Cisco Routers Offer Security To Small Offices With Broadband Modems

Two new routers introduced by Cisco Systems this week target the SMB market and provide enhanced security for customers with broadband modems.

The products--Cisco's 806 Broadband Gateway router and its 1710 Security Access router--are part of SAFE, Cisco's blueprint for making networks secure.

"These are routers, but they provide security functions in the same chassis," says Steve Collen, Cisco's director of marketing for the VPN and security business unit. "Our approach is to use the Cisco SAFE blueprint and bury technologies within it."

The Cisco 806 is a new model in the 800 series that is designed for a small or remote office. It provides a firewall and can support a VPN. It also offers quality of service by giving precedence to certain types of traffic.

The router, which is currently available for $649, has one Ethernet WAN port and a four-port Ethernet hub for LAN connections. It is a platform that can connect DSL, cable, Ethernet or Long Reach Ethernet.

The 1710 Security Access router is a dual Ethernet design that lets larger businesses deploy security access devices across many remote sites, according to Cisco product manager John Huie. It is to be used with broadband DSL and cable modems and it features a VPN and a firewall. The device prioritizes Internet traffic. It has an Ethernet WAN port and one 10/100 Fast Ethernet port for a high-speed LAN connection. It also supports multiple virtual LANs. It will be shipped on Thursday and sells for $1,895.

John Frame, a systems engineer at Amerizon Telecom, a Cisco reseller in Boise, Idaho, has been beta testing the 1710 router.

"The fact that it is an Ethernet to Ethernet router is the major feature that makes it attractive," Frame says. "It allows us to take two types of connectivity--cable and DSL--and they terminate in an Ethernet port. Because of that, I need something that can sit behind that termination point and provide services on the back end."

Frame also says in tests the 1710 did not slow down the network, adding that he believes he can sell quite a few of the routers.

"I'm starting to see smaller businesses looking for other options beside just throwing in a frame-relay connection," Frame says. "As part of an entire offering, this is a great additional piece."

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