The cost of the Cisco 2520 router is considerably higher than the 800 series, pursuant to its exceptional capabilities. Whereas the 800 series is more affordable, to the point that home LANs could afford then, the 2520 router runs from about $1275 (Amazia.com) to $2,601.05 (GY.com). As in the previous router, there is quite a disparity in price.

     The Cisco 4000-M router is the final router we'll be looking at. This router is meant for large, corporate networks. As such, the router offers numerous connection configurations, namely 3 2-port 10BaseT ethernet, 3 1-port token-ring, 3 2-port token ring, 1 1-port single attachment multimode FDDI, 1 1-port dual attachment multimode FDDI, 1 1-port dual attachment single-mode FDDI, 3 2-port serial, 3 4-port serial, 2 4-port ISDN BRI, 1 8-port ISDN BRI, 1 1-port channelized T1/ISDN PRI, 1 1-port channelized E1/ISDN PRI (unbalanced), 3 4-port serial R1/G.703 and E1/G.704 (unbalanced) and 3 4-port serial E1/G.703 and E1/G.704 (balanced). This incredible breadth of capability is available because it sports 3 expansion slots which can handle combinations of the above configurations. Obviously its capabalities far outweigh either the 800 series or even the 2500 series of routers. By using these 3 slots in various combinations, the Cisco 2520 router would be able to satisfy very large-scale routing needs.


     The features of the 4000-M router are as impressive as its connection options. Running Cisco IOS version 11.3, the router has the following software features: IP, IP Plus, IP Plus 40, IP Plus 56, Desktop (IP/IPX/AppleTalk/DEC), Desktop (IP/IPX/AppleTalk/DEC) Plus, Enterprise Plus, Enterprise Plus 40, Enterprise Plus 56, Enterprise/APPN Plus, Enterprise/APPN Plus 40 and Enterprise/APPN Plus 56. All of these features are enterprise-level routing protocols. For instance, APPN (Advanced Peer-to-Peer Networking) is a second-generation SNA that improves upon the original SNA and allows considerable more adaptability for SNA routing.


     To match the incredible capability of the 4000-M Cisco router, the price is equally incredible. A used 4000-M router has a list price of $6,700 (networkhardware.com), but is being resold at the same website for $450. Additionally, the individual modules are expensive as well. For instance, a 1-port ethernet NP module has a list price of $3,000, though the above website is reselling it for $350. In summary, the Cisco 4000-M is a very capable router, offering considerable flexibility and connectivity options. However, the price is not for the faint of heart.

     In conclusion, we have covered the gamut of routing solutions by covering the Cisco 806, 2520 and 4000-M routers. Between these three routers, Cisco offers everything from SOHO ethernet-ethernet routing to complex, corporate level network routing. Equally, we have also gone from a fairly affordable $500 for the 806 to nearly $6,700 for a base model 4000-M router. All of these routers, however, run Cisco IOS, which allows a great deal of configurability and network management. Though competing solutions are considerably less expensive than their Cisco counterparts, none of them offer the same features that Cisco extends.






This is a paper written for my Cisco 1 class. Please don't steal my work... it took several hours of hard work to put this thing together. If you copy this for whatever reason, I'll hunt you down and see how many 4000-M expansion modules I can fit in your various body orifices. Thank you for your time