To help service provider and enterprise edge networks simultaneously host an ever-increasing array of resource-intensive integrated data, voice and video business and consumer services, Cisco has introduced the Cisco ASR 1000 Series Aggregation Services Routers (ASR 1000 Series).

The ASR 100 Series features software virtualisation to enable "instant-on" provisioning and simultaneous use of a wide range of service functionality, including firewall, IP security virtual private networks (IPSec VPNs), deep-packet inspection (DPI) and Session Border Control (SBC). Such broad-ranging embedded capabilities eliminate the need to deploy multiple single-function appliances in addition to a router, offering savings in capital costs, operations expenses and reducing users' carbon footprints.

The Cisco ASR 1000 Series is driven by the new Cisco QuantumFlow Processor (QFP), the fully-integrated and programmable processing engine. In addition, The ASR 1000 Series features IOS XE software, a virtualised IOS implementation optimised for compact routers at the edge to deliver in-service software upgrades and software redundancy in a form factor much smaller than previously possible.

"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. "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."