Cisco Systems is adding VPN capability to its service provider edge router, the Cisco 10000.
The IP Security (IPSec) VPN Service Module is a new hardware blade for the Cisco 10000 chassis that can support network-based VPN services. This new capability means the Cisco 10000 can support IPSec VPN services, as well as VPNs based on Multi-protocol Label Switching (MPLS) virtual paths. The 10000 already supports MPLS.
The new hardware performs Triple-DES encryption at 250M bit/sec and maintains 25,000 simultaneous IPSec tunnels. The blade is essentially a Cisco VPN 5000 Series Concentrator on a card, according to Alan Cohen, senior director of marketing for Cisco's Service Provider line of business. The VPN 5000 concentrators sit at the edge of a service provider network and allow for both remote access and site-to-site VPN access.
Carriers will be able to more tightly integrate VPN services with quality of service controls now that both IPSec and MPLS capabilities can be incorporated in the same chassis, says Kent Dallas, executive vice president of technology for Intellispan, which offers VPN services based on the Cisco VPN 5000. The VPN Service Module would also enable Intellispan to place VPN gear closer to customers, something customers seem to like, he says.
The module will also help disperse VPN entry points into the Intellispan network, better protecting it and Intellispan's customers from denial-of-service attacks, Dallas says.
Cisco claims that a single 10000 takes up one-twentieth the rack space and one-tenth the power of multiple Cisco 7500 routers for the same traffic aggregation requirements.
The new VPN Service Module costs US$49,000 and is available next month.
