Ready For Everything: 12 New IoT Products Launched By Cisco

Wave Of The Future

Cisco is diving deep into the Internet of Things by unveiling more than a dozen new IoT-focused products and a handful of services for channel partners.

The networking giant launched a new industrial switch, access point, two cameras and a total of seven new routers, all designed for rugged environments in manufacturing, transportation and other emerging IoT markets. Cisco also revealed an IoT Field Network Director Software and Fog Data Services for data analytics.

The products are part of the San Jose, Calif.-based company's new IoT framework seeking to accelerate IoT sales and growth in its channel community. Here is a look at 12 of the key products unveiled on Monday.

IE-5000 Industrial Switch

The new IE-5000 industrial switch brings connectivity to factory-level manufacturing and cities.

"We've built out a portfolio of purpose-built networking equipment for IoT," said Kip Compton, vice president and general manager, IoT Software and Systems Group, at Cisco in an interview with CRN. "The IE 5000 is an aggregation switch built for uses in industrial environments, but also utilities."

Other industrial switches currently in the Cisco portfolio include the IE-4000, IP67 and CGS-2000.

IW-3702 Industrial Access Point

The IW-3702 wireless 802.11ac access point is designed for demanding environments, specifically for connected mass transit systems and city Wi-Fi.

"It's got ruggedized capabilities, extended temperatures ranges," said Compton. "So you now are bringing the fastest possible Wi-Fi to all kinds of environments that previously didn't have connectivity."

IR 809 Field Router

The new IR 809 industrial router has Wi-Fi and 4G/LTE connectivity designed for transportation and IoT application deployments.

"It's taking the Cisco engineering and putting them in environments that were challenging before," said Kent MacDonald, vice president of converged infrastructure and network services at Long View Systems, a Calgary, Alberta-based solution provider and Cisco Gold partner. "The ruggedized packaging for the Cisco technology, we'll hopefully continue to see more than that."

IR 829 Field Router

Another new field networking industrial router is the IR 829, which also has Wi-Fi and 4G/LTE connectivity designed for transportation and IoT application deployments.

"Both the IR 829 and IR 809 support our computing capabilities and enable people to build connections in new environments," said Compton.

Cisco said there are a total of seven new different variations of the IR 809 and IR 829 routers available.

Fog Data Services For Data Analytics

Cisco's new Fog Data Services geared at data analytics allow operators to create policies that monitor and take actions on data flowing through the IoT environment. The services reside on the IOx platform so users can integrate custom policies with applications.

"Where our fog compute enables you to write applications that run at the edge, this is actually a processing capability that runs at the edge of the network in our networking equipment; it enables you to write rules," said Compton. "For example, for the temperature sensor you might write a rule that says, 'If the temperature ever goes above or below a certain value to take certain action' -- and that's very helpful because it reduces the bandwidth required, releases the load on the cloud and also improves reliability. Even if wireless connection is not available, actions can be taken. That's a great capability because people don't actually have to write software -- they can write rules and execute them at the edge."

360 5MP IP Camera

The new 360 5MP high-quality camera caters to versatile environments and can host applications. Camera applications include audio detection, sensor aggregation, audio message triggers, metadata generation, local video player and video summarization.

"Security is a critical element," said Compton. "We've taken the approach of IoT of combining cybernetwork security with physical security, and that's important because in IoT the deployments are not just in data centers, they're out in all different kinds of environments, often even in the public."

720p Mobile Dome IP Camera

Another high-quality camera made for versatile environments that can host applications is the new 720p Mobile Dome IP Camera, which is equipped with the same features as the 360 5MP.

"These new IP cameras have been specifically designed for IoT use cases," said Compton.

IoT Field Network Director Software

The IoT Field Network Director is a management software that allows operators to monitor and customize IoT network infrastructure for industrial scale.

"It provides management for a large number of devices, scaled to manage 10 million or more devices," said Compton.

Fog Director Platform

The new Fog Director allows for central management of multiple applications running at the edge. The platform gives administrators control of application settings and life cycle, for easier access and visibility into large-scale IoT deployments.

"It enables much easier management of applications running in that fog compute capability around the network, and actually provides basic application life-cycle management as well," said Compton.

IOx Middleware Services

The IOx Middleware Services is a platform that enables applications through APIs in order to take advantage of the information capabilities in the infrastructure for IoT, according to Compton.

MIG-2450 Mobile IP Gateway

The MIG-2450 is a gateway specifically designed for transportation solutions in environments such as buses, trains and planes.

5921 Embedded Services Router

The new 5921 ESR extends the reach of industrial networking into remote environments. The router is designed for extreme environments such as in military tanks, according to Cisco.

Ryan Kendrick, CTO at Klas Telecom, said in a release these types of routers allow his company to reach new markets in the defense industry.

"The Cisco IoT System allows us to reach new markets like transportation and further expand our offerings in the defense industry. Cisco embedded routers and switches are powered by Cisco IOS software ... all of which allow for software extensibility," said Kendrick. "The ubiquity and robustness of embedded Cisco technology is what led to the success of our Voyager product line within the Department of Defense."