Internet telephony has advanced from simply being a shrewd way to save money on phone carrier bills to a required tool for productive collaboration. Converged IP communications, at one time restricted to integrating Internet-based voice and faxes on the same network platform in order to take the place of expensive PBX systems, today encompasses rich media, mobile communications, IM, real-time Presence, collaboration services, and more within a centralized environment that is easy to manage, extensible, highly secure, resilient, economical, and intuitive. Cisco is the leader in supplying solutions for supporting the current model of unified communications (UC). Cisco’s unified communications architecture adds to the productivity of IT systems by slashing operating expenses; integrating rich media functions with familiar software programs to improve user output; facilitating collaboration among employees, partners, and vendors to save effort and enhance business outcomes; and streamlining the support of your converged voice and data infrastructure.

Cisco’s Unified Communications technology address these main product areas:,

Call Control Agents for controlling calls and sessions

VoIP and Video Phones and Softphones to enhance end-user productivity

UC Software Applications for integrated access to presence, IM, voice and video, voice messages, desktop sharing, and voice/video conferencing

IP Gateways for providing connectivity with outside networks and telecommuters

Email, Messaging, Presence, and Video Conferencing

Proteus can provide the online or on-premises consulting services of a Cisco-certified CCIE (Collaboration) specialist who can assist organizations of any size to design, deploy, manage, migrate, optimize, relocate, and repair Cisco UC products so that you realize the greatest business advantage of your communications system. Proteus can provide advanced consulting for every facet of Cisco’s UC solutions including call processing and control software, VoIP and softphones, and teleconferencing software. Proteus in addition provides consulting and support services for Cisco’s IP voice-optimized infrastructure including Integrated Services routers, Catalyst and Nexus switches, ASA firewalls, and voice gateways.

Call Control Software – Cisco Unified Communications Manager (CallManager)

Cisco Unified Communications Manager Consulting and SupportCisco Unified Communications Manager, previously known as CallManager, is Cisco’s call-processing agent and forms the foundation of Cisco’s IP telephony collaboration solution. Cisco Unified Communications Manager has the flexibility to support a centralized call-processing model, a decentralized model, or a hybrid deployment that combines the two. In a centralized approach, Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Cisco Unified CM or CUCM) extends enterprise telephony features to IP devices such as VoIP phones, media processing products, Voice over IP gateways, and mixed media applications throughout the network. Unified Communications Manager supports additional mixed media services such as unified messaging, video conferencing, and group-based customer interaction networks.

Newer version of Unified CM offer a variety of enhancements that accelerate your return on investment by lowering management and support costs, increasing user output, enhancing collaboration, accommodating the bring-your-own-device style of computing, strengthening security, and allowing efficient utilization of IT resources. Headline new features include automatic dial-plan replication, simplified certificate management, extended support for standards-based single sign-on for managers and users, device-agnostic call recording, on-the-road access with no need for VPN tunneling, a new self-provisioning utility that makes it easy for workers to manage their preferences for all endpoint devices, and support for Secure Real-Time Transport Protocol for mobile users.

In cases where you deploy a centralized Cisco Unified Communications Manager cluster to manage call processing for customers at distributed locations, administrators can help achieve non-stop phone service through Cisco SRST, a Cisco IOS Software image for routers. If a Wide Area Network connection fails, Cisco Survivable Remote Site Telephony in the router offers core Cisco UC Manager functions until the link is returned. To learn about Proteus’s consulting support for Cisco ISR routers, see consulting and troubleshooting support services for Cisco routers.

For small businesses, branch locations, and retail environments that do not need the full functionality offered by Unified CM, Cisco Unified Communications Manager Express, previously named CallManager Express offers a budget-friendly PBX alternative that meets the needs of locations with up to 450 workers. Because Cisco Unified Communications Manager Express (Unified CCX) is built into the Cisco IOS Software operating on a Cisco Integrated Services Router (ISR), smaller organizations can quickly set up a converged voice and data environment.

The Cisco BE6000 is a line of complete platforms that provide fundamental unified communications features including routing, gateway, premium voice and video, messaging, IM and presence, voice and video conferencing, and paging support, enabling any user to connect on any endpoint from any place. All BE6000 solutions are delivered preinstalled with virtualization and Unified Communications applications software, making implementation fast and simple and reducing cost of ownership for organizations with as many as 1000 employees. All BE6000 systems come preloaded with a virtualization hypervisor and Unified Communications applications software. You can instantly activate collaboration applications whenever their requirements grow.

The office-in-a-box BE6000S includes five preselected UC applications preloaded on one combination ISR router/gateway/virtualized blade server platform and can handle up to 150 users and 300 endpoint devices. The mid-market BE6000M includes four unified communications software application options enabled on a single virtualized Cisco C220 M4 server platform and supports as many as 1000 users, 1200 endpoint devices, and 100 Contact Center agents. The high-end Business Edition 6000H includes 8 unified communications application options activated on a virtualized Cisco C220 M4 server platform and supports as many as 1000 workers, 2500 endpoint devices, and 100 contact center agents.

For more information about Proteus’s expertise with Unified Communications Manager/CallManager, see Unified Communications Manager (Unified CM) and Cisco CallManager planning, integration, upgrades and technical support.

 Cisco IP Phones: VoIP and IP Media Endpoints

A communications endpoint is an end-user instrument, and can be a physical phone or a software phone application on a PC or mobile computer. In the IP world, every IP handset or soft phone has an Ethernet connection. VoIP phones have all of the capabilities that an ordinary phone provides, but Voice over IP phones can offer additional features including the ability to access websites or run collaboration software.

Cisco IP Phones ConsultingIn contrast to ordinary PBX technology, in a Cisco IP telephony network you can implement virtually instantaneous moves, adds, and changes. You simply take the IP phone to its new spot, plug it into the Ethernet connection, and the handset registers itself with Cisco Unified Communications Manager. All client permissions and settings are programmatically re-established, doing away with the expense and delay of dispatching support personnel to rewire connections. An additional helpful feature is location independence, which enables you to sign into any Cisco IP device and receive your own phone number and rights.

Cisco offers a wide range of IP voice and IP media phones. The low-cost SPA 300 Series includes basic IP and DECT phones that feature high-quality audio, support for hosted IP phone environments or an IP PBX, simple deployment and safe online provisioning, zero-downtime software updates, and browser-based set up. The value-priced SPA301 is a single-line VoIP phone with no display or speakerphone function, a base dialer with one Ethernet port, and a corded handset with no keys. The SPA302D, designed to be used exclusively with Cisco’s DECT Analog Telephone Adapter (ATA), is a multiline cordless DECT IP phone that offers 10-lines, a 176 x 220 pixel color screen, and a dial pad with a speakerphone. The SPA303 is an entry-level 3-line SIP-based IP phone with two switched Ethernet ports, a 128 x 64 monochrome LCD graphical display and a speakerphone.

Cisco SPA500 IP Phones Consulting Cisco’s SPA500 Series IP phones are low-cost endpoints with support for SIP and SPCP call control protocols, two Ethernet switch ports, speakerphones, built-in web servers, Power over Ethernet (PoE), and conferencing capability. Most models have a 128 x 64 monochrome display, The SPA501G supports eight lines and has eight programmable buttons but no LCD display screen. The SPA502G supports a single line and has no programmable buttons. The SPA504G supports four lines and has four programmable buttons. The SPA508G supports eight lines and has eight programmable buttons. The SPA509G supports 12 lines and has 12 programmable buttons. The SPA512G supports four lines, has no programmable buttons and supports Gigabit Ethernet. The SPA514G supports four lines and four programmable buttons and supports 10/100/1000 Ethernet. The top-of-the-line SPA525G2 has a 320 x 240 color display, supports five lines, and includes five programmable buttons.

Cisco’s Unified IP Phones 3900 Series and 6900 Series are specialty VoIP endpoints designed for occasional-use settings such as lobbies, cafeterias, hallways, elevators, and conference centers. Cisco’s Unified SIP Phone 3905 features a 128 x 32 monochrome non-backlit display, an integrated 10/100 Ethernet switch, a speakerphone, and Power over Ethernet (PoE). The single-line Cisco Unified IP Phone 6901 is an entry-level endpoint with no display and requires a hook switch for call transfer and conferencing.

Cisco’s 7800 family of budget-priced IP phones are VoIP endpoints with backlit monochrome displays, four soft keys, 11 fixed-feature keys, an integral Ethernet switch with Class 1 Power over Ethernet, and a speakerphone. 7800 Series IP phones support only the SIP signaling protocol. All models in the 7800 Series feature the same advanced speakers and microphones as Cisco’s 8800 Series IP phones to provide a state-of-the-art audio experience. Cisco’s EnergyWise power-save feature, offered on the advanced 7800 models, cuts off-hours energy consumption by up to 60 percent. The Cisco IP Phone 7811 is a one-line phone designed for shared locations and for workers with occasional-to-light voice communications needs. The IP 7811 comes with a 3.28-inch 384 x 106 screen plus a narrow-band speakerphone. Wideband audio is available via an optional wideband handset. Cisco’s IP Phone 7821 is a two-line VoIP endpoint with a 396 x 162 display. The IP Phone 7841 is a four-line endpoint with a 396 x 162 screen and is the only model in the 7800 line to support Gigabit Ethernet. The high-end IP Phone 7861 is a 16-line endpoint targeted for administrative staff, contact center agents, and supervisors who have significant voice communications requirements.

Cisco Unified IP Phone 7900 Series are dual-protocol (SIP/SCCP) media endpoints with a 320 x 240 color display, an integral Gigabit Ethernet switch, Class 3 Power over Ethernet, 10 fixed-feature keys and a speakerphone. The Cisco Unified IP Phone 7945G is a two-line device and the Cisco Unified IP Phone 7965G supports four lines. Both IP phones have a 5-inch display and include four programmable keys. The Cisco Unified IP Phone 7975G unit is an eight-line media phone with a 5.6-inch touch screen and five soft keys.

Cisco 8800 Series IP Phones Integration Consulting

Cisco’s IP Phone 8800 Series is a family of SIP-based endpoints that includes desktop IP phones, a conference phone, and wireless IP Phones. The desktop models are five-line IP phones featuring a 5-inch 800 x 480 display, a Gigabit Ethernet switch, a speakerphone, four soft keys and 12 fixed-feature keys. The Cisco IP Phone 8811 includes a backlit monochrome display and supports Class 2 Power over Ethernet. The Cisco IP Phone 8841 features a WVGA color display and supports Class 2 PoE. Cisco’s IP Phone 8845 features a WVGA color display, 720p HD video, a tiltable camera, Bluetooth, Cisco Intelligent Proximity for Mobile Voice, and supports Class 2 PoE. The Cisco IP Phone 8851 features a WVGA color display and a USB port with charging capability, supports Intelligent Proximity for Mobile Voice and Class 3 Power over Ethernet, and is available in Bluetooth and non-Bluetooth versions. The Cisco IP Phone 8861 includes a WVGA color screen, Bluetooth, two USB ports with charging capability, and supports Cisco Intelligent Proximity for Mobile Voice, Wi-Fi, and Class 4 PoE. The Cisco IP Phone 8865 includes a WVGA color screen, 720p HD video, a tiltable camera, Bluetooth, two USB ports with charging capability, and supports Cisco Intelligent Proximity for Mobile Voice, Wi-Fi, and Class 4 PoE.

Cisco Wireless VoIP phone integration consultantsCisco’s 8821 and 8812-EX Wireless IP Phones are ruggedized Wi-Fi handsets designed for employees who are mobile within campus, warehouse, health care, hospitality, retail or other venues where portable work phones need to be more manageable, secure, and durable than is possible with the BYOD model of collaborative communications. Cisco’s wireless IP phones provide mobile on-premises users the benefits of voice over wireless LAN (VoWLAN) communications in environments that support 802.11a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi. The 8821 Wireless IP Phone features a 2.4 inch color display, a durable case rated Mil-SPEC 810G for shock resistance and IP67 for dust and splash resistance, long-life batteries, a built-in full-duplex speakerphone, and an integrated Bluetooth 4.0 radio for wireless headsets. The 8821-EX Wireless IP Phone adds ATEX Class 1, Zone 2 and CSA Division 1, Class 22 compliance. This helps prevent sparking during temporary exposure within potentially combustible environments. The 8821-EX also features a case made of industry-standard yellow plastics, which makes it easy to locate the 8821-EX in an emergency. Learn about Proteus’s Cisco wireless VoIP phone integration consulting.

Cisco 9900 Voice over IP Phones ConsultingCisco’s legacy 9900 Series of high-performance IP phones combine high-quality voice with business-grade color video to provide a rich multimedia UC experience for knowledge professionals and executive management. The two IP phones in this line include a Standard Definition 640×480 pixel color screen, a Bluetooth radio to support a wide range of headsets, and a built-in 1 GE Ethernet port. The Cisco EnergyWise power-save feature is offered as an option and can lower off-work power consumption by up to 90 percent. The IP Phone 9951 features a 5-inch display and supports up to 2 IP Color Key Expansion Modules for expanding programmable line and function keys. The Cisco IP Phone 9971 features a 5.6-inch screen, a built-in Wi-Fi transceiver for connecting to voice-over-wireless LAN environments, and 4 customizable touchscreen keys to invoke Cisco Unified Communications functions. The 9971 IP phone supports up to 3 IP Color Key Expansion Modules for adding customizable line and function keys.

Unified Communications Applications

Within Cisco’s Unified Communications platform, IP telephony, video, and other converged applications are independent from the call/voice processing mechanism, and they may be at any location within the network. A single connectivity infrastructure offers a versatile platform for feature-rich business applications and acts as a firm basis for downstream convergence-based software. Cisco works with third-party IT industry partners to provide a broad selection of IP voice and video applications and products. Cisco also enables the capability to create and manage customized internal programs.

Unified Communications application software available from Cisco and supported by Proteus’s consultants include:

Cisco Jabber

Cisco Jabber is a UC application that supports presence, IM, voice, high-definition video, voicemail, screen sharing, and real-time conferencing functions for Windows PCs, Macs, plus Apple iOS and Android smartphones and tablets. Jabber is an evolution and integration of the Cisco Unified Personal Communicator, Cisco Mobile, and WebEx Connect, with important enhancements to video features and screen sharing, and extending the team experience to more operating systems and endpoint hardware. Cisco Jabber works in conjunction with Unified Communications Manager for call and session management, Cisco Unified Presence for instant messaging and presence, Unity Connection for voice messaging and programmable attendant, and Cisco WebEx Meeting for conferencing.

Since Cisco Jabber is based on key industry protocols, it can communicate with a wide selection of third-party products. As an example, Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol enables Jabber to trade instant messaging and presence information with a variety of XMPP clients such as Adium, IBM Sametime, and Microsoft Skype for Business. Jabber features can be accessed from Microsoft Office applications such as Outlook and Microsoft SharePoint. This broad platform compatibility optimizes productivity by providing a common user environment and accommodating the BYOD model of networking. Proteus can provide the services of certified Exchange consultants and Microsoft SharePoint 2019 experts and SharePoint 2016 consultants who can show you how to take advantage of Jabber with Microsoft’s popular collaboration platform. Proteus also offers expertise with Apple iPhone integration and management as well as Google Android smartphone integration and management to help your organization to enhance the business value of your BYOD ecosystem. (To learn about Proteus’s consulting services for Cisco Jabber, see Proteus’s Cisco Jabber consulting and support services.)

WebEX Meeting Center

WebEX Meeting Center provides online conferencing for users with a web browser or virtually any desktop or mobile device. Cisco WebEx is delivered as SaaS through Cisco’s WebEx Cloud. This makes it easy to deploy and scale, streamlines administration, eliminates high up-front investment, offers maximum uptime and world-class data protection, and delivers consistently high performance. Important capabilities include support for sharing discrete content or your whole screen display with remote attendees in real time, the ability to embed rich media into your presentations including Microsoft PowerPoint and Flash videos, network-based recording plus editing and playback for future reference and training, single sign-on (SSO) and support for other Cisco collaboration products such as Cisco Jabber and TelePresence, plus strong data privacy and encrypted connections with strict policy control.

WebEx Meeting Center Online Conferencing Consulting Services

Cisco WebEx Meeting Center runs on Microsoft Windows, Apple Mac, and Linux desktops and allows mobile users to start, calendarize, and take part in conferences on Google Android devices, Apple iPhones and iPads, BlackBerry 10 handhelds, and Microsoft Windows Phone 8. Users can also launch web conferences instantly from Microsoft Office, Outlook, Lotus Notes, and a variety of instant messaging solutions.

Cisco TelePresence Products for In-house Teleconferencing Environments

For midsize businesses and enterprises who want to build an on-premises or hybrid local/cloud environment for video conferencing, Cisco offers a portfolio of Cisco TelePresence software and equipment that deliver high-definition video conferencing for attendees with almost any IP endpoint at any site. Cisco TelePresence Server is a scalable video conferencing bridge that works in conjunction with Cisco Unified CM to provide multiparty telepresence to converged deployments and can extend conferences to incorporate cloud-connected Cisco WebEx Meeting Center participants. Cisco TelePresence Conductor software simplifies management of the way video conferencing resources are allocated for each participant, allowing managers to define the exact service level and experience required for every user. Cisco TelePresence Content Server records video and presentations for real-time distribution and video on demand (VOD) viewing.

Cisco Unity Connection Platform and Unity Express for Converged Voicemail

Cisco’s Unity Connection, an integrated extension of Cisco Unified CM, is a unified voice messaging system that promotes collaboration by providing a variety of options for retrieving voice messages within an environment that is easy to implement and administer. Unity Connection allows you to access and manage voicemail messages from your email inbox, web browser, Cisco Jabber messaging integration platform, a Cisco Unified IP Phone, an iPhone or other smartphone, or an iPad or tablet. Cisco Unity Connection also offers advanced speech-recognition features for hands-free operation and extensive Automated Attendant features that include smart routing for incoming phone calls and custom call-screening and message-notification options. The Unity Connection system runs as a VM that can be hosted on a Business Edition 6000 server or a Cisco SRE 910 router service module and can support as many as 20,000 voice mailboxes on each server.

Cisco Unity Express (CUE), available in select Cisco Integrated Services routers, offers cost-effective voicemail, unified messaging, interactive voice response (IVR), and automated-attendant functions for small to medium businesses and enterprise branch locations with as many as 500 voice mailboxes. Cisco Unity Express allows users to manage voicemail using a Cisco Unified IP Phone screen, a browser, or an email client. Integrated Services Routers for which Unity Express is offered as an advanced integration module include Cisco’s 1861, 2800, 2900, and 3900 families. Proteus can provide certified deployment and support services for Cisco routers.

Cisco Unified Contact Center

Cisco Unified Contact Center Enterprise (Unified CCE, UCCE) works Cisco Unified CM, Cisco Unified IP Interactive Voice Response, and desktop agent apps like Finesse to offer automatic call distribution (ACD) features that enable a business to rout customer calls to the proper salesperson or service representative. Unified Contact Center features intelligent routing, computer telephony integration, customer management across multiple channels, call queuing, interactive voice response and advanced reporting to streamline the deployment and management of a modern, enterprise-class contact center. Cisco products supporting UCCE include Unified IP Phones, Voice Gateways, and network infrastructure.

Cisco Unified Contact Center Express (Unified CCX, CCX) offers a packaged bundle for building a customer contact center for mid-scale environments such as departments or branch offices, providing support for as many as 400 agents. You can select from a range of basic systems and add advanced options. Unified CCX works closely with Cisco Unified CM and features call routing, customer contact management, reporting, IVR, and centralized management of voice, email, chat, and social media communications. Cisco Unified Contact Center Express comes with Cisco’s Finesse software, a customizable web-based desktop agent that does not have to installed on the client’s computer. Optional features include conditional routing, estimated-wait-time messages, call-in-queue, plus workforce and quality management.

Mobile Connect for Single Number Reach

Mobile Connect, also called Single Number Reach (SNR), is a Cisco Unified Mobility application that allows users to be reached from one number that simultaneously rings on their Cisco VoIP phone and their mobile phone. Live calls can be switched between desktop IP phones and smartphones transparently, and unanswered calls can be directed to the user’s Cisco Unity or Cisco Unity Connection account for voicemail. Users can manage their own access lists to determine which calls ring at alternate phones.

Cisco Prime Collaboration

Cisco Prime Collaboration provides an automated process for initial deployments and for ‘day 2’ moves, adds, changes, and deletions. An intuitive user interface provides a single view of a subscriber and the subscriber’s services. Prime Collaboration Provisioning significantly accelerates site rollouts and minimizes the time required for implementing ongoing changes. Prime Collaboration can deliver significant improvements in productivity and reductions in administration costs. Prime Collaboration Provisioning simplifies management analytics including application adoption and usage rates, allowing organizations to optimize IT resources and further reduce TCO.

Cisco Communications Gateways

Cisco’s communications gateways allow Cisco converged communications deployments to connect with public networks and with clients working outside the corporate firewall. Cisco’s portfolio of communication gateways deliver UC services for a broad range of gateway and session-border-control deployments.

Communications gateways available from Cisco and supported by Proteus include:

Cisco Expressway Converged Communication Gateway

Cisco’s Expressway is a powerful converged media gateway that allows companies to allow team members, vendors, customers and prospects, or business partners who are working on different networks, collaboration platforms, or endpoint devices to access to Cisco Unified Communication services. The Expressway collaboration gateway integrates with a Cisco CM system or Cisco BE6000, or can be accessed via the cloud with Cisco HCS to help make collaboration more universal. Key features of Cisco Expressway include:

Mobile and Remote Connectivity: Off-site workers with any Jabber-supported device or telecommuters with Cisco TelePresence endpoints have the convenience of one-time sign-on and of TLS security and are able to connect to all their Jabber applications (video, business-quality voice, instant messaging, and real-time presence) without requiring the inconvenience starting a VPN. Also, telecommuters have the ability to utilize their Cisco TelePresence endpoints without a VPN tunnel, delivering a user environment at home identical to the corporate office.

Cisco Jabber Guest Support: Expressway is required for enabling Jabber Guest, which allows ‘guests’ to interact with your business simply and securely via lightweight web-browser and mobile multimedia phone calls.

Cisco Cloud Connectivity: Cisco Expressway can function as a gateway that connects between on-premises Cisco or non-Cisco collaboration solutions and the WebEx cloud. By supporting Cisco Collaboration Meeting Rooms (CMRs), Cisco Expressway offers an advanced, extensible meeting experience that seamlessly integrates high-quality voice, high-definition video, and data sharing to anyone, at any location, using any endpoint.

Interoperability: If your organization currently has third-party video products, Cisco Expressway can help you to move easily to a Cisco solution when it makes business sense. Cisco Expressway provides video interoperability with industry standard H.323, H.264 Scalable Video Coding, or SIP environments. Interoperability capabilities supported by Expressway include IPv4 to IPv6, H.323 to SIP, and Microsoft Lync 2013 H.264 Scalable Video Coding to H.264/MPEG-4 AVC.

Cisco Unified Border Element

Cisco Unified Border Element is an enterprise-class session border gateway that interconnects converged business communications networks to the PSTN. CUBE supports SIP and H.323-based trunking to an IP PSTN services provider, but SIP trunks offer a richer set of features. In addition to offering session border control, Cisco Unified Border Element (CUBE) provides easy and affordable collaboration outside the firewall. Collaboration features supported by CUBE include:

Cisco WebEx Cloud Connected Audio for high-capacity SIP-based conferencing

Voice and Video recording

Enterprise Call-center and IVR applications

Policy-based evaluation of phone calls

Business-to-business teleconferencing over SIP

Cisco Unified Border Element software is available for licensing on Cisco IOS control software and can be run on a wide selection of Cisco’s enterprise routers, which include ASR 1000 Series Aggregation Services Routers, the ISR 4000 family, the ISR G2 Series, and high-end models of Cisco’s 800 fixed routers. The virtualized CUBE, or vCUBE, runs as a software load in an ESXi virtual container. To find out more about Proteus’s consulting support for SIP trunks and Cisco’s CUBE session border controller (SBC), visit SIP and CUBE infrastructure solutions: SIP trunks and Cisco CUBE integration consulting.

Cisco’s Legacy UC520, UC540 and UC560 VoIP Gateways

The legacy Cisco Unified Communications 500 Series is an early VoIP communications appliance and software package for small organizations. UC500 models provide voice, data, voicemail, automated attendant, IP video, security, and wireless capabilities, run with older generation Cisco VoIP endpoints, and support public switched telephone network (PSTN) interfaces.

Cisco UC500 Series VoIP Gateway Consultants

Cisco’s discontinued UC500 VoIP gateway was the heart of a comprehensive unified communications ecosystem

All Cisco’s UC500 packages include a compact switch appliance with 8 PoE interfaces and additional foreign exchange stations (FXS) and foreign exchange office (FXO) ports, a firewall, and VPN support. Built-in WiFi is optional. User capacity can be increased by connecting with Cisco Catalyst Express switches. Every UC500 offering also includes licenses for Cisco Unified Communications Manager for VoIP call processing as well as Cisco Unity Express software for voice messaging and automated attendant. The Cisco UC520 package supports 8 to 16 users and include 4 FXS and 4 FXO interfaces. The Cisco UC540 system supports 24 to 32 users and provides 8 foreign exchange office interfaces. The Cisco UC560 system supports 48 VoIP clients and 12 FXO ports.

Proteus’s Cisco-certified VoIP experts can help you to maintain your legacy UC500 VoIP system or plan and carry out a smooth upgrade to a current VoIP system like Cisco’s cloud-managed Business Edition 4000.

How Proteus Can Help You with Cisco’s VoIP and IP Media Phones, Video Conferencing, and Cisco Unified CM

Proteus can provide online or on-premises help from a certified CCIE Collaboration specialist to help you to design, deploy, manage and troubleshoot converged communications networks supported by Cisco Unified Communication products in an in-house, distributed, or hybrid deployment. Proteus’s Cisco-certified consultants have extensive backgrounds supporting Cisco Unified Communications Manager and Cisco CallManager, Voice over IP and video phones and soft phones, Unified Communications applications like Cisco Jabber and Unity Connection, Cisco’s immersive telepresence technologies, collaboration gatekeepers, tools incorporated into Cisco switches and routers. Proteus can also provide expertise with related technologies such as Cisco SRST, CUBE, H.323 gateways, Call Admission Control, VoIP trunks, PSTN, and Cisco’s AVVID architecture. Proteus’s SIP integration experts can also help you build SIP infrastructure solutions that incorporate SIP-based VoIP phones and media phones, SIP gateways, SIP trunking, SIP conferencing and SIP management via Cisco Unified Communications Manager.

Proteus’s application programmers can build specialized unified communications software that will enable your business to incorporate the capabilities of Cisco Unified Communications Manager into your company operations for increased efficiency. Proteus can audit your existing network and Internet access architecture to determine whether your environment is optimized to support business-quality VoIP and HD video, assist you to select and integrate Cisco products that make sense for your current situation and future expansion plans, and integrate your Cisco collaborative communications solution with technology from other vendors. Proteus’s CISSP certified cybersecurity and compliance consultants can assist you to create, implement, and test an enterprise-wide security and compliance strategy for your unified communications ecosystem. Also, Proteus can help your organization to deploy Cisco high-availability mechanisms such as Cisco Unified Survivable Remote Site Telephony (SRST) for cost-effective call control backup in remote-branch and teleworker environments, and Proteus’s disaster recovery planning experts can help you create a sensible disaster recovery strategy to ensure the availability of your vital unified communications system.

Unified Communications Manager/CallManager Migration Consulting

Versions of Cisco Unified Communications Manager 8.6 lower than 8.6 and every release of CallManager have arrived at end-of-life. This means Cisco Engineering will no longer develop, repair, or validate this older software. Security patches for this business-critical application will end, which in some situations may create compliance or even legal liability problems.

Proteus continues to offer world-class consulting and support for end-of-life versions of Cisco Unified Communications Manager and CallManager, but if you are still running a legacy release of this pivotal software you should begin immediately to prepare for your upgrade. Proteus’s collaboration consulting professionals can assist your company to migrate non-disruptively to the latest release of Cisco Unified CM and can often save customers up to 50% off consulting expense compared to competing IT service companies thanks to Proteus’s documented process and experience in this area. By following leading practices, Proteus can ensure that your organization realizes a fast payback on your IT investment by showing you how to benefit fully from the new and improved feature set, lower administrative and maintenance costs, more productive collaboration, and tighter security offered by the current version of Unified Communications Manager.

Proteus’s migration services include return-on-investment analysis, project management or co-management, pilot testing and validation, Cloud integration, setting up collaboration endpoints from Cisco and other providers, smartphone and tablet connectivity, security and compliance consulting, streamlined management, business continuity planning, network infrastructure design, training, and ongoing consulting services and troubleshooting. Proteus also has put together ultra-affordable upgrade service bundles to keep your costs visible and affordable.

To see more information about Proteus’s engineering expertise for Cisco solutions, choose a subject:

Overview of Cisco Network Support

• Fast and Affordable Remote Support from a Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert (CCIE) Network Engineer
• Cisco Firepower Series Firewalls: Integration and Management Expertise
• Cisco ASA 5500-X Series Firewall with Firepower Services: Configuration and Management Support
• ASA 5500 Firewall Troubleshooting Help
• Cisco PIX 500 Firewall Management Services
• Cisco Routers Consulting Expertise
• Cisco Wireless Deployment Services
• Cisco Aironet Wireless Access Points Engineering Services
• Cisco Small Business 100, 300 and 500 Wireless APs Deployment Services
• Catalyst Wi-Fi 6/6E Access Points Solution Design, Deployment and Debugging Services
• Cisco WiFi Controllers Consulting
• Meraki Wireless APs Deployment Services
• Cisco Unified Communications Manager (CUCM or Unified CM) and Cisco CallManager Integration and Troubleshooting
• Cisco Voice over IP Phones and IP Video Desktop Phones Expertise and Wireless IP Phone Configuration
• Cisco Jabber and Management Services
• Cisco Catalyst Switches Engineering Expertise
• Cisco Nexus Switches Configuration and Maintenance Services
• Meraki Switches Support and Troubleshooting Services
• Cisco VPN Engineering Support
• SIP and CUBE Infrastructure Solutions: SIP Trunking and CUBE Integration Consulting
• Cisco Duo MFA Two-factor Authentication Services for Telecommuters
• Infrastructure Design for Cisco-powered Datacenters and Colocation Centers
• Infrastructure Design Consulting for Internet Service Providers
• Unified Cloud-based and Hybrid Management Strategies for Cisco-based Environments

As computer technology progresses, the distinction between routers and switches is blurring. Basically, routers are Layer 3 devices that connect networks. A common example is connecting an office network to the Internet. Switches are Layer 2 devices that interconnect client devices within a network. Generally, routers depend heavily on computer processing and field-modifiable software to move data intelligently, offering great versatility at the expense of performance. Switches, in contrast, typically depend upon fixed hardware designs to steer data at the highest possible rate, trading off intelligence in favor of speed. Today’s routers usually include Layer 2 switches, and many modern switches include some Layer 3 routing capability. Routers from Cisco, the world’s leading supplier, continually improve in functionality and performance and Cisco now offers a comprehensive product line that includes routers engineered to meet the functional and budgetary requirements of customers ranging from households to the world’s largest service providers.

Certified Cisco Routers Experts

The latest Integrated Services Routers (ISR) from Cisco offer the performance and features to support IP voice and video as well as virtualization while at the same time offering fault tolerance, remote management, easy expandability, plus advanced security. Cisco’s ISR routers allow businesses to establish a solid foundation for an information network that is easy to grow as you hire new employees, open new offices, activate additional features, extend your network to customers and partners, and support an expanding mobile user base. Proteus’s Cisco certified CCIE network engineers can assist you to plan, deploy, manage, update, and troubleshoot Cisco’s latest router technology and can help you maintain your legacy routers or replace them efficiently with Cisco’s current-generation routers.

Cisco Routers for Small Offices, Home Offices, and Branches

Cisco’s routers for small, home and branch offices provide low-cost and dependable solutions that allow small groups of users to share secure access to the Internet. These fixed-configuration devices include Ethernet switches with wireless options plus integrated firewalls for enhanced protection. Designed for easy setup, management, and troubleshooting, Cisco’s home, small business, and branch routers minimize total cost of ownership by reducing acquisition and maintenance expenses. Proteus’s remote support engineers have extensive experience providing fast and affordable technical assistance for businesses of any size to configure and support these devices, and Proteus’s Cisco-certified CCIE network consultants can help you utilize these routers to add maximum business value to your network.

Cisco ISR 900 Series Integrated Services Routers

Cisco ISR 900 Series Integrated Services Routers and Cisco’s ISR 900 Series desktop routers are compact, fanless, fixed-configuration appliances designed for small to medium-sized businesses, branch offices, and home offices. These entry-level routers include four managed GE switch ports and can support Metro Ethernet, LTE, and DSL WAN connectivity. The ISR 900 router family offers triple the IPsec performance of Cisco ISR 800 Series routers. All ISR 900 models feature Group Encrypted Transport VPN, DMVPN, FlexVPN, and firewall. VPN throughput is up to 250 Mbps. All models support up to 50 VLANs. Supported dynamic failover protocols for high availability and business continuity include Virtual Router Redundancy Protocol (VRRP, RFC 2338), Hot Standby Router Protocol (HSRP), and Multigroup HSRP (MHSRP). Provisioning and management can be performed with Cisco Configuration Professional Express, Cisco DNA Center, and Cisco IOS Software. These devices do not support Cisco SD-WAN.

Cisco’s ISR 921 router features Dual GE WAN, Category 4 LTE, and an internal power supply. GE WAN VPN throughput is 150 Mbps. The ISR 926 and ISR 927 models have external power supplies and support one GE WAN port, Category 4 LTE, VDSL2, and ADSL2/2+. GE WAN VPN throughput for both devices is 150 Mbps. The high-performance ISR 931 supports Dual GE WAN and has an internal power supply. GE WAN VPN throughput is 250 Mbps.

Cisco Meraki MX Series SD-WAN Security Appliances

Cisco Meraki MX Series Routers Consultants: The Cisco Meraki MX series of desktop routers combine software-defined wide area networking (SD-WAN) and cloud-based unified threat management (UTM) in one compact appliance able to support 50 to 200 users. Each MX series appliance must be licensed to the Meraki cloud. For sites with multiple external network connections (e.g., MPLS, broadband, fiber optic, cellular), SD-WAN technology allows administrators to specify which WAN connection an application should use or define performance-based rules to determine the appropriate link. Cisco Meraki MX fixed-configuration desktop appliances share key features that include:

• Application and identity-based firewalling
• Content and web search filtering
• PCI-compliant Intrusion Detection and Prevention
• Cisco Advanced Malware Protection with sandboxing
• Load balancing to combine multiple WAN links into a single high-speed interface with policy based QoS, traffic shaping, and 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 2×2 MU-MIMO

The Cisco Meraki MX64 router delivers 250 Mbps stateful firewall throughput, 100 Mbps VPN throughput, and supports a maximum of 50 VPN tunnels. The device includes a GbE RJ45 WAN port, a dual-purpose GbE RJ45 port, and four GbE RJ45 LAN interfaces. The MX67 appliance offers 500 Mbps firewall performance, 300 Mbps VPN throughput, and supports a maximum of 50 VPN tunnels. The MX67 includes a GbE RJ45 WAN port, a dual-purpose GbE RJ45 port, and four GbE RJ45 LAN interfaces. The MX68 router provides 600 Mbps firewall throughput, 300 Mbps VPN throughput, and supports a maximum of 50 VPN tunnels. The Cisco Meraki MX68 includes two GbE RJ45 WAN ports and 10 GbE RJ45 LAN interfaces (two with PoE+). The MX75 appliance delivers 1 Gbps firewall throughput, 500 Mbps VPN throughput, and supports a maximum of 75 VPN tunnels. The MX75 includes one GbE SFP interface, two GbE RJ45 WAN ports, and 10 GbE RJ45 LAN interfaces (two with PoE+).

Cisco ISR 1000 Series Branch Routers

Cisco 1000 Series Integrated Services Routers (ISRs) powered by Cisco IOS XE software are a family of fanless appliances designed to provide network service, wireless access, and advanced security for small and midsize businesses, enterprise branch offices, retail stores, kiosks, customer premises equipment (CPE), and machine-to-machine (M2M) environments. Multiple parallel processing CPU cores allow these routers to offer features consistent with Cisco’s entire line of modern Enterprise routers. 1000 Series models are available with 4 or 8 LAN ports and offer Gigabit Ethernet packet forwarding. Available features include Power over Ethernet (PoE) and PoE+, zero-touch provisioning, plus various integrated or pluggable options for LAN, WAN, WLAN, G. Fast DSL, 4G LTE Advanced wireless, 802.11ac Wi-Fi, and SFP Fiber connectivity. 1000 ISR Series routers work with Cisco’s SD-WAN services for seamless multi-cloud connectivity, advanced cybersecurity, and unified management across hybrid networks of any complexity.

Cisco 1000 Series Integrated Services Routers Consulting Integration and Support

Cisco’s rack or desktop ISR 1100-4G router includes four integrated GE WAN/LAN ports, integrated 3G/4G LTE with two LTE antenna SMA connectors, and one micro-SIM slot. Encryption throughput is 200 Mbps. The Cisco ISR 1100-6G router adds two 1G SFP Fiber ports and features encryption throughput of 520 Mbps. Cisco’s desktop-only ISR 1101-4P router has four built-in GE ports, supports 802.11ac Wi-Fi and 3G/4G LTE, and delivers encryption throughput of 280 Mbps. The ISR 1109-2P/4P desktop routers have two or four built-in switched GE ports and dual pluggable 3G/4G LTE ports. Encryption throughput is 200 Mbps.

The rackmount or desktop ISR 111x-4P/8P routers have four or eight built-in switched GE ports (two or four with POE) and support VDSL2/ADSL2+, 802.11ac, 3G/4G LTE, and SFP Fiber. Encryption speed is 280 Mbps. Cisco’s rackmount or desktop ISR 1111X-8P router has eight switched GE ports (four with POE) and supports 1G SFP Fiber. Encryption performance is 340 Mbps. The ISR 112x-8P router features eight switched GE ports with POE and supports SHDSL, VDSL2/ADSL2+, 802.11ac Wi-Fi, 3G/4G LTE, and 1G SFP Fiber. Encryption performance is 340 Mbps. Cisco’s ISR 1161X-8P router features eight switched GE ports with POE and supports 3G/4G LTE and 1G SFP Fiber. Encryption performance is 450 Mbps.

Cisco Catalyst 8000 Series Branch and WAN Edge Platforms for SD-WAN and Routing

Cisco Catalyst 8000 Series routers are modular appliances designed to work at the enterprise branch and WAN edge to support hybrid networks that can include multiple public and private clouds and SaaS applications. All Catalyst 8000 devices are powered by Cisco IOS XE SD-WAN Software and provide scalability, advanced cloud security, and 5G connectivity. Performance and capacity are optimized via custom silicon, a multicore design, high port density, and line-rate encryption. Cisco’s subscription software suites provide ongoing access to current SD-WAN technology and enable unified management with advanced cybersecurity, application-based policies, segmentation, and cloud optimization.

Cisco Catalyst 8200 Enterprise Branch Edge Routers

Cisco Catalyst 8200 Series Routers Consultants:  Cisco Catalyst 8200 Series routers are successors to Cisco’s 4300 Series Integrated Services Routers (ISRs), offering higher IPsec performance and scale, accelerated crypto, plus higher built-in WAN port density. These 1RU units are designed to provide Cisco’s Secure Access Service Edge (SASE), Software-Defined WAN (SD-WAN), and 5G-based technology to enterprise branches and the enterprise access edge. The Catalyst C8200L-1N-4T router features 4 CPU cores, enables 500 Mbps IPsec traffic, and supports 1,500 SD-WAN tunnels. The Catalyst 8200L Edge Platforms does not support container-based applications. The Catalyst C8200-1N-4T router features 8 CPU cores, enables 1Gb IPsec traffic, supports 2,500 SD-WAN tunnels, and provides edge computing with existing container architectures. Both models include a Network Interface Module (NIM) slot, 1 Pluggable Interface Module (PIM) slot, two 1 Gigabit Ethernet WAN copper ports, and two 1 Gigabit Ethernet WAN Small-Form-Factor Pluggable (SFP) ports. 4-port and 8-port Gigabit Ethernet switch NIM modules are available for both 8200 models.

Cisco Catalyst 8300 Enterprise Branch Edge Routers

Cisco Catalyst 8300 Series Routers Consultants: Cisco Catalyst 8300 Series routers are designed to replace Cisco’s 4400 Series Integrated Services Routers (ISRs), 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 support, integrated cybersecurity, WAN MACSec, integrated enhanced Layer 2 switching, and Deep Packet Inspection (DPI) with application optimization. Catalyst 8300 Series routers support edge computing for an existing container architecture on the ISRs and for Cisco UCS-E modules available on Cisco’s 4000 Series ISR routers. All models of the Cisco Catalyst 8300 WAN Edge family support 4,000 SD-WAN tunnels and feature dual power supplies for high availability.

The Catalyst 8300-1N1S-6T router is a 1RU device that features 8 CPU cores and delivers 2G SD-WAN throughput and IPsec performance of up to 1.9Gbps. The router includes one SM expansion slot, one NIM slot, and six built-in 1-Gigabit Ethernet WAN ports. The Catalyst 8300-2N2S-6T router is a 2RU unit that includes 8 CPU cores and delivers 2G SD-WAN throughput and IPsec performance as high as 1.9Gbps. The appliance includes two SM expansion slots, two NIM slots, and six built-in 1-Gigabit Ethernet WAN ports. The Catalyst C8300-1N1S-4T2X router is a 1RU appliance that includes 8 CPU cores and delivers 5G SD-WAN throughput and IPsec performance as high as 15Gbps. The router includes one SM expansion slot, one NIM slot, two integrated 10-Gigabit Ethernet WAN ports, and four fixed 1-Gigabit Ethernet WAN ports. The Catalyst C8300-2N2S-4T2X router is a 2RU device that includes 12 CPU cores and delivers 5G SD-WAN throughput and IPsec performance as high as 18Gbps. The router includes two SM expansion slots, two NIM slots, two integrated 10-Gigabit Ethernet WAN ports, and four fixed 1-Gigabit Ethernet WAN ports. LAN expansion modules available from Cisco range from a 4-port Gigabit Ethernet switch NIM module to a 50-port Catalyst L2 switch service module.

Cisco Catalyst 8500 Aggregation Edge Routers

Cisco Catalyst 8500 Series Routers Consultants:  The Cisco Catalyst 8500 Series Aggregation Edge routers are fixed form factor, 1RU aggregation platforms for SD-WAN and colocation environments. Integrated features include route processor, embedded services processor, plus aggregation hardware for various interfaces and connectivity options. IPsec throughput is double compared to Cisco’s earlier generation ASR1001-X. Flexible interface options include 1GE, 10GE, 40GE, and 100GE WAN ports. The routers come with redundant AC or DC power supplies. Software subscription suites provide access to Cisco DNA Center Software for SD-WAN and routing and enable unified management of security, application-aware policies, segmentation, and cloud connectivity optimization.

Cisco’s Catalyst C8500L-8S4X router is designed to provide the same experience as Cisco’s ASR 1000 appliance. The C8500L-8S4X has four 1/10GE WAN ports and can deliver up to 20 Gbps Cisco Express Forwarding aggregate throughput. SD-WAN IPsec throughput is up to 19Gbps. The C8500-12X router features 12 built-in 1/10GE WAN ports and supports up to 120 Gbps aggregate throughput. SD-WAN IPsec throughput is up to 51Gbps. The C8500-12X4QC router comes with four integrated 1/10GE WAN ports and eight 1GE ports and can support up to 200 Gbps aggregate throughput. SD-WAN IPsec throughput is up to 68Gbps. The C8500-20X6C router has 20 integrated SFP+ ports and six x QSFP+ ports. The C8500-20X6C supports up to 500 Gbps Cisco Express Forwarding aggregate throughput.

Cisco Integrated Services Routers Generation 2

Cisco’s ISR G2 routers are designed to provide teleworkers, small offices, and branches of enterprise networks with enhanced collaboration, virtualization, security, and dependable connectivity. ISR G2 routers feature an architecture that protects past investments in modules for older ISR routers and reduces future costs by allowing field upgrades to new modules as they become available. Compared to previous ISR routers, Cisco’s ISR G2 routers offer 2-7 times higher performance, far greater expandability, and more affordable support. All ISR G2 routers include gigabit switching and incorporate multi-core CPUs and multigigabit fabric for faster processing and higher data throughput. ISR G2 routers also support intelligent power management for improved energy efficiency.

A major innovation with ISR G2 routers is the Cisco IOS Software Universal image which includes all the Cisco IOS technology sets so that you can quickly license and activate new features as needed without having to download and copy a new IOS image to your router. Proteus’s team of Cisco-certified CCIE network engineers offer world-class expertise to help you design, configure, and support multi-site deployments of Cisco ISR G2 routers that enhance branch office productivity and reduce the costs of expansion and maintenance.

Cisco 800 Family of ISR Routers

Cisco 800 Series ISR Routers Consultants:  The 800 Series of ISR routers has been superseded technically by the Cisco ISR 900 series but remains widely deployed. Cisco’s comprehensive portfolio of 800 Series ISR routers consists of desktop, fanless devices designed and priced for small businesses, branch offices, retail shops, teleworkers, and clients of broadband service providers. Many models in the 800-product line have been released with multiple options over many years. The 881 Series of ISR routers exemplifies the vast selection of options available within the Cisco 800 product family. Models in Cisco’s 881 router series can support converged media networks by offering IP voice and video, Wi-Fi and data in a single integrated router and switch. Built-in security can include encryption, VPN, firewall, and URL filtering. For business continuity, options available for Cisco 881 routers include redundant wide area network links or support for landline broadband WAN connections like DSL plus multiple cellular 3G and 4G wireless WAN connections all on a single appliance.

Cisco 880 ISR Router Integration Consultants

Cisco’s 880 Series of ISR routers support a wide variety of deployment scenarios.

The basic Cisco 881 includes a 4-port 10/100-Mbps managed switch with up to 15 Mbps performance, the ability to handle up to 20 users, 2 port integrated PoE, and IPv6 support. The Cisco 881W router includes 802.11g/n Wi-Fi. Cisco’s 881 SRST router includes four FXS ports and 1 FXO port for public-switched-telephone-network (PSTN) fallback with Cisco Survivable Remote Site Telephony (SRST). With a Cisco Unified Border Element (CUBE) feature license, the Cisco 881 ISR router supports SIP trunk connectivity as a replacement for Primary Rate Interface (PRI) or foreign exchange-office (FXO) voice connectivity to a PSTN service provider. (The CUBE feature set available with the 881 ISR router does not include transcoding.) In a Cisco Contact Center environment, the remote call center agent can have a SIP trunk with service demarcation provided by CUBE, and the SIP trunk can be used to forward calls from the central call center to the remote call center agent.

Cisco 4000 Series Integrated Services Routers

Cisco 4000 Series Integrated Services Routers (ISRs) are modular and scalable routers intended for businesses with many branches and remote users requiring direct communication with private data centers and public clouds across VPNs and the Internet. The 4000 series provides the bandwidth needed for a hybrid WAN to support mobile users, cloud services, and HD multimedia applications by using WAN optimization, deep packet inspection, and traffic-management techniques. Models in the 4000 Series are powered by Cisco’s IOS XE operating system, come in a 1-rack-unit (RU) or 2RU form factor, 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, xDSL, and other interfaces. For unified communications, the 400o ISR provides extensive edge support for session border control, branch telephony survivability, and TDM gateways.

4000 Series Integrated Services Routers Consulting

The major difference between Cisco 4400 and 4300 Series ISRs is dual power supply support in the 4400 Series, providing a higher level of fault tolerance. The 4321 ISR Router comes in a 1 RU desktop form factor with two network interface modules (NIMs), offers up to 100 Mbps performance, and supports up to 240 Digital Voice and Video Channels. The 4331 ISR Router comes in a 1 RU form factor with two NIMs, offers up to 300 Mbps performance, and supports up to 360 Digital Voice and Video Channels. The 4351 ISR Router comes in a 2 RU package with three NIMs, offers up to 400 Mbps performance, and supports up to 720 Digital Voice and Video Channels. The dual power supply 4431 ISR Router comes in a 1 RU package with three NIMs, offers up to 1 Gbps performance, and supports up to 720 Digital Voice and Video Channels. The redundant-power 4451 ISR Router comes in a 2 RU form factor with three NIMs, offers up to 2 Gbps performance, and supports up to 1200 Digital Voice and Video Channels.

Cisco’s WAN Aggregation Routers and Carrier-class Routers

Cisco’s routers can provide enterprises with high-performance, secure headend to aggregate branch office and remote user traffic and to offer service providers cost-effective WAN edge solutions. Cisco’s WAN aggregation routers router portfolio includes the Cisco ASR 1000 line and the ASR 9000 family.

Cisco Midrange Routers Consulting Support

Proteus’s nationwide team of Cisco CCIE certified network engineers have in-depth backgrounds working with enterprise businesses and Internet service providers to plan optimal deployments and seamless expansion of Cisco’s midrange routers. Proteus’s CISA, GIAC, and CISA certified network security consultants can provide objective, third-party network security vulnerability evaluations and stealth penetration testing to help businesses with Cisco’s midrange routers to comply with industry standards and government regulations for network data security.

Cisco ASR 1000 Series Aggregation Services Routers

Cisco ASR 1000 Series Routers Help:  Cisco’s ASR 1000 family is positioned in the middle of Cisco’s midrange routers that focus on aggregating services at the WAN edge. ASR 1000 routers offer a small footprint, single-product solution for enterprises requiring branch office aggregation at multigigabit Ethernet speeds. ASR 1000 routers introduce a new architecture that combines hardware acceleration with software flexibility in order to deliver a high volume of concurrent services without sacrificing consistent performance.

ASR 1000 Series routers feature Cisco’s new Quantum Flow Processor made up of 40 custom Packet Processing Engines (PPEs) that in combination can support up to 160 concurrent processor threads. This parallel CPU architecture combined with hardware acceleration for all services allows the top-of-the-line ASR 1006 router to scale up to 128,000 hardware queues, 32,000 subscribers, 4,000 IPsec tunnels at 10,000 sessions per second, and 2 million Netflow records. This processing power permits the ASR 1000 to support a variety of advanced services simultaneously in high volume without suffering performance degradation that could threaten SLA compliance. Examples of these services include Cisco IOS Firewall, NAT translation, FPM, and 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 current and next generation of IP voice, video, and conferencing applications.

Cisco ASR 9000 Series Aggregation Services Routers

Cisco ASR 9000 Series Routers Consulting:  Cisco 9000 Series Aggregation Services Routers are designed as edge routers for carriers who need to deliver world-class data, voice and video services to residential, business, and mobile customers by offering non-stop operation, high performance, and application-aware intelligence. All models in the ASR 9000 Series are powered by the Cisco IOS XR, a self-healing, distributed operating system designed for continuous availability. Performance of ASR 9000 Series routers can scale up to 96 Tbps per system. Cisco ASR 9000 Series Routers support high-density Gigabit Ethernet (GE), 10 GE, and 100 GE and have fully redundant fabric and power modules, power entry modules, and fan trays plus control plane and switch fabric redundancy.

The Cisco ASR 9001 is a provider-edge router packaged in a 2 RU form factor and delivers 120 Gbps of nonblocking, full-duplex fabric capacity. The ASR 9001 has two bays which can support modular port adapters for 1 Gigabit, 10 Gigabit, and 40 Gigabit Ethernet. The base chassis includes four 10 Gbit Ethernet SFP+ ports as well as ports for Stratum 1 GPS clocking, BITS, and management. Cisco’s compact ASR 9904 Router is a 6 RU unit that delivers 10 GE and 100 GE line-rate performance in sites with limited space. With four integrated slots, the ASR-9904 can support as much as 4 Tbps of switching capacity in a single chassis. The ASR 9912 Router comes in a 30 RU chassis with 10 line-card slots and support for 550 Gbps of switching capacity. The ASR 9912 includes 2 route processors and 6+1 Fabric Cards for N+1 redundancy. Cisco’s high-capacity ASR 9922 Router has a 43 RU form factor and 22 slots and can deliver performance up to 96 Tbps.

Legacy Cisco Routers Maintained by Proteus’s Experts

Proteus’s Cisco certified consultants are familiar with providing support for legacy routers no longer offered by Cisco. Proteus can show you how to maintain these older routers and can in addition help you to plan and carry out upgrades to newer models. Older Cisco routers maintained by Proteus include:

Cisco Small Business RV Series VPN Routers

Cisco RV Series VPN Routers Experts:  Cisco’s economically priced RV Series VPN Routers are engineered to provide small businesses with VPN technology that permits remote users to access a headquarters network without compromising security. Models in the Cisco RV Series VPN Routers can support from five to 100 VPN tunnels, include 4 to 16-port Ethernet switches, come with integrated firewalls with advanced data encryption, and allow web-based configuration for remote set up and management. All models accommodate fast Ethernet, and some models support Gigabit Ethernet. Both wired and wireless models are available. These routers do not support Cisco’s IOS routing software.

Cisco RV Series Routers Consultants: The Cisco RV041 model VPN Router includes a 4-port 10/100 Ethernet switch and can safely support up to 50 branch offices or off-site workers through IPsec or PPTP tunneling protocol. The RV042G can handle Gigabit Ethernet. The Cisco RV082 model VPN Router has an 8-port 10/100 switch and can support up to 100 remote offices or online users with full IPsec VPN tunneling. Cisco’s RV016 Multi WAN VPN Router has 16 switched 10/100 Ethernet ports, supports 100 online connections, and lets as many as seven ports to be set up for traffic load balancing or for ISP failover to provide non-stop Internet access.

Newer models in Cisco’s portfolio of Small Business RV Series VPN Routers include the RV110W wired/Wireless-N VPN with a 4-port 10/100 Ethernet switch and support for as many as four VLANs, the Cisco RV130W Wireless-N Multifunction VPN Router with a 4-port Gigabit Ethernet switch and support for 825 Mbps throughput, the RV220W wired/Wireless-N Network Security Firewall with a 4-port Gigabit Ethernet switch and support for 25 IPsec VPN connections, and the 320 RV320 Dual Gigabit WAN VPN Router that features a 4-port Gigabit Ethernet switch and Dual Gigabit WAN ports for load balancing and business continuity.

1900 Series Integrated Services G2 Routers

Cisco 1900 Routers Consulting Support: Cisco 1941 and 1941W ISR G2 routers offer accelerated hardware encryption, optional firewall, Cisco IOS intrusion prevention, and up to 11 modular LAN Switchports. The 1941W provides an integrated 802.11n Wi-Fi access point that supports mobile access to high-bandwidth data, voice, and video applications via MIMO technology that improves coverage for existing 802.11a/b/g clients. Interface options for the 1941 and 1941W routers include T1/E1, xDSL, 3G, and GE.

Compared to the older generation 1841 ISR router which they are designed to replace, the Cisco 1941 and 1941W routers have 256 MB vs. 32 MB of flash memory as a default and can be expanded to 4 GB vs. 128 MB. Standard DRAM size is 256 MB vs. 128 MB and maximum DRAM capacity is 2.25 GB vs. 384 MB. Unlike the 1841 router, the 1941 features a USB console in place of the outdated DB-9 connector and includes a slot for the new Internal Services Module (ISM) instead of a slot for the older and lower performance Advanced Integration Module (AIM). Unlike higher end ISR G2 routers, 1941 series routers do not support redundant power supplies or slots for Packet Voice and fax DSP Modules (PVDM).

Cisco 2900 Series Integrated Services G2 Routers

Cisco 2900 Routers Consultants:  Cisco 2900 series ISR G2 routers are available in four models which correspond to the routers in Cisco’s popular 2800 router family. Cisco’s 2901, 2911, 2921, and 2951 ISR G2 routers offer on-board hardware encryption acceleration, voice and video ready DSP slots, optional firewall, intrusion prevention, call processing, voice mail, and from 16 to 50 modular LAN switch ports. The integrated encryption hardware provides IPsec and SSL VPN security for safe remote access and significantly outperforms the advanced integration modules (AIMs) supported by Cisco 2800 series routers. The top-of-the-line 2951 supports 600 SIP sessions. Wired and wireless connectivity options include T1/E1, T3/E3, xDSL, plus copper and fiber GE.

Cisco 2911, 2921, and 2951 ISR G2 routers support Cisco’s new Enhanced EtherSwitch Service Modules, offering high-performance features that match Cisco’s Catalyst 2960 and Catalyst 3650-E Series Switches. Comparing the mid-range 2921 ISR G2 router to the older generation 2821 ISR router that it is intended to replace, the Cisco 2921 router is shipped standard with 256 MB vs. 64 MB of flash memory and can be expanded to 4 GB vs. 256 MB. Default DRAM size is 512 MB vs. 256 MB and maximum DRAM capacity is 2.5 GB vs. 1 GB.

3900 Integrated Services G2 Routers

Cisco 3900 ISR Routers Integration Help:  Cisco offers four platforms for the top-of-the-line 3900 Series ISR G2 router, the 3925, 3945, 3925E, and 3945E. These models offer the highest performance and slot densities in Cisco’s ISR G2 product line and support fast DSPs for the most demanding voice/video applications, hardware-accelerated encryption acceleration, a broad range of connectivity options, up to 98 modular LAN Switchports, and up to 2,500 SIP sessions. To protect your investment in capital equipment, the 3900 Series supports the Cisco Services Performance Engine, a modular motherboard that can be replaced in the field to improve processing power without requiring you to buy a new router. Like other ISR G2 routers, the 3900 Series also protects past investments by supporting most of the modules from older Cisco Integrated Services Routers such as the Cisco ISR 3825. For improved fault tolerance, the 3900 offers dual integrated power supplies.

Comparing the 3925 ISR G2 router with the older model 3825 ISR router which it is designed to replace, the Cisco 3925 router has 256 MB vs. 64 MB of default flash memory and can be expanded to 4 GB vs. 256 MB. Default DRAM size is 1 GB vs. 256 MB and DRAM can be expanded to 4 GB vs. 1 GB.

Cisco’s 1st Generation Integrated Services Routers

Cisco’s first-generation Integrated Services Routers, with more than 6 million devices in operation, are the industry’s leading solution for small to medium-sized businesses and small enterprise branch offices to ensure fast, safe, and reliable access to vital applications. Proteus’s CCIE-certified network engineers are seasoned experts at providing remote consulting, maintenance, and troubleshooting services for Cisco 1800, 2800, and 3800 series ISR routers. Proteus can help you upgrade to the latest version of Cisco IOS Software with minimal disruption to your network, evaluate the security profile of your current router configuration, and help you migrate cost effectively to the new generation of Cisco ISR G2 routers when it makes sense for your business.

1800 Series Routers

Cisco 1800 Series Routers Consulting Firm:  The Cisco 1800 family of integrated services routers incorporate data and protection into a single robust system for high-speed, scalable access to mission-critical business applications. The 1800 Series design has been developed to meet the requirements of small-to-medium-sized businesses, enterprise branch offices, and service provider-managed services environments for responsive access to concurrent services. The integrated systems design of the Cisco 1800 Series delivers excellent business agility and fast ROI.

The Cisco 1841 integrated services router provides significant added value compared to prior generations of 1700 Series devices by delivering more than a fivefold performance increase plus integrated hardware-based encryption enabled by an optional Cisco IOS Software security image. Cisco’s 1841 integrated services router increases interface card slot performance and capacity in comparison to the 1700 Series while still maintaining support for over 30 existing WAN interface cards and multiflex trunk cards (voice/WICs (VWICs)-for data only). The Cisco 1841 router offers further enhancement of VPN performance via an available VPN acceleration module; IPS and firewall capabilities; compatibility with a broad array of interfaces such as support for optional integrated switch ports; and enough performance and expansion slot capacity for future network growth and advanced applications.

Cisco 2800 Series Integrated Services Routers

Cisco 2800 Family Router Consulting:  Targeted at small to medium-sized businesses and enterprise branch offices, the Cisco 2800 Series is available in several basic versions: the Cisco 2801 router, the 2811 router, the 2821, and the Cisco 2851. The Cisco 2800 Series offers significant additional value vs. older models of Cisco routers at comparable prices by offering up to a fivefold performance increase, as much as a 10x increase in security and voice performance, integrated service options, and dramatically improved slot performance and density while maintaining compatibility with most of the over 90 popular modules in use today for Cisco’s 1700, the Cisco 2600 Series, and the Cisco 3700 routers.

The Cisco 2800 Series router offers a range of powerful security functions such as an IOS Software Firewall, an Intrusion Prevention System (IPS), IPsec VPN, Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) Virtual Private Network, powerful application inspection and control, Secure Shell Protocol V 2.0, and Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMPv3) in one protected solution. Additionally, by incorporating security features within the router, Cisco can enable unique intelligent security solutions other security devices cannot, such as NAC for antivirus protection; V3PN for quality-of-service support when combining voice, video, and VPN; Dynamic Multipoint VPN; Group Encrypted Transport; and Easy Virtual Private Networks for supporting more scalable and manageable VPN networks.

Organizations can use the Cisco 2800 Series to deploy an integrated IP telephony network for as many as 96 IP telephones, and can safely combine data, voice, and IP telephony on one platform for their small-to-medium sized satellite offices.

The 2800 router supports a built-in access point for 802.11x wireless LAN connections, Wi-Fi Hotspot services for shared public wireless access, and infrastructure services for cordless WLAN telephony and for high-density sites.

3800 Integrated Services Routers

Cisco 3800 Series Integrated Services Routers Support: Cisco 3800 ISR routers are designed for small-to-medium-sized organizations and corporate branch offices to provide businesses with the highest levels of network agility, performance, and intelligence. The Cisco 3800 integrated services routers smoothly incorporate advanced technologies, smart services, and secure enterprise communications into a single resilient system. The Cisco 3800 Series routers ease deployment and management, lower network cost and complexity, and provide investment protection. 3800 integrated services routers offer internal security processing, fast throughput and high memory capacity, and high-density interfaces that provide the speed, resilience, and dependability required for scaling business-critical security, IP telephony, high-volume video, system analysis, and web-based applications in even the most competitive corporate networks. Engineered for speed, the 3800 integrated services routers deliver multiple concurrent services as fast as wire-speed T3/E3 data rates.

The proprietary routing technology of the Cisco 3800 router is engineered to integrate security and voice processing with the latest wireline and wireless services for fast installation of new services, including application layer operations, intelligent network services, and converged communications. The Cisco 3800 Series router meets the bandwidth requirements for multiple Fast Ethernet interfaces for each expansion slot, time-division multiplexing (TDM) connections, and fully integrated power sourcing to modules supporting 802.3af PoE, while still accommodating the traditional portfolio of interfaces. This ensures ongoing return on investment by supporting network expansion or adapting to changes in technology as the latest services are deployed. By integrating the capabilities of several separate devices into one compact unit, the Cisco 3800 Series router dramatically reduces the expense and complexity of managing wide area networks.

7600 Series Routers

Cisco 7600 Integrated Services Routers Consulting: The Cisco 7600 Series router benefits from the Catalyst 6500 Series infrastructure with an NEBS-3 box, 256-Gbps crossbar fabric, and 30-Mbps switching performance. High availability is implemented via logical and physical redundancy plus IOS Software functions. In addition, the 7600 Series router offers a broad set of high-touch network services at optical rates via various OSMs powered by Cisco proprietary PXF technology.

The 7603 Series features a 32-Gbps bus and offers 15 million packets per second switching performance. The Cisco 7603 Series does not offer distributed switching. The Cisco 7609 router offers the choice to use a 256-Gbps SFM or the standard 32-Gbps bus, providing centralized switching performance of 30 or 15 Mpps each. If the Switch Fabric Module is deployed, the Cisco 7609 can also support distributed switching with rates up to 168 Mpps by running the Cisco Catalyst 6500 16-port Gbit Ethernet LAN module, which is controlled by the Distributed Forwarding Card and the Switch Fabric Module.

The Cisco 7613 model router features a 18 RU form factor with up to 12 interface slots, supports 10 Gigabit Ethernet, and can deliver up to 720 Gbps of total throughput.

Cisco CRS Carrier Routing System for Core Networks

Cisco CRS Carrier Routing System Consultants: Cisco’s Carrier Routing System (CRS) product line, powered by Cisco’s IOS XR self-healing, distributed operating system, offers service providers world-class performance and availability. The Carrier Routing System product line was introduced in 2004, has been continuously enhanced, and now includes the world’s most widely deployed multichassis core router. To protect existing investments in infrastructure, new CRS models are backward compatible with earlier products.

Available product lines in Cisco’s Carrier Routing System portfolio are the CRS-1, CRS-3, and CRS-X Series. Each CRS series includes single-chassis 4-slot, 8-slot, and 16-slot systems as well as multiple chassis versions. The Cisco CRS-1 Series is built on Cisco’s Silicon Packet Processor and can provide up to 92 Tbps throughput. Routers in Cisco’s CRS-3 Series are based on Cisco’s Quantum Flow Array technology and can deliver up to 322 Tbps performance. Cisco’s CRS-X Series Routers use CMOS photonics CPAK technology and, in the multichassis version, scale up to 922 Tbps.

The Cisco CRS Multichassis System can scale from 2 to 72 line-card shelves with the capacity to deliver 400-Gbps of continuous operations per slot. Multishelve models of the CRS Series routers can support up to 8 fabric shelves. Modular services cards (MSCs) and physical layer interface modules (PLIMs) can be used across the entire Carrier Routing System product family.

Other legacy Cisco routers supported by Proteus include:

Cisco 500 SR Series Routers

The Cisco 520 SR Router, designed to support as many as 50 users, features a 4-port 10/100 Ethernet managed switch and a single IOS Software image: By supporting a simple yet powerful set of Cisco IOS control software features, Cisco’s 520 model router simplifies configuration, management, and troubleshooting, but nevertheless provides advanced protection and performance options to match the requirements of your business.

Cisco 850 and 870 Integrated Services Routers

Cisco’s 850 and 870 ISR Routers are fixed-configuration routers that provide protected, simultaneous services over broadband interfaces in small remote offices, telecommuter, and small company environments. 850 Series access routers offer safe connectivity with Stateful Inspection Firewall and IP security VPN features for small LANs, four-connection 10/100 switch, secure WLAN 802.11b/g option with a single fixed antenna, plus simple setup and integration and remote management capabilities through Web-based utilities and IOS Software. 870 Series routers deliver high performance in small workgroups as well as enhanced security via services that include stateful Inspection Firewall, IP Security VPN, 3DES or Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) as well as Dynamic Multipoint VPN and Tunnel-less Group Encrypted Transport, an intrusion prevention system (IPS), virus protection using NAC, and policing of secure connection policies.

1700 Series Routers

Cisco 1700 Series modular access routers are engineered to provide an affordable, integrated e-business solution for small and medium-sized businesses (SMB). 1700 routers offer flexibility and manageability to satisfy demanding e-business requirements such as multiservice data/voice/video/fax consolidation, fast broadband Internet access, and powerful protection solutions. 1700 Series routers have been superseded by Cisco’s 1800 Series of ISR routers and Cisco’s 1900 Integrated Services G2 routers.

2600 Series Routers

The Cisco 2600 Series of routers is a family of modular access routers for branch networks, offering flexible LAN/WAN setup options, comprehensive security features, and a selection of high performance processors. Cisco 2600 routers have been superseded by Cisco’s 2800 Series of integrated services routers and 2900 Integrated Services G2 routers.

3700 Series Routers

The Cisco 3700 Series is a line of modular, multiservice solutions for mid-size and large offices. With over 70 modular interface options, the 3700 family provides a robust platform for data, voice video, VPNs, and mixed-protocol routing. 3700 Series routers have been superseded by Cisco’s 3800 family of integrated services routers and Cisco’s 3900 Series ISR G2 routers.

Cisco Unified Border Element and SIP Trunk Solutions

The Cisco Unified Border Element (CUBE) is a session border controller (SBC) that allows SIP connectivity to an IP PSTN service provider and enables outside-the-firewall capabilities such as SIP-based conferencing with voice and video recording, SIP-based call center and interactive-voice-response (IVR) solutions, policy-based security evaluation of voice calls, and business-to-business immersive telepresence over SIP. CUBE can be licensed on Cisco IOS software and can run on ASR 1000 Series routers as well as many models within Cisco’s ISR G2 router families including the 4000 Series, 3900 Series, 3800 Series, 2900 Series, 2800 Series, 1800 Series, and 881 Series. To find out about Proteus’s consulting services for Cisco CUBE and SIP trunks, visit SIP and CUBE infrastructure solutions.

How Proteus Can Assist You with Cisco Routers

Proteus’s Cisco certified consultants can assist you to design, configure, and manage a converged business network that can streamline operations, reduce expenses, and accelerate the path to positive ROI. By combining Cisco integrated services routers with Catalyst switches expertise, Aironet wireless access point integration and Cisco Meraki Wi-Fi AP consulting, Proteus can dramatically enhance the strategic value of your integrated network. Proteus can provide in-person and off-site support and offers data center support throughout major locations nationally.

Contact Proteus about Consulting Services for Cisco Routers

To talk to a Proteus service representative about consulting support for Cisco routers, call (713)253-7847 or visit Contact Proteus.

To learn additional information concerning Proteus’s consulting support for Cisco products, choose a subject:

• Overview of Proteus’s Cisco Consulting Services
• Fast Online Help from a Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert (CCIE) Engineer
• Cisco Firepower NGFW Series Firewalls: Integration and Troubleshooting Services
• ASA 5500-X Series Firewall with Cisco Firepower: Configuration and Management Support
• Cisco ASA 5500 Firewall Integration Assistance
• PIX 500 Series Firewall Engineering Support
• Cisco Wireless Deployment Services
• Cisco Aironet APs Deployment Support
• Cisco Small Business Wireless APs Deployment Services
• Catalyst Wi-Fi 6/6E Access Points Planning, Configuration and Debugging Expertise
• Cisco Wireless Controllers Support Services
• Cisco Meraki Wireless APs Deployment Help
• Cisco Unified Communications Manager (CUCM or Unified CM) and CallManager Configuration and Troubleshooting
• Cisco VoIP Phones and IP Video Phones Consulting Services and Wireless VoIP Phone Integration
• Cisco Jabber Migration and Support Expertise
• Catalyst Switches Engineering Expertise
• Nexus Switches Configuration and Maintenance Services
• Cisco Meraki Switches Consulting and Support Services
• Cisco Security and VPN Engineering Expertise
• SIP and CUBE Infrastructure Solutions: SIP Trunking and Cisco CUBE Integration Expertise
• Cisco Duo MFA Two-factor Authentication Services for At-Home Workers
• Design and Support for Cisco-powered Datacenters.
• Network Optimization Consulting for ISPs
• Unified Cloud-based and Hybrid Management Techniques for Cisco-powered Infrastructure
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