Product names: CISCO1921/K9, CISCO1921-SEC/K9
Cisco® 1900 Series Integrated Services Routers build on 25 years of Cisco innovation and product leadership. The new platforms are architected to enable the next phase of branch-office evolution, providing rich-media collaboration to the branch office while maximizing operational cost savings. The Cisco Integrated Services Routers Generation 2 (ISR G2) platforms are future-enabled with multicore CPUs, Gigabit Ethernet switching with enhanced Power over Ethernet (PoE), and new energy monitoring and control capabilities that enhance overall system performance. Additionally, a new Cisco IOS® Software Universal image enables you to decouple the deployment of hardware and software, providing a stable technology foundation that can quickly adapt to evolving network requirements. Overall, the Cisco 1900 Series offers exceptional total cost of ownership (TCO) savings and network agility through the intelligent integration of market-leading security, unified communications, wireless, and application services.
Product Overview
The Cisco 1921 builds on the best-in-class offering of the Cisco 1841 Integrated Services Routers. All Cisco 1900 Series Integrated Services Routers offer embedded hardware encryption acceleration, optional firewall, intrusion prevention, and advanced security services. In addition, the platforms support the industry's widest range of wired and wireless connectivity options such as Serial, T1/E1, xDSL, Gigabit Ethernet, and third-generation (3G) wireless (Figure 1)
Figure 1. Cisco 1921 Integrated Services Router
Key Business Benefits
Cisco ISR G2 routers provide superior services integration and agility. Designed for scalability, the modular architecture of these platforms enables you to grow and adapt with your business needs. Table 1 lists the business benefits of the Cisco 1900.
Table 1. Key features and benefits of the Cisco 1921 Integrated Services Router
| Benefits | Description |
| Service integration | • The Cisco 1921 offers increased levels of services integration with data, security, wireless, and mobility services, enabling greater efficiencies and cost savings. |
| Services on demand | • A single Cisco IOS Software Universal image is installed on each ISR G2. The Universal image contains all of the Cisco IOS Software technology sets that can be activated with a software license allowing your business to quickly deploy advanced features without downloading a new Cisco IOSSoftware image. Additionally, larger default memory is included to support the new capabilities. |
| High performance with integrated services | • The Cisco 1900 Series enables deployment in high-speed WAN environments with concurrent services enabled up to 15 Mbps. |
| Network agility | • Designed to address customer business requirements, the Cisco 1921 with the modular architecture offers a performance range of modular interfaces and services as your network needs grow. • Modular interfaces offer increased bandwidth, a diversity of connection options, and network resiliency. |
| Energy efficiency | • The Cisco 1921 architecture provides energy-savings features that include the following: • The Cisco 1900 Series offers intelligent power management and allows you to control power to the modules based on the time of day. Cisco EnergyWise technology will be supported in the future. • Services integration and modularity on a single platform performing multiple functions optimizes raw-materials consumption and energy usage. • Platform flexibility and ongoing development of both hardware and software capabilities lead to a longer product lifecycle, lowering all aspects of the TCO, including materials and energy use. • High-efficiency power supplies are provided with each platform. |
| Investment protection | • The Cisco 1921 maximizes investment protection by supporting: • Reuse of a broad array of existing modules supported on the original integrated services routers (ISRs) provides a lower TCO. • A rich set of Cisco IOS Software features is carried forward from the original ISRs and delivered in the universal image. • This router gives you the flexibility to grow as your business needs evolve. |
Architecture and Modularity
The Cisco 1921 is architected to meet the application demands of today's branch offices with design flexibility for future applications. The modular architecture is designed to support expanding customer requirements, increased bandwidth, and fully integrated power distribution to modules supporting 802.3af PoE and Cisco Enhanced PoE (ePoE). Table 2 lists the architectural features and benefits of the Cisco 1921.
Table 2. Architectural Features and Benefits
| Architectural Feature | Benefits |
| Modular platform | • The Cisco 1921 ISRs are highly modular platforms with multiple module slots to provide connectivity and services for varied branch-office network requirements. • The ISRs offer an industry-leading breadth of LAN and WAN connectivity options through modules to accommodate field upgrades to future technologies without requiring replacement of the platform. |
| Processors | • The Cisco 1921 is powered by high-performance multicore processors that support growing demands of branch-office networks by supporting high-throughput WAN requirements. |
| Embedded IP Security/Secure Sockets Layer (IPsec/SSL) VPN hardware acceleration | • Embedded hardware encryption acceleration is enhanced to provide higher scalability, which, combined with an optional Cisco IOS Security license, enables WAN link security and VPN services (Both IPSec and SSL acceleration). • The onboard encryption hardware out-performs the advanced integration modules of previous generations. |
| Integrated Gigabit Ethernet ports | • All onboard LAN/WAN ports are 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet routed ports. |
| Innovative universal-serial-bus (USB)-based console access | • A new, innovative, mini-Type B USB console port supports management connectivity when traditional serial ports are not available. • The traditional console and auxiliary ports are also available. You can use either the USB-based console or the RJ-45-based console port to configure the router. |
| Optional external power supply for distribution of PoE | • An optional upgrade to the power supply provides inline power (802.3af-compliant PoE and Cisco Standard Inline Power to optional integrated switch modules. |
Modularity Features and Benefits
The Cisco 1921 provides significantly enhanced modular capabilities (refer to Table 3) that offer you investment protection. Most of the modules available on previous generations of Cisco routers, such as the Cisco 1841 ISR, are supported on the Cisco 1921. Additionally, you can easily interchange modules used on the Cisco 1921 with other Cisco routers to provide maximum investment protection. Taking advantage of common interface cards across a network greatly reduces the complexity of managing inventory requirements, implementing large network rollouts, and maintaining configurations across a variety of branch-office sizes.
A complete list of supported modules is available at http://www.cisco.com/go/1921.
Table 3. Modularity Features and Benefits
| Feature | Benefits |
| Cisco Enhanced High-Speed WAN Interface Card (EHWIC) 
| • The EHWIC slot replaces the high-speed WAN interface card (HWIC) slot and can natively support HWICs, WAN interface cards (WICs), and voice/WAN interface cards (VWICs). • Two integrated EHWIC slots are available on the Cisco 1921 for flexible configurations for support of two modules: One doublewide HWIC-D or two singlewide EHWIC/HWIC modules are supported. • Each EHWIC slot offers high-data-throughput capability. |
| USB 2.0 ports | • One high-speed USB 2.0 port is supported. The USB port enables another mechanism for secure-token capabilities and storage. |
