Cisco 1000 Series Connected Grid Routers (CGR 1000) vs Cisco 900 Series Integrated Services Routers (ISR)

Likelihood to Recommend

Cisco Routers do well at everything from small home office networks that require basic security to large scale service provider implementations that include SD_WAN security. Their routers scale well and they have everything from small 4 port access routers to large enterprise Core routers that function as the backbone of very large networks.

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Verified User

Former Employee in Information Technology

Food & Beverages Company, 51-200 employees

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No problems with any of the Cisco 900 Series [Integrated Services Routers] (ISR) platform features within the enterprise environment. Because these devices are running a version of IOS-XE as opposed to traditional IOS, some of the more 'basic' configurations can become more complex. In the end, the 900 Series is still able to provide the required functionality, but there is a learning curve.

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Verified User

Engineer in Engineering

Telecommunications Company, 11-50 employees

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Pros

Segments the network.
Provides security through the use of Access Control Lists.
Makes routing decisions using routing protocols such as OSPF, RIP, BGP etc ...
Provides fault tolerance.

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Verified User

Former Employee in Information Technology

Food & Beverages Company, 51-200 employees

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[It] works great full-featured, but [I recommend a] small router for remote sites.
[It] can handle more traffic than it even advertises!
[It has a] well-priced option for smaller or less critical sites.

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Verified User

Manager in Information Technology

Information Technology & Services Company, 501-1000 employees

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Cons

Cisco Routers are more expensive than other competitors.
Cisco Routers require leaning of the command line interface, complicated stuff for non-technical people.
Interchangeability is limited with some other manufacturers because Cisco sometimes uses proprietary protocols.

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Verified User

Former Employee in Information Technology

Food & Beverages Company, 51-200 employees

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[It has a] pay as you grow model of licensing, but, [in my opinion, is] a pain to implement.
[The] service impacting license application [could be improved].
Configuration complexity [could be improved].

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Verified User

Engineer in Engineering

Telecommunications Company, 11-50 employees

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Pricing Details

General

Free Trial

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Free/Freemium Version

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Premium Consulting/Integration Services

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Entry-level set up fee?

No

Starting Price

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General

Free Trial

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Free/Freemium Version

—

Premium Consulting/Integration Services

—

Entry-level set up fee?

No

Starting Price

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Alternatives Considered

Cisco and HPE Routers are comparable products. Both do the job well without many differences. I would say HP Routers are easier to configure but come with a small performance hit compared to Cisco routers of the same size/scope. Cisco has the brand recognition and many more certified professionals using them though.

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Verified User

Former Employee in Information Technology

Food & Beverages Company, 51-200 employees

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Cisco Catalyst Switches are technically faster and easier to deploy but don't provide the same flexibility when it comes to 10Gbps services or advanced routing. There are corner cases where having IOS-XE on the 900 series ISRs provides the functionality required for complex applications whereas the Catalyst cannot. Having the option to scale the number of active ports on the 900 series ISR helps in keeping costs at an appropriate level.

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Verified User

Engineer in Engineering

Telecommunications Company, 11-50 employees

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Return on Investment

Cisco products have 99.9999% up time availability and it allows a quick ROI in terms of our production network being available when its needed.
Cisco routers perform network security tasks well and keeps our network secure without slowing down our business transactions.
Cisco productrs last longer than our previous vendors, this ROI has been significant in lower replacement costs.

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Verified User

Former Employee in Information Technology

Food & Beverages Company, 51-200 employees

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Lots of money saved in downgrading from less useful and older full-sized routers at small sites
Time saved having to learn new commands (web GUI works great)
Saves time training staff to manage them

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Verified User

Manager in Information Technology

Information Technology & Services Company, 501-1000 employees

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Cisco 1000 Series Connected Grid Routers (CGR 1000) vs Cisco 900 Series Integrated Services Routers (ISR)