Some Current Routers

Linksys Routers. Linksys has a reputation, at least with me, of providing some of the best networking equipment for the home or small business user. They were actually acquired by Cisco, which seemed to me to be an intelligent move.

Linksys is known to have models that combine many different capabilities such as routing, switching and firewall capabilities into a single model. It should make sense that intelligent home users would like to get these sorts of capabilities at reasonable prices.

The following table gives a very brief survey of some of the Linksys routers.

Linksys Routers
Product Series	Description
BEFSR11	EtherFast Cable/DSL Router - option to connect multiple PCs to a high-speed Broadband Internet connection or to an Ethernet back-bone. Allowing up to 253 users, the built-in NAT technology acts as a firewall protecting your internal network. It can also be configured as a DHCP server.
BEFSR41/BEFSR81	EtherFast® Cable/DSL Router with 4-Port or 8-Port Switch - is a kind of "splitter" for your Internet connection. Connect a DSL or Cable Modem to the Router, and all the computers in your household can share the Internet -- all at the same time. The built-in switch lets you attach local PCs directly, or daisy-chain out to more hubs and switches as your network grows.
BEFSX41	The Linksys Instant Broadband™ EtherFast®Cable/DSL Firewall Router with 4-Port Switch/VPN Endpoint - the perfect solution for connecting a small group of PCs to a high-speed broadband Internet connection or a 10/100 Ethernet backbone. URL filtering and time filtering. Stateful Packet Inspection firewall. create IPSec VPN tunnels provides a dedicated port for DMZ hosting and acts as the only externally recognized Internet gateway on your local area network (LAN).
RVO42/RVO82	The Linksys 10/100 4-Port or 8-Port VPN Router - Let multiple computers in your office share an Internet connection. Dual Internet ports on the 10/100 these VPN Routers let you connect a second Internet line as a backup to insure that you're never disconnected. Or, use both Internet ports at the same time, and let the router balance your office's requirements between them for maximum bandwidth efficiency. The 10/100 VPN Router also features a built-in full-duplex 10/100 Ethernet switch to connect PCs directly, or you can connect more hubs and switches to create as big a network as you need.

Cisco Routers. Cisco routers used to be classified in three major categories.

SOHO is an acronym for small office/home office. It is usually the case that SOHO users have only one or two LAN segments and an ISP connection to the internet. SOHO routers emphasize dial-in technologies, usually DSL or ISDN.

Midrange routers typically fit in small to medium sized networks that require a wide variety of solution approaches largely based on capacity needs and type of telecom link.

Backbone routers allow CISCO to make the claim that over 70% of the Internet is run using its routers (last I knew). The bigger routers actually resemble dorm refrigerators and have data buses which accept blades - whole devices on boards.

The following table outlines CISCO product offerings. Remember the term series means a chassis that is variously configured at the plant into different product models usually most determined by their particular printed circuits cards. Unfortunately, these are likely to be at least somewhat outdated.

Cisco SOHO Routers
Product Series	Description
Cisco 77	DSL access router to connect multiple users. Includes user configurable IOS.
Cisco 600 Series	DSL access router for a single. Doesn't have user configurable IOS.
Cisco 700 Series	ISDN access routers to connect up to 30 users. Doesn't have user configurable IOS.
Cisco 800 Series	ISDN, DSL and serial access routers to connect up to 20 users. Includes IOS and has VPN encryption capability.
Cisco uBR900 Series	Integrated VoIP, VPN, and router functionality for telecommuters and small offices. Includes user configurable IOS.

Cisco Midrange Routers
Product Series	Description
Cisco 1000 Series	Ethernet access router to connect to either an ISDN or a serial WAN link.
Cisco 1400 Router	Ethernet access router to connect to either an ATM or a DSL trunk.
Cisco 1600 Series	Ethernet access router to connect to either an ISDN or a serial WAN link. Includes VPN encryption ability.
Cisco 1700 Series	Ethernet access router to connect to a broadband, ISDN, or DSL WAN link. Includes VPN encryption ability. Also includes VoIP and VoFR capability.
Cisco 2500 Series	Ethernet or Token Ring router/hub or dial access server models to connect one or two LAN segments to an ISDN or serial link.
Cisco 2600 Series	Modular and cost-effective solution for duty as access router, voice/data gateway, or dial access server. Connects one or two Ethernet or Token Ring LANs to ISDN, channelized T1, Ethernet, analog modems or ATM links. Also supports voice/fax and Frame Relay.
Cisco 3600 Series	Modular high-density router for dial access or router-to-router traffic. Supports ISDN, serial, channelized T1, digital modems and ATM links. Also supports voice/fax and Frame Relay.

Backbone Routers. These models allow CISCO to make the claim that over 70% of the Internet is run using its routers. The bigger routers actually resemble dorm refrigerators and have data buses which accept blades - whole devices on boards. Because they aren't access routers they can handle as many users as they can handle packets. All of these products are modular and can operate more than one protocol simultaneously. A slot is an electronic bay into which a printed circuit board can be installed.

The following table outlines CISCO backbone product offerings.

Cisco Backbone Routers
Product Series	Description
Cisco 4000 Series	Three slot routers supporting Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, Token Ring, FDDI, HSSI, serial, channelized T1 and ATM.
Cisco 6400 Router	DSL Router for ISPs and corporations. Supports Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, Gigabit Ethernet, Token Ring, DSL, broadband and ATM.
Cisco 7000 Series	Four to thirteen slot central site routers supporting Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, Token Ring, FDDI, HSSI, serial, ISDN, channelized T1, packet over DS3 and ATM.
Cisco 10000 Series	Ten slot Gigabit Ethernet switch router. Has special card for OC-12 WAN link. Offers IPSec, MPLS VPN and QoS (Quality of Service) capabilities.
Cisco 12000 Series	Eight or twelve slot Gigabit Ethernet switch router optimized for IP. Has special cards for OC-12 and OC-48 WAN links.
Cisco uBR7200 Series	Two to four slot broadband, carrier class routers. It's designed for cable operators and service providers. This series connects residential subscribers for high speed data, broadband and IP telephony.
Cisco uBR10012 Series	Broadband, carrier class routers. It's designed for cable operators and service providers. This series connects residential subscribers for high speed data, broadband and IP telephony.

Now we will spend some time surveying some Juniper Networks routers. An important link is

http://www.juniper.net/products/ip_infrastructure/

They an E-series, M-series and T-series. Each series has been designed with certain customer requirements in mind.

The E-series have been designed to focus on routing at a networks edge. I guess they could be called gateway routers until I find a better word.

The M-series network service providers and information intensive enterprises have deployed a wide range of edge and core services.

The T-series are backbone routers.

Juniper Networks Routers for Network Service Providers and Information Intensive Enterprises
M - Series	Description
M5 and M10	Ideal for both edge and core applications in locations where space and power are at a premium, such as smaller metro POPs.
M20 and M40	Ideal for edge applications involving the aggregation of dedicated access circuits.
M40e	Primarily for both low- and high-speed dedicated access aggregation and secondly mid-size core deployments
M160	Supports up to 8 OC-192c/STM-64 Physical Interface Cards (PICs) per chassis (16 per rack) or up to 32 OC-48c/STM-16 PICs per chassis (64 per rack), is ideal for routing and forwarding across large core backbone trunks.

Now we will spend some time surveying some 3-Com routers. An important link for their United States operations is

http://3com.com/index2.html

The last I knew, 3Com was focusing only on larger business and service provider equipment. But last I knew they were in pretty serious financial trouble even though they have a very good reputation for quality products! So one must look at Linksys and Cisco's decision to acquire them. But, in and of itself, this really isn't sufficient to describe why 3Com has been struggling (last I knew).

3Com Routers
Product Series	Description
6000 Family	Feature-rich, fault-tolerant and high-performance, modular routers deliver end-to-end converged data and voice for enterprise regional offices or large branch locations. These routers offer high-performance routing with advanced traffic management, security and control features. A selection of hot-swappable LAN and WAN Flexible Interface Cards (FICs) provide a scalable, efficient, and secure network operation. Modular, fault-tolerant and resilient rackmount router chassis equipped with four or eight FIC slots. Processing units and backup power supplies are also provided.
5000 Family	High-performance, modular routers deliver end-to-end data and voice for corporate or remote branch offices. These routers offer feature-rich routing and advanced security and control features. A selection of Smart Interface Cards (SICs) and Multi-function Interface Modules (MIMs) provide scalable, efficient, and secure network operation. Full-featured IP and IPX WAN routers with modular chassis, support for VPN, and security at an affordable price Modular rackmount chassis router equipped with four or eight MIM slots
3000 DSL Family	Feature-rich, fixed-form business-class DSL access routers with advanced security and control capabilities at an affordable price for enterprise small branches or remote office locations. Routers include 4-port 10/100 switch, ADSL over POTS or ADSL over ISDN for ADSL service. Some models include ISDN BRI backup port for additional WAN redundancy. Business-class DSL routers equipped with a variety of interfaces; four 10/100 switch ports.
3000 Family	Feature-rich, affordable WAN access routers with firewall and VPN security features and a variety of interfaces, for remote offices. Feature-rich, affordable WAN access routers with a variety of interfaces, for remote offices

Juniper Network Edge Carrier Routers
E - Series	Description
ERX-705	The entire series offers a wide range of interface options includes OC-3/STM-1, OC-12/STM-4, Fast Ethernet, and Gigabit Ethernet, as well as channelized DS-1, DS-3, E1, and E3
ERX-710	Compact
ERX-1410	Midrange
ERX-1440	High capacity

Juniper Networks Backbone Routers
T - Series	Description
T	Interfaces from OC-3c/STM-1 to a rich portfolio of dense 10-Gbps interfaces, including 10-Gbps Gigabit Ethernet and OC-192c/STM-64 SONET/SDH (SMLR, SMSR2, and VSR) Rich set of ATM interfaces & capabilities for network transformation