11/10/2010 -- Cisco Systems Inc. last week unveiled the 5940 Embedded Services Router (ESR), a new entry in its ESR portfolio that makes it possible for shops to extend IP-based networks into the field. Call it a router for the rest of us. Or for active-duty military personnel, among other potential users.

Cisco says the 5940 is ESR designed to "deliver integrated communications to military and public services personnel operating in extreme environments."

It says it developed the 5940 to support "ad hoc mobile networks," which are exactly what they sound like: improvised IP networks that exploit common radio frequencies -- such as UHF or VHF -- along with Wi-Fi connectivity, "to create a spontaneous network made up of constantly changing, constantly moving IP nodes." That's according to Brad Boston, senior vice president for Cisco's global Government Solutions Group, who recorded a video presentation to promote the 5940. The key takeaway, according to Boston, is that the 5940 ESR, is designed to "[make] the most of limited bandwidth in constantly changing or emergency environments" and "operates reliably in very hot or very cold temperatures, uses little power and is ruggedized against shock and vibration."

Naturally, the 5940 includes an onboard hardware encryption facility, too.

With the 5940, Cisco is thinking very vertically: Officials describe the new device as tailor-made for use in the field by employees in the public safety, transportation, construction, mining and defense segments.

For example, Cisco says, organizations can tap the 5940 to extend mobile networking capabilities to emergency responder or armored vehicles, along with passenger or freight trains. The 5940 ESR can support IP-based voice, video and data services and permits employees or military personnel to maintain contact with operations or command centers. It packs four Gigabit Ethernet interfaces into a 3U (or 10 centimeter by 16 centimeter) form factor.

Boston and other Cisco officials position the new 5940 as an important deliverable in Cisco's still-evolving Mobile Ready Net architecture. "The Cisco 5940 router is a key element of the [Mobile Ready Net] solution architecture that defines Cisco's vision for the mobile network of the future, a network that continuously adapts, enabling people to connect and communicate how, when and where they need to," said Boston, in a prepared release. "Without relying on predefined fixed infrastructure, the 5940 can deliver versatile, military-qualified mobile networking designed specifically for the most demanding conditions."
-- By Stephen Swoyer