The Cisco® 880G Series Integrated Services Router with the third-generation (3G) wireless WAN (WWAN) option provides secure high-speed wireless WAN connectivity to small businesses, enterprise small branch offices, and teleworker sites (Figure 1). Transparently integrated into the enterprise-class feature set available on the Cisco 880 Series, 3G wireless connectivity allows rapid installation, deployment flexibility, and resilient WAN backup.
Product Overview
Cisco 880 Series Integrated Services Routers are the next generation of fixed-configuration routers that provide collaborative business solutions for secure data communication to small businesses and enterprise teleworkers. The 3G wireless option available on these routers offers a cost-effective, rapidly deployable, reliable, and secure backup solution. With data rates approaching T1 speeds, 3G wireless can be used for primary WAN connectivity in locations where wireline services such as DSL and ISDN are not available or are too expensive to deploy.
The Cisco 880G Series Integrated Services Routers support the latest 3G standards (High-Speed Packet Access [HSPA] and EVDO Rev A) and are backward-compatible with Universal Mobile Telecommunications Service (UMTS), Enhanced Data Rates for Global Evolution (EDGE), General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), and EVDO Rev0/1xRTT. The Cisco 880G Series has two variants (refer to Table 1 for part numbers):
• Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) and UMTS models are based on Third-Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), and they support HSPA, UMTS, EDGE, and GPRS.
• Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) models are based on 3GPP2, and they support EVDO RevA/Rev0 and 1xRTT.
In addition to 3G wireless WAN, the Cisco 880G Series offers additional WAN options such as xDSL and Fast Ethernet WAN interface, a 4-port 10/100 Fast Ethernet managed switch with VLAN support and the latest 802.11n WLAN capability. The Cisco 880 Series provides the performance required for concurrent services, including firewall, intrusion prevention, content filtering, and encryption for VPNs; and quality-of-service (QoS) features for optimizing voice and video applications. In addition, Cisco Configuration Professional is a web-based configuration tool that simplifies setup and deployment. Centralized management capabilities give network managers visibility and control of the network configurations at the remote site.
Businesses are looking for ways to reduce costs, increase revenue, and improve business continuity. Third-generation wireless connectivity allows a small enterprise branch office or remote office to set up in a matter of hours, without worrying about availability of broadband services and the need for laying down the lines. Wireless carriers offer flexible, usage-based data plans that can be catered to meet the needs and price points of the business customer. As a WAN backup alternative, 3G wireless offers greater WAN diversity and resiliency because it is independent of the local terrestrial infrastructure. It enables businesses to stay productive during service provider downtime or a network failure.
With enhanced data rates and improved latency (below 100 milliseconds), WWAN services are an ideal way to supplement traditional wireline services. Third-generation WWAN data services offered today have average data rates well in excess of ISDN speeds, with theoretical limits in excess of 7 Mbps on the downlink and 2 Mbps on the uplink. Cisco is building on these performance milestones and adding support for wireless broadband to our wide variety of access routers.
Figure 1. Cisco 880G Series 3G Wireless Integrated Services Routers