3/4/2008 -- Cisco Systems Inc. this week announced its next-generation Aggregation Services Router (ASR) 1000 Series, a new product family -- based on Cisco's latest QuantumFlow processor -- that it says delivers high-performance access and aggregation routing and switching capabilities, along with a host of embedded services (including firewall, DPI and IDS features).

Industry watchers see Cisco's new ASR Series as a game-changing deliverable.

"[It's] designed to address the emerging Exabyte era in network traffic. With traffic growth projected to be at 42 percent...access routers need to deliver higher per-subscriber performance and offer embedded services to reduce cost and complexity," wrote Glen Hunt, a principal analyst for carrier infrastructure with consultancy Current Analysis.

Hunt added, "The new Cisco platform delivers the performance needed in this environment for access and aggregation routing and switching, but it also includes embedded services such as firewall, IPsec, deep packet inspection (DPI), integrated service gateway (ISC) and session border controller (SBC) functions in the base platform, which eliminates the need to deploy separate network appliances of these functions."

Cisco's ASR series uses its latest QuantumFlow processor, for one thing, but it also runs IOS XE, according to Hunt.

"To provide the reliability and service capabilities required, the new platform runs the new IOS XE operating system, which brings service virtualization to the access router, which is the basis for its embedded services capabilities. Cisco has made significant investments in the new series which should enable it to establish a new model for edge routing," Hunt said. "IOS XR was designed for ultimate service flexibility and high reliability in a multi-chassis setting, while IOS XE offers much of the same in terms of service virtualization, but is designed for a single node operation."

He added, "Cisco has preserved its broadly deployed IOS command line and common look and feel to decrease [operational expenditures] and to leverage a global installed base of trained network engineers."

The ASR Series is available in three scalable models, offering bandwidth throughput that scales from 5-10 Gbps to 40 Gbps (a future projection). The ASR Series routers also support embedded SBC and ISG, which lets them support applications such as TelePresence and tailored per-subscriber services, according to Hunt.

All in all, he argued, the ASR Series -- with its compact, all-in-one footprint -- could help carriers eliminate a lot of redundant or extraneous devices.

"The ASR 1000 Series is well-suited to reduce or replace multiple devices with a single integrated compact unit, since all services are embedded. The new router also presents a minimized carbon footprint to improve power efficiency," Hunt said. "[The ASR Series has] the power to deliver high density traffic aggregation while integrating multiple functions as part of the base platform, eliminating the need to deploy separate network appliances or consume expensive chassis slots on traditional edge routers to house ancillary processing." --Stephen Swoyer