Cisco's New Routers Offer Security Features To Small Businesses

Cisco Systems has introduced two new routers for small and midsize businesses that offer security features previously available to larger customers. The move is part of the vendor's security architecture for protecting corporate voice and data networks.

The new products are the Cisco 806 Broadband Gateway Router, for small offices and telecommuters, and the Cisco 1710 Security Access Router, for small and medium-sized businesses and branch offices. Both are designed to work alongside customers' existing modems that connect smaller sites to corporate networks via broadband services such as digital subscriber line service and cable modem service, say Cisco executives. Both offer firewall and virtual private network capabilities and encryption, although the 1710 supports more users, is faster, and has more features than the 806.

The new routers "are inexpensive, they're high performance, and they have all the security requirements we need," says Adam Conway, product manager of VPN services at SmartPipes Inc., a software and IP-services company that has certified the routers for use with its VPN offerings.

Service providers such as WorldCom Inc. use SmartPipes' data center and software as components within their IP-based VPN services. SmartPipes will offer the Cisco routers as options to customers who use services such as WorldCom's IP VPN Customer Directed offering, Conway says.

The routers incorporate security features already found in Cisco products destined for larger customers, and so aren't breaking any new technological ground, says Joel Conover, an analyst at Current Analysis Inc. "The big news is that Cisco's decided to extend its firewall and VPN solutions down into the small and medium-sized business market," where the vendor's security products will probably be as well received as they have been by larger businesses, Conover says.

The 806 is available now and costs $649 in its base configuration, although the addition of firewall and VPN software takes the price up to $999. The 1710 will be available starting today and costs $1,895 for the device and software.