Used Cisco Router – Which one do I need

Used Cisco Router – Which one do I need

One question people often struggle with is exactly what model of used Cisco router is needed for their situation. This article will cover some of the newer models of Cisco routers and their associated applications as well as a few older Cisco routers that make great candidates depending on your needs for a used Cisco router.

First and foremost I want to mention a few older Cisco routers, specifically the Cisco 2600 and Cisco 3600 series routers. These have for a long time been the work horse routers for branch office and small to medium size business applications. The Cisco 2600 is still a great router if your uplink is one to two T1s and your LAN is of the 10/100M variety. The Cisco 3600 will work good with a 10M uplink and a LAN also in the 10/100M range. The limitations on these routers is their CPU/Memory/Flash capacities. They also have problems handling the Gigabit Ethernet connections on the LAN side where their CPU cannot keep up.

So with the above said these routers have been end of lifed by Cisco and are no longer available through Cisco directly. That means that there are some really great deals to be had on the used Cisco router market for these puppies.

What are the updated Cisco router parts and where should I use them? I will be focusing on used Cisco routers for applications ranging from a small office to that of a small to medium sized business.

Used Cisco Router Applications

Home office or small branch office:

Newer: The Cisco 800 series routers are a good choice for a home/small office type of application. They fit the bill nicely for a single person or in a small office of up to 10 people. There are several different models to match up with whatever your application is from ISDN, DSL, and integrated wireless. These routers run Cisco IOS and are capable of features like firewall, VPN, VLAN, and QoS.

Remote office of 10 to 25 users:

Newer: For this sized application the Cisco 1800 series routers work as a better option. They also run the Cisco IOS and have the associated feature set depending on which IOS is used. They also include two expansion slots that can be used to install additional interface cards as needed.

Older: The older end of life alternative here would be the Cisco 1700. The thing to remember is that the more you are going to ask this router to do the more likely you want to go with the 1800 series. If you plan to use a lot of firewall, QoS, or IPSec features then the 1800 is probably a better choice. If you just need a router to forward packets and connect to the internet via a T1 type connection the 1700 series is fine.

Remote office of 26 to 50 users:

Newer: Here you want to be looking at the Cisco 2800 routers. The provide the same general functions of the 1800 series but they provide additional expansion slots as needed. They also have a network module slot that can be used for larger expansion cards. Cisco has some switch module cards that can be added that will allow your 2800 router to act as a 36 port switch with PoE, have DS3 interfaces, add VoIP modules, etc.

Older: The predecessor here is the Cisco 2600. It won’t offer nearly the performance of the 2800 series but once again if you are only need a lower speed internet connection and are ok with 10/100M speeds on the LAN side this is an option that is worth looking into.

Remote office 51 to 100 workers:

Newer: Following the pattern before the recommendation here is the 3800 series. They offer the same general functions as the 2800 with improved packet processing and additional expansion space.

Older: Cisco 3600 series was the predecessor and it was/is a great router. It won’t handle the Gigabit Ethernet interfaces on the LAN side but it is a very stable and capable router.

Conclusion:
Buying a used Cisco router requires some research and time to determine exactly what the right router for your application is. The older Cisco 1700, 2600, and 3600 routers have been around a long time and are nice stable routers; however, they do not offer some of the performance and features of the newer versions the 1800, 2800, and 3800. If you need high speed WAN/LAN and advanced features such as IPSec, QoS, VPN, and VoIP then it is probably in your best interest to check out the newer models. If you just need a router to provide internet/network connectivity and forward packets without the high speed WAN/LAN connections the older models should be considered. Used Cisco routers are the way to go for cost savings and reliabitlity.