CeBIT: Cisco launches $250 million router

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Cisco has announced the launch of its new high-end Aggregation Services Router (ASR) 1000, which cost $250 million (£125 million) over five-years to develop.

The router, aimed at service providers and large enterprises, was announced at CeBIT in Hannover this week. It will allow for simultaneous hosting of data, voice and video for business and consumer services, the company said.

The ASR 1000 will give providers a capacity boost through more efficient services, and give enterprises the ability to offer their employees anywhere, everywhere access to applications, Cisco said.

The ASR series features Cisco's QuantumFlow Processor and uses software virtualisation to allow for "instant-on" provisioning, as well as concurrent use of functions such as firewalls, IPSec VPNs, deep-packet inspection and Session Border Control, Cisco said.

"With respect to flexibility in the network, the Cisco ASR 1000 is unsurpassed, incorporating new technologies to support rapid business innovation, without having to rethink network platform decisions," said Pankaj Patel, senior vice president and general manager of the Cisco Service Provider Technology Group.

Embedding these functions saves the need for deploying multiple applications to handle each function, saving costs and energy, the company claimed.

"Any comparable configuration would not only cost much more, but require more rack space, consume more power, and require additional blades or network appliances in order to equal the capabilities that are already integrated into this compact, multi-purpose router," Patel said.

Indeed, Cisco cited analysis by Synergy Research, which showed that using the ASR 1000 can reduce energy usage by 17 tons of coal a year.

The ASR 1000 will be available in April in two, four and six rack unit sizes, starting at $35,000 (£17,600).

For more of IT PRO's coverage from CeBIT 2008, go here.

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