SAN JOSE, CA--(Marketwire - March 4, 2008) - To help service provider and enterprise edge
networks simultaneously host an ever-increasing array of resource-intensive
integrated data, voice and video business and consumer services, Cisco®
(
NASDAQ:
CSCO) today announced the introduction of the Cisco ASR 1000
Series Aggregation Services Routers (ASR 1000 Series). The ASR 1000 Series
features software virtualization to enable "instant-on" provisioning and
simultaneous use of a wide range of service functionality, including
firewall, IP security virtual private networks (IPSec VPNs), deep-packet
inspection (DPI) and Session Border Control (SBC). Such broad-ranging
embedded capabilities eliminate the need to deploy multiple single-function
appliances in addition to a router, offering dramatic savings in capital
costs, operations expenses and reducing users' carbon footprints.
The Cisco ASR 1000 Series is driven by the new Cisco QuantumFlow Processor
(QFP), the industry's first fully-integrated and programmable processing
engine. The Quantum Flow Processor results in not only outstanding scaling
of service intelligence and performance but also in the platform's ability
to be retasked to meet many emerging requirements as networking evolves
over the coming decade. (See:
http://newsroom.cisco.com/dlls/2008/prod_022508c.html.) In addition, The
ASR 1000 Series features Cisco IOS® XE software, a virtualized Cisco IOS
implementation optimized for compact routers at the edge to deliver
in-service software upgrades and software redundancy in a form factor much
smaller than previously possible. In addition to the rich Cisco IOS edge
feature set, IOS XE provides IOS command line control to provide a familiar
look and feel for Cisco IOS users. Together, these silicon and software
elements help to make the Cisco ASR 1000 Series, which was purpose-built
for edge networks, the most powerful compact router in the market. Cisco
invested $250 million U.S. over more than five years in the research and
development of the Cisco ASR 1000 Series. This figure includes $100 million
invested in the Cisco Quantum Flow Processor.
"Next Generation Networks will enable a broad range of services in a wide
variety of combinations, many requiring high-quality, high-definition,
bidirectional communication to meet customer demands. In contrast to
conventional best-effort approaches, we believe it will be necessary for
the edge of network to perform dynamic quality control to flexibly and
securely enable aggregation of traffic from broadband services and
converged communications," says Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation
(NTT), executive vice president, Shin Hashimoto. "The Cisco ASR 1000 Series
is expected to provide the functions essential for such IP NGNs in a
flexible and scalable manner, with the high availability that we and our
customers demand."
"We operate IT systems for our customers that are critical for their core
business processes. So nonstop operations are an extremely important issue
for us. We are witnessing an increased demand on highly secure, scalable,
and reliable IT infrastructure services," said Bardo Werum, vice president
of Cross-Industries and Operation at Lufthansa Systems. "The Cisco ASR 1000
Series helps us meet those demands. For example, the 'in-service software
update' feature offers great improvements towards nonstop operations."
The Cisco ASR 1000 Series combines all of the necessary service features
into a single router platform, resulting in a substantial increase in IP
forwarding performance. It also simplifies network design because a single
router can be used in different hardware deployments and provides different
services based on software enablement.
-- For providers, the Cisco ASR 1000 Series enables not just faster,
application-aware services, but also increases the overall service capacity
due to more flexible, efficient, and cost-effective delivery of complex
"any-play" consumer and business services, whether they be hosted or
managed.
-- For enterprises, the Cisco ASR 1000 Series addresses the wide-area
network (WAN) edge as a key gateway for business success where information,
communication, collaboration and commerce converge, helping to enable
anytime, everywhere access to applications.
"Wachovia's wide area networks are undergoing a series of significant
transformations to incorporate new technologies and new services that
underpin delivery of information to our associates and customers," said
John Burns, vice president of network services for Wachovia. "The Cisco ASR
1000 Series is uniquely positioned to blend a very positive total cost of
ownership with flexibility and innovation to support not only our current
requirements, but those that we are just beginning to envision.
Scalability, security and reliability are three areas where we look to the
Cisco ASR 1000 Series as a ground-breaking platform."
The Cisco ASR 1000 Series also enables service providers and enterprises to
reduce their carbon footprint. By surpassing the capabilities possible in
multi-device, multi-vendor solutions, the Cisco ASR 1000 Series
dramatically decreases both the architectural complexity of deployment for
service providers and enterprises but also their carbon footprints as well.
Analysis conducted by Synergy Research found that, when compared to
competitive offerings, each implementation of the Cisco ASR 1000 Series can
result in carbon footprints savings up to 3754 gallons of gasoline or 17
tons of coal annually. Additional information on the analysis can be found
here:
http://www.srgresearch.com/store/cisco-asr.htm.
"With respect to flexibility in the network, the Cisco ASR 1000 Series is
unsurpassed, incorporating new technologies to support rapid business
innovation, without having to rethink network platform decisions," said
Pankaj Patel, senior vice president and general manager of the Cisco
Service Provider Group. "Any comparable configuration would not only cost
much more, but require more rack space, consume more power and require
additional blades or network appliances in order to equal the capabilities
that are already integrated into this compact, multipurpose router."
Availability
The Cisco ASR 1000 Series Is scheduled to be generally available in April
2008 in two-, four- and six-rack-unit sizes, with pricing starting at
$35,000 U.S.
About Cisco
Cisco (
NASDAQ:
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how people connect, communicate and collaborate. Information about Cisco
can be found at
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http://newsroom.cisco.com.
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