Which router to choose?

yayasolenet · ‎03-07-2010

We are looking for a router that support 3 internet connections. All of them are Fastethernet Connections.

I am looking at this part number

2811 w/ AC PWR;2FE;4HWICs;2PVDMs;1NME;2AIMS;IP BASE;64F/256D

What does 4HWIC mean? Does it mean slots only? So I have to purchase 3 1-port Ethernet WICs? Also IP Base does not support VPN, does it?

How about 1841? It only has 2 HWICs. Can I add 1 2-port ethernet WIC and 1 1-port ethernet WIC to support 3 internet connections?

Thanks.

Leo Laohoo · ‎03-07-2010

HWIC stands for High speed Wan Interface Card. Yes, "4HWIC" means the router has 4 HWIC vacant slots available for use. To be able to use three ADSL you need HWIC-1ADSL. Please be aware that you need a minimum of IOS version 12.4(4)T.

1841 doesn't come with HWIC-1ADSL. You are confusing the HWIC-1ADSL cards with on-board Ethernet ports.

ADSL2 and ADSL2 High-Speed WAN Interface Cards
http://www.cisco.com/en/US/prod/collateral/routers/ps5855/product_data_sheet0900aecd80394b7e_ps5853_Products_Data_Sheet.html

Neeraj Arora · ‎03-08-2010

On 2811 or 1841, you will have 2 on-board fast ethernet ports and as per your requirement, you would be supporting 3 internet connections.

So I guess you would require in total of 4 Fast ethernet ports: 3 for ISP connections and 1 for inside LAN segment

You can use HWIC-2FE module on one of the slots to gain 2 layer three FE ports. this can be used on either of the routers 2811 or 1841. Decide which one you wanna go for based on Performance, throughput and Cost.

You can refer to the following document for more details about HWIC-2FE:

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/prod/collateral/routers/ps5854/product_data_sheet0900aecd80581fe6_ps5853_Products_Data_Sheet.html

Hope it helps.

Neeraj

paolo bevilacqua · ‎03-09-2010

Get an ISR G2. These are have now three ethernet ports.

yayasolenet · ‎03-09-2010

What's the difference between 1941 and 1841?

Neeraj Arora · ‎03-09-2010

Well first and foremost, PERFORMANCE. ISR-G2's are really 2nd Generation devices and way ahead of ISR's in terms of performance. For detailed comparison, you might wanna look at the datasheets of these routers.

Using the following links for the Model Comparisons:

- ISR G2Series Comparison

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/ps10538/prod_series_comparison.html

- 1800Models Comparison

http://www.ciscosystems.com/en/US/products/ps5853/prod_models_comparison.html

paolo bevilacqua · ‎03-10-2010

Compare the repective data sheets to learn.