Skip to main content
TrustRadius
Cisco 9000 Series Aggregation Services Routers (ASR 9000)

Cisco 9000 Series Aggregation Services Routers (ASR 9000)

Overview

What is Cisco 9000 Series Aggregation Services Routers (ASR 9000)?

Cisco 9000 Series Aggregation Services Routers (ASR 9000) are designed to support carrier edge networks.

Read more
Recent Reviews

The Best Router SP

10 out of 10
December 13, 2021
ASR 9000 is used as our core routing solution, basically used as a fully functional core router on the network it handles large amounts of …
Continue reading

Reliable and Familiar

8 out of 10
October 31, 2019
Incentivized
The ASR 9000 is used as our core routing solution. Here, it works as a BRASS, Building L2vpn, [and] L3vpn for customers [and] also as a …
Continue reading
Read all reviews

Awards

Products that are considered exceptional by their customers based on a variety of criteria win TrustRadius awards. Learn more about the types of TrustRadius awards to make the best purchase decision. More about TrustRadius Awards

Reviewer Pros & Cons

View all pros & cons

Video Reviews

1 video

Cisco ASR 9000 Series Review | Reliability, Customization, and Quality
01:51
Return to navigation

Product Details

What is Cisco 9000 Series Aggregation Services Routers (ASR 9000)?

The Cisco ASR 9000 Series has a product portfolio ranging from the Cisco ASR 9001 (2 Rack Units [2RU]) to the Cisco ASR 9922 (44RU), with each system designed to provide true carrier-class reliability using the Cisco IOS® XR operating system.

Cisco 9000 Series Aggregation Services Routers (ASR 9000) Features

  • Supported: Meets the needs of mass-scale networks: Delivers high-density, high performance edge platforms suitable for growing or high-demand markets.
  • Supported: Supports enhanced port flexibility from 1G to 400G and with many form factors
  • Supported: Platform is committed to forward and backward compatibility

Cisco 9000 Series Aggregation Services Routers (ASR 9000) Video

Update on the ASR 9000 Series and the many innovations it delivers.

Cisco 9000 Series Aggregation Services Routers (ASR 9000) Competitors

Cisco 9000 Series Aggregation Services Routers (ASR 9000) Technical Details

Deployment TypesOn-premise
Operating SystemsCisco IOS XR7
Mobile ApplicationNo

Cisco 9000 Series Aggregation Services Routers (ASR 9000) Downloadables

Frequently Asked Questions

Cisco 9000 Series Aggregation Services Routers (ASR 9000) are designed to support carrier edge networks.

Juniper MX Series, Juniper PTX Series, and Nokia 7750 Service Router (SR) are common alternatives for Cisco 9000 Series Aggregation Services Routers (ASR 9000).

Reviewers rate Support Rating highest, with a score of 9.6.

The most common users of Cisco 9000 Series Aggregation Services Routers (ASR 9000) are from Enterprises (1,001+ employees).
Return to navigation

Comparisons

View all alternatives
Return to navigation

Reviews and Ratings

(52)

Attribute Ratings

Reviews

(1-22 of 22)
Companies can't remove reviews or game the system. Here's why
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
We use them for internet peering and for service aggregation in our carrier Ethernet platform. They serve well in terms of stability, service richness and performance when connecting to several IP-Transit provider. The possibilities when creating complex routing-policies are far beyond the route-maps we had with IOS-XE in the past. The use for service aggregation in our carrier Ethernet platform has a much more scale than NCS router can provide.
  • They run absolute stable
  • IOS-XR is a very comfortable operating system
  • They deliver overall performance
  • They could be cheaper ;-)
They are well suited when overall performance or service richness is needed.
Maurice Fouillard | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
We use the ASR 9001 in our core MPLS network as a Provider edge equipment. It address our issues of resource and scalability. As it is modular and powerful. Prior to the Cisco 9000 Series Aggregation Services Routers, we had ASR 1002 and 1001 in our backbone. However, as we scaled, we moved to the Cisco 9000 Series Aggregation Services Routers and since we got them we haven't had to refresh them in a bit since they are modular and packed with power.
  • It scales well
  • Very stable
  • Modular
  • I know its a huge devices but an improvement to the boot time
  • Re-position the power supply to the rear
Coming from a service provider architecture, I'll say, it is very well suited for use with the core network. Works very well when you collapse the core and edge functions. This allows you to use fewer devices, but still achieve the same purpose of deploying MPLS. It is less appropriate to use as an edge only device.
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
The ASR 9000 is used in the network as PEs, core routers, and internet gateways. In 2025, route reflectors will be migrated from ASRS 1000 to ASR 9000.
  • uses ios Xr
  • lots of features
  • Good support
  • Dual rate lc are very difficult to manage with legacy hw
  • cost
Cisco 9000 Series Aggregation Services Routers (ASR 9000) is the best network role as a PE and Internet Gateway.
December 08, 2023

Pizza box delivery

Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Provided a low cost solution for access connections and effectively reduced capex requirements for 1G connections.
  • Aggregate customer traffic using single pizza box
  • Manage them remotely using inbound connectivity
  • Network availability and readiness
  • Temperature hardness
Cisco 9000 Series Aggregation Services Routers use less space and power to aggregate traffic and provide IP services.
Cisco 9000 Series Aggregation Services Routers don't work individually as it needs connectivity to ASR9010 to be able to manage.
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
We use the Cisco 9000 Series Aggregation Services Routers, 9901 as an access edge device. It on boards customer circuits in the Data Centre and forwards customer traffic via BGP to our core, or EVPN to another endpoint as an EPL or EVPL circuit.
  • Handles customer L3 termination
  • Ease of configuration
  • Ease of upgrade and maintenance
  • Removal of certain BGP commands, especially related to IPv6 that are depreciated and simply error when attempted. Perhaps have them operate like the new standard.
It forwards the traffic.
December 06, 2023

Overall a decent unit

Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
We use it as a Layer 3 Aggregation Point for Internet Subscribers from various locations throughout every state in Australia.
  • DHCP IP Subscriber sessions
  • PPPOE IP Subscriber sessions
  • Aggregate Pseudowire interfaces
  • Bug fixes
  • Chunk sizes on Subscriber limits
The Cisco 9000 Series Aggregation Services Routers are suitable to provide services to 8000-30,000 customer subscriber sessions especially when BGP full table support may be required.
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
We use it for our IP backbone and we especially do the exploitation of this product.
  • It's an IP backbone and use it for switching and DroneShield between several data centers.
  • Should improve this where this product is able to ize another protocol, another function analysis
Specifically to manage services between data center
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
We have placed this unit at the top of our network. It does the routing for nearly all of our sites, which are layer 2. It provides 10 GB connectivity to all of our WAN links as well. It handles local workstations at our site in addition to being the aggregator or core to our district. All of our primary services are connected to this switch, all wireless appliances (Cisco) as well as our Virtual services and storage.
  • The 9000 series is an extremely stable device, seldom having failures.
  • It has more than enough capacity for our needs, while we do use 4 blades on our chassis.
  • We can mix fiber and copper easily.
  • With three redundant power supplies we are able to ensure it remaining powered up by using several battery backup units tied to a generator.
  • There is a bit of a problem when "counting" ports on the different blades, due to when using redundant ports and management you actually lose the option to use some ports. It's not major, but when you are counting on the availability of 10GB SFP's you need to remember you may be short a port or two.
  • Generally it is designed and built very well, however, you do need to be aware that the unit weighs a considerable amount and does require at least two people, (really three) to place it in the rack.
It is very well suited to act as your aggregator / core switch for mid to large facilities. it is flexible enough to really be useable in small environments but costs may hinder that. It has redundancy of power and management blades that does add a lot of peace of mind and security.
Really the only reason you would not use a 9000 series is frankly cost and/or real requirements for performance. They have several versions of this model, plus they have an entire set of lines that can accommodate nearly as much as the 9000. Less demand or less of a budget can weigh in the decision to select this particular model.
Mohd Shahid Ali | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Cisco ASR9000 Series is used in one of our customer environments. The customer has multiple branch offices and they use it for routing and EVPN purposes. The router provides the customer flexibility to increase the line cards as per their requirement which is suitable for their business requirement. Before the customer was using the modular types of routers which was difficult to manage and in the classic licensing model customer suppose to install different types of licenses to get the features enabled. ASR 9000 has fulfilled the customer's need by bringing a smart licensing model which helped the customer to install the license in a smart account. Which doesn't require any downtime to install any license. The customer was having old devices which can support up to 1G of speed but with the new series of gateways which supports up to 40G of support. The new launch of different sizes of chassis helped a lot to fit in the business need based on the location and easy to manage. Also the launch of the new iOS version which is having the features like automation so that we can manage the device using the Yang scripts to do the configuration. Helped a lot in the integration of SDN service.
  • Different chassis model.
  • Throughput (1G/10G/25G/40G/100G/400G).
  • Metro Aggregation device.
  • In-Service Software upgrade.
  • High speed Crypto.
  • Commercials.
  • Multi-context mode.
  • VPNS for different vendors.
I can recommend this ASR 9000 Series model for the locations which are very Big like data centers, large offices, and service provider networks. Which will enhance the performance. We cannot use this router in small deployments. This is an advanced technology model which has many features like orchestrating services across a converged network and enabling on-demand service capabilities.
February 26, 2022

ASR 9k - power over 9000?

Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
The Cisco 9000 series platform has been a big part of our organization since its release. It provides 'next-gen' functionality throughout our network distribution layer, providing MEF services to our customers. The Cisco 9000 series' modular design creates a flexible model for large network expansion, increased bandwidths, and aggregation of our services.
  • Modular design
  • Scalable IOS-XR features
  • High throughput
  • Licensing complexity
  • High cost
  • Component interop
The Cisco 9000 series platform is very well suited as distribution layer devices within our network. Its modular design and flexible licensing to add additional ports (including 10G/40G/100G) allows for a pay-as-you-grow approach to design. Having scalable licensing allows for this platform to be used even when cost needs to be lower for a network solution.
December 13, 2021

The Best Router SP

Jose Manuel Castillo | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
ASR 9000 is used as our core routing solution, basically used as a fully functional core router on the network it handles large amounts of traffic going through it and can be easily expanded as demand grows. It is very versatile and can function as an edge router, PE, P, etc.
  • Large FIB.
  • Dependable.
  • Good port density.
  • Easily expandable.
  • Stability.
  • I would say that the point of improvement is that I do not understand why the command syntax changes when going from 32 to 64 bits scheme.
in a network mpls are the best equipment can work as access, core, distribution is a very complete range.edge router, PE, P, etc
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
It is basically used as a fully functional core router on the network. It has the capability to handle the amount of traffic going through it and is easily expandable as demand grows. In addition, due to its versatility, it is also being considered as a potential edge router for future expansion.
  • Easily expandable
  • Good port density
  • Still relatively new
  • [It] needs to be able to handle higher port density as the need for higher bandwidth demands grows.
  • Software upgrades could be done more efficiently.
  • [There are] too many licenses for various features.
It is well suited as a large router in a data center handling extreme amounts of traffic. It offers room for expansion and upgrades. It does not work well as a customer premise device due to its size, power, requirements, and cost. There are other ASR models better suited for such cases.
October 31, 2019

Reliable and Familiar

Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
The ASR 9000 is used as our core routing solution. Here, it works as a BRASS, Building L2vpn, [and] L3vpn for customers [and] also as a border gateway router. All our services [are] connected to the ASR 9000 as our mobile platform for our corporate LAN and VOIP services. We also have directly connected distribution switches.
  • Familiar
  • Dependable
  • Easy to use
  • VRF Configuration could be made simpler.
  • Uniform show command for Gig or TenG links [could be added].
Cisco 9000 Series Aggregation Service Routers are suited for core infrastructures, such as routing and transport.
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
In our company, the [Cisco] 9000 [Series Aggregation Services] Routers are used as [the] core routers in the network.
  • Very scalable
  • Reliable
  • Mix of high density ports
  • No Cons
[Cisco] 9000 [Series Aggregation Services] Routers [are] very suitable as core routers in a service provider network.
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
ResellerIncentivized
We use this to carry out our core of services. We use them for data transfers, VoIP, and video communication.
  • To interconnect our services
  • To create our video solutions
  • To provision our voice DOCSIS services
  • To create mLDP solutions
  • To segment our routing network
  • To create interconnection of IMS networks
The most appropriate scenario: mLDP network with profile 4.
Score 3 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
We are using it for core and peering routers due to the insane FIB storage available compared to the Nexus 7Ks they replaced. We were not using any platform-specific features so when hardware refresh time came up and the options were [the] N7700 or [the] A9900. It seemed to be a no-brainer based on the capability in terms of both hardware and software and side-by-side cost comparison. Is a 9900 overkill for a standard IP core? Definitely, but we were looking to maintain a full table and not have to worry about FIB limitations.
  • Large FIB
  • NETCONF support
  • Configuration staging with commit
  • [The] upgrade process [is] overly complicated compared to NX-OS or IOS. New images and the current configuration need to be compiled into "golden IOS's". If you don't include the configuration, you will have a clean device with no configuration.
  • [There are] major bugs in every release. We have had to cycle through all of our routers 3 times in the last year for updates due to show-stopping bugs that did not come to light until after the changes were made in production.
  • [It has] terrible documentation. You have to mine their site to get to any documentation for recent versions of IOS-XR. If you make the leap from 32-bit cXR to 64-bit eXR, then the documentation is more or less non-existent. Due to the internal architecture of hardware itself, technical specs can change from software version to software version, so don't expect any sort of firm scalability numbers. You'll have to rely on your sales engineer for that.
Cisco 9000 Series [Aggregation Services Routers are] well suited anywhere that requires lots of room for FIB (e.g. holding multiple full tables in multiple VRFs for militancy). It is also well suited for carriers due to the feature set - they can do MPLS and they can do segment routing. They are less suited for shops that have always been Cisco shops that are looking to replace their IOS devices in the least difficult way and without having to learn new CLI. "IOS" may be in the name, but it is not at all the same.
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
The [Cisco] 9000 [Series Aggregation Services Routers are] being used as a 1 gig and 10 gig aggregation. It supports Layer 2 and Layer 3 as well as some complex MPLS applications that we require. It also does a great job with multicast routing.
  • [The] layer 3 multicast [is done well]. It handles the additional load of multicast without issues. Other platforms we have used have had over-subscription issues.
  • We've used several MPLS features such as pseudowire using bridge-domains as well as xconnects. Plenty of features to solve any design problem.
  • [The] IOS XR [is done well]. I just love operating in IOS XR. Solve so many problems that exist in IOS.
  • [There are] not enough 100 gig dense line cards.
I recommend it for any scenario that you need a lot of Layer 3 protocols, [such as] MP-BGP [and] MPLS. It also handles simple Layer 2 solutions. I would not recommend it for complex Layer 2 environments.
Jyrki Halonen | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
We use Cisco [9000 Series Aggregation Services] Routers within our DC as well as between different DCs. They are used as core routers for inside services and WAN routers on our MPLS and towards third-party WAN routers. We have installed those to multiple different production networks and most of the routers are used by multiple customers.
  • Performance - We have had no issues with the performance level.
  • Reliability - [We have had] no major incidents caused by our ASR routers.
  • Knowhow of Cisco IOS - [It is] easy to manage in a large organization [due to the] good level of IOS knowledge.
  • Price level
  • Licensing models
They are fitting nicely in a multi-tenant environment where we need to separate customer loads [securely]. In our environment, we use Cisco [9000 Series Aggregation Services Routers] in multiple locations for many purposes and have not found a non-suitable use case yet. In some small installations, we are also using some other routers, like in a lab or test environment.
January 13, 2019

Cisco Routing!

Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
We use Cisco Routers within our department for a service provider core network. Using primarily the Cisco 9000 Series Aggregation Services Routers, we are able to provide solutions for whatever our partner companies' needs are.
  • Expandability
  • Capabilities
  • Routing feature sets
  • None
Cisco Routers are well suited within the service provider space. They offer many different features and support a wide range of service provider technology.
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Our organization uses both ISR models and Cisco 9000 Series [Aggregation Services] Routers to manage traffic across endpoints. These allow our network to be configured with an active-passive failsafe (primary/secondary) to support our high performance and high availability needs across various components of our business-critical infrastructure. The [Cisco 9000] Series [Aggregation Services] Routers are also used in our global data centers.
  • [Cisco 9000] Series [Aggregation Services] Routers are exceptionally reliable when compared to other market options.
  • One strength of Cisco routers, in general, is their compatibility with any standard market tools from other vendors.
  • [It is] unmatched in terms of sheer performance.
  • [It] comfortably supports very strong throughput requirements.
  • Cost - If you want the best, you gotta pay the best. The [Cisco 9000 Series Aggregation Services Routers] models may not be the best option when taking budget into account.
  • Working with the command line interface can be a challenge [as] not everybody can use it.
  • Sometimes, escalation of support issues tends to be a tedious and slow process. One would expect better support service for the high licensing cost they charge.
Any large enterprise with large throughput requirements for their business-critical infrastructure should use the [Cisco 9000] Series [Aggregation Services] Routers without exception. The licensing cost might hit your pocket hard, but with the exceptional performance and reliability that the [Cisco 9000] Series [Aggregation Services Routers] offers, it is easily the best option available in the market. It is the "tried and tested" router. Don't think twice, just go for it!
June 15, 2018

Quality Products

Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
This was used primarily for internal routing [for] support of up to 500 users.
  • Comprehensive features, with the option to add on later if needed
  • Pretty easy to provision and get operational
  • Minimum configuration needed
  • None at this time
Cisco provides a wide range of products that can meet any project size (large or small).
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
We are using the [Cisco 9000 Series Aggregation Services] Routers to build our multi-state 10G ringed wide area network using our own fiber network.
  • The [Cisco 9000 Series Aggregation Services] Routers have been very reliable over the past 4 years.
  • [The] ability to run VRF and segment multiple networks on the same fiber.
  • When we implemented our Cisco UC system, we were not able to use the routers for voice gateways. We had to purchase ISR routers for this function.
The [Cisco 9000 Series Aggregation Services] Routers are well suited for our WAN speeds and optical network. However, not using them for the voice gateways did reduce their overall value.
Return to navigation