivery: Borderless Networks solutions decouple hardware and software so that virtual services can be remotely deployed and managed. The ISR G2 implements this with the Services-Ready Engine, which lets businesses dynamically deploy services in branches without costly onsite support. The ISR G2 Services Module comes with up to 1 terabyte of on-board storage, which is useful for video surveillance deployments, and supports up to seven times the performance of previous network modules.
Operational savings: The Borderless Networks architecture delivers Cisco EnergyWise across multiple platforms to enable organizations to better manage their power consumption and costs through increased visibility and policy-based controls. ISR G2 extends this capability to the branch office with a new family of integrated EnergyWise compliant switch modules and slot-based power control.
The borderless experience: The Borderless Networks architecture breaks down boundaries between location, device, and application. As applications and services are increasingly offered and consumed from beyond the enterprise perimeter, a new approach will be required. The ISR G2 enables sophisticated premise-based services while extending mobility, security, and performance to users, no matter where the user or application is located.
The Cisco ISR G2 portfolio of routers includes:
- Cisco 3900 Series Integrated Services Router: the flagship of the ISR G2 portfolio, these routers.
- Cisco 2900 Series Integrated Services Router: the midrange of the ISR G2 portfolio
- Cisco 1900 Series Integrated Services Router: a compact-modular router delivering a broad set of connectivity options including new 802.11n wireless local-area network capabilities
- Cisco IOS Release 15: a new software version delivering enhanced security, voice, manageability and IP services
- ASR 1002-F Router: a new platform for its Aggregation Services Router delivering small-scale highly secure WAN aggregation and private WAN and Internet Edge for Borderless Networks.
