What is the Cisco ASR 1000 Series Aggregation Services Routers?

You may be strange to the Cisco ASR 1000 Series because these routers always work for a carrier or service provider or a very large enterprise. However, we must rely on these routers when connecting the WAN Internet.

What are the differences between Cisco ISR and ASR series routers?

Let’s read the simple comparison.

Cisco ASR series routers have more functions than ISR series, more expensive in the meantime.

Cisco ASR 1000 Models Comparison

Cisco ASR 1000 Series routers offers several models: Cisco ASR 1013 Router, Cisco ASR 1009-X Router, Cisco ASR 1006 Router, Cisco ASR 1006-X Router, Cisco ASR 1004 Router, Cisco ASR 1002-HX Router, Cisco ASR 1002-X Router, Cisco ASR 1001-HX Router and Cisco ASR 1001-X Router.

This comparison shows you the models.

Cisco ASR 1000 Components

We know that ASR 1000 series has three components: an embedded service processor (ESP) for data-plane traffic, a route processor (RP) for control-plane functions and line cards.

1. ESP

ESPs allow the activation of concurrent enhanced network services, such as cryptography, firewall, Network Address Translation (NAT), quality of service (QoS), NetFlow, and many others while maintaining line speeds.

There are two ESP models: ESP 100 and ESP 200.

The main engine of the ESP is the Cisco FP, the industry’s first programmable and application-aware network processor. The Cisco FP forms the overall hardware and software architecture of the ESP. It consolidates up to 256 customized packet-processor cores (900 MHz to 1.5 GHz) into a single processor. The parallel processing capability eliminates the need for additional service blades inside the router, because all processing is performed on the FP.

2. RP

The Cisco ASR 1000 Series Route Processors address the stringent route-processing requirements of carrier-grade IP and Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) packet network infrastructures. They are the central control processors that run the network operating system, provide advanced routing capabilities, and also monitor and manage the other components of the Cisco ASR 1000 Series Aggregation Services Router.

Cisco ASR 1000 Series RPs fall into two main categories:

Modular Cisco ASR 1000 Series Route Processors for modular chassis, including the ASR 1004, ASR 1006, ASR 1006-X, ASR 1009-X and ASR 1013 models. These are the Route Processor 1 (RP1; part number ASR1000-RP1) and the second-generation Cisco ASR 1000 Series Route Processor 2 (RP2; part number ASR1000-RP2).

Fixed or built-in Cisco ASR 1000 Series Route Processors for fixed chassis, including the ASR 1001, ASR 1001-X, ASR 1002, ASR 1002-F, and ASR 1002-X models. ASR 1002 and ASR 1002-F contain an embedded RP1 (part number ASR1000-RP1).

3. SPA & SIP

The Cisco ASR 1000 Series SIP provides the physical termination for the SPAs and accepts up to four half-height and two full-height Cisco SPAs. So, if we install the SPA, we must install the SIP adapters firstly. Besides, ASR 1000 Series Fixed Ethernet Line Cards (ASR1000-2T+20X1GE and ASR1000-6TGE) are fixed‑port Ethernet line cards for the Cisco ASR 1000 Series Aggregation Services Routers. It means that these two SPAs integrated with SIP and they don’t need the SIP adapters.

Cisco ASR 1000 Operating System - IOS XE

The ASR's operating system is IOS XE, a Linux-based variant of Cisco's IOS software. XE looks and feels similar to IOS on 7200 routers, but it's actually just another process running under Linux. Unlike earlier versions where a problem with one process could crash the whole system, this modular design should help contain faults.

On the downside, the IOS XE command-line interface doesn't leverage powerful Unix/Linux shell features. Pattern matching of command output is limited; there's no inline configuration editing; and IOS XE does not accept IPv4 addresses entered using classless inter-domain routing (CIDR) notation.

Summary

Cisco ASR 1000 Series Aggregation Services Routers offer high-end services, high-performance and high flexibility. If you are going to deploy the network of a large enterprise, you may consider ASR 1000 Series.

Reference

1. Cisco ASR 1000 Series Aggregation Services Routers Data Sheet
2. Cisco's ASR 1000 router built for 10-year tenure
3. Cisco ASR 1000 Series Embedded Services Processors Data Sheet
4. Cisco ASR 1000 Series Aggregation Services Routers Compare Models
5. Cisco ASR 1000 Series Route Processors Data Sheet