Cisco C891FW-K9 Full Product Description

1. Short Overview

Suffix Breakdown

• C891: Base enterprise fiber-capable ISR platform of Cisco 890 Series
• F: Fiber-capable hardware with dedicated SFP mini-GBIC fiber WAN slot
• W: Integrated dual-band 2.4GHz/5GHz 802.11n MIMO wireless access point radio
• -K9: Permanent Cisco cryptographic license bundle enabling AES-128/AES-192/AES-256, 3DES, DES, SHA-1/SHA-2, IKEv1/IKEv2 full encryption suite with hardware offload support

Core Differentiators

1. vs wired-only C891F-K9: C891F-K9 has no embedded Wi-Fi radio; C891FW-K9 adds integrated dual-band 802.11n wireless AP for on-site wired/wireless client convergence without separate external access points.
2. vs non-fiber C891-K9: Standard C891-K9 only offers copper FE/GE WAN ports, Fast Ethernet LAN and no PoE; C891FW-K9 adds SFP fiber slot, full Gigabit LAN switching, PoE and dual-band Wi-Fi.
3. vs DSL/leased-line 896VA / 897VA / 898EA series: Those models integrate built-in copper xDSL/G.SHDSL modems; C891FW-K9 focuses on fiber SFP + copper Ethernet dual WAN without DSL hardware.
4. vs lower-tier C881W-K9: C881W only has Fast Ethernet LAN, smaller memory and limited concurrent security tunnel capacity; C891FW-K9 delivers full Gigabit switching, PoE, fiber uplink, larger DRAM and complete enterprise routing stack (EIGRP/BGP).
5. vs industrial hardened C819HG series: C891FW-K9 is commercial indoor metal desktop chassis with standard temperature range, not certified for vehicle, railway or extreme outdoor industrial shock/vibration environments.

2. Hardware Interface & Performance Specifications

Dual Selectable Redundant WAN Interfaces (Automatic Failover Supported)

1. 1 × 10/100/1000BASE-T Gigabit Ethernet copper WAN port: Primary cable/metro-Ethernet broadband uplink, auto MDI/MDI-X speed & duplex negotiation
2. 1 × Hot-swappable SFP mini-GBIC fiber WAN slot: Supports GE SFP transceivers (SX/LX/ZX), independent redundant fiber transport path for high-bandwidth business connectivity

Tertiary Backup Modem Port

Integrated Dual-Band 802.11n WLAN Radio System

• Wireless standard: IEEE 802.11n MIMO dual-band (2.4 GHz + 5 GHz)
• Antennas: 3 internal high-gain antennas for 3×3 MIMO transmission
• Supported wireless security: WPA2-PSK, WPA, 802.1X enterprise authentication, wireless client isolation, multiple SSID broadcast
• Region locked domain: A (FCC North America), E (ETSI Europe) per full PID suffix C891FW-A-K9 / C891FW-E-K9

Gigabit Managed LAN Switch Interfaces (8 × 10/100/1000BASE-T)

• Ports 1–4: IEEE 802.3af PoE capable (requires optional 125W high-power AC supply to deliver 15.4W per port for IP cameras, VoIP phones and wireless APs)
• Ports 5–8: Standard non-PoE Gigabit Ethernet
• Switch feature set: 802.1Q VLAN tagging, port isolation, static MAC security, dedicated DMZ port assignment, broadcast storm control, SPAN port monitoring, LACP link aggregation, Smartport macros and per-port CoS traffic marking

Management & Auxiliary Ports

1. 1 × Combo RJ45 Console/AUX dual-purpose port: Local CLI configuration via rollover cable; secondary analog dial modem for extra out-of-band backup access
2. Dual USB 2.0 Type-A host ports: External flash storage for log archiving, offline configuration backup and EEM script automation extensions
3. Hardware reset button, Kensington security lock slot for physical anti-theft protection
4. Onboard real-time clock (RTC) for accurate timestamping of logs, security certificates and event triggers

Memory & Storage

• DRAM: 1 GB standard system memory to handle dozens of concurrent VPN tunnels, dual-stack routing, inline IPS inspection, PoE forwarding and simultaneous wireless client traffic
• Flash storage: 256 MB onboard flash; factory preloaded c890-universalk9-mz Advanced Security IOS image, minimum supported release 15.4(2)T

Front Panel LED Status Indicators

Physical & Power Parameters

• Form factor: All-metal compact desktop chassis, optional wall-mount bracket available
• Dimensions (H × W × D): 44 mm × 438 mm × 305 mm (1.75 × 17.25 × 12 inches) with rubber anti-slip feet
• Weight: ~1.3 kg (2.9 lbs) without power supply
• Two official power supply options
  1. 60W universal AC adapter (for non-PoE deployments, 12 VDC output)
  2. 125W high-power universal AC adapter (mandatory if PoE LAN ports are utilized)
• Typical maximum power consumption: 28 W under full GE + SFP + WLAN + all 8 Gigabit PoE ports active load
• Ingress protection: IP20, only suitable for dry indoor commercial office environments

Environmental Operating Specifications

• Operating temperature: 0°C ~ +40°C (32°F ~ 104°F); performance derates 1.5°C per 1000m altitude above 3000m
• Storage temperature: -20°C ~ +65°C (-4°F ~ 149°F)
• Relative humidity: 10%–95% RH non-condensing
• Maximum operating altitude: 3,000 m (10,000 ft)

3. Hardware Acceleration & Security Engine

• Dedicated onboard crypto co-processor to offload IPsec VPN encryption traffic and eliminate CPU bottlenecks under heavy concurrent site-to-site and remote access tunnel loads
• Permanent K9 crypto license unlocks complete enterprise encryption stack: DES, 3DES, AES-128/192/256, SHA-1/SHA-2 hash algorithms, IKEv1/IKEv2 static site-to-site tunnels, Easy VPN remote access and DMVPN hub-spoke dynamic tunnels
• Integrated unified wired/wireless security filters to isolate corporate LAN, PoE device subnet and guest wireless networks via independent VLAN segmentation

4. Cisco IOS Advanced Security Feature Suite

Dual-WAN Fiber + Copper Routing & Redundancy

• Cisco Express Forwarding (CEF), static routing, RIPv1/v2, OSPF, EIGRP, BGP full enterprise routing stack, complete IPv4/IPv6 dual-stack support
• Automatic policy-based dual-WAN failover logic between SFP fiber primary WAN and copper GE backup link
• V.92 analog modem tertiary backup activated upon simultaneous failure of both Ethernet/fiber uplinks
• Policy-based routing (PBR), multi-NAT pools, PAT overload for logical segmentation of PoE-powered wired endpoints and wireless clients
• DHCP server/relay/client, DNS proxy, dynamic DNS, Ethernet OAM and 802.3ah link monitoring for fiber/copper WAN health tracking

Unified Wired & Wireless Enterprise Security Suite

• Zone-Based Stateful Policy Firewall (ZBFW) for logical separation of internal corporate LAN, PoE camera subnet, guest wireless SSID and untrusted internet traffic
• Dynamic Multipoint VPN (DMVPN), Easy VPN Server & Client, IKEv2 IPsec encrypted tunnels for inter-branch corporate connectivity over fiber or copper transport
• Signature-based inline Intrusion Prevention System (IPS), Cisco ScanSafe cloud URL filtering, deep NBAR application control for HTTP, FTP, IM and mainstream business traffic
• AAA authentication via TACACS+ / RADIUS, 802.1X port authentication available on all 8 Gigabit LAN switch ports and wireless client connections
• Secure management only: SSHv2, HTTPS; plaintext Telnet disabled by factory default
• Granular access control lists (ACLs), static MAC address port lockdown on Gigabit switch ports and wireless MAC filtering

WLAN & PoE Bandwidth Optimization QoS

• WLAN dedicated functions: Multiple SSID broadcasting, wireless client isolation, adjustable transmit power, per-SSID bandwidth rate limiting
• Weighted Fair Queuing (WFQ), Class-Based WFQ (CBWFQ), Low Latency Queuing (LLQ) for voice, video surveillance, SCADA and POS payment real-time traffic prioritization
• NBAR deep application recognition to classify and prioritize business-critical high-bandwidth traffic over fiber uplinks
• RTP/TCP header compression, traffic shaping and policing to control metered broadband bandwidth consumption and avoid overage charges
• PoE QoS scheduling to guarantee stable power and bandwidth priority for critical IP camera and VoIP phone traffic

Remote Management & Automation

• Zero-Touch Provisioning (ZTP) for standardized mass enterprise branch and service provider CPE deployments
• Cisco IOS Embedded Event Manager (EEM) scriptable triggers for fiber link loss, copper WAN failure, wireless radio fault and PoE power fault automated alert responses
• SNMP v2c/v3, remote syslog logging, IP SLA end-to-end link performance monitoring, dedicated SFP fiber diagnostic MIB for optical transceiver telemetry
• Native compatibility with Cisco Configuration Professional (CCP) web GUI for simplified no-CLI deployment and daily monitoring of routing, security, PoE, fiber and wireless subsystems
• GOLD non-disruptive onboard diagnostics for continuous remote hardware health inspection of SFP fiber, copper Ethernet, PoE and WLAN radio interfaces

5. Typical Deployment Scenarios

1. Medium Retail Headquarters All-in-One Fiber Secure Gateway with Wi-Fi & PoE
   SFP fiber acts as primary high-speed uplink, copper GE serves as redundant backup; 8-port Gigabit LAN switch with 4 PoE ports powers POS payment terminals, office PCs, VoIP phones and multi-camera surveillance arrays. Dual-band Wi-Fi provides separate SSIDs for staff corporate access and public guest wireless, VLAN segmentation isolates sensitive payment systems from guest subnet and public internet threats. Persistent IPsec DMVPN tunnels securely transmit large retail transaction and video data back to retail corporate data centers, zone firewall + inline IPS jointly mitigate external network risks.
2. Mission-Critical Small Enterprise Satellite Office Unified Wired/Wireless Branch Router
   Dual fiber + copper WAN redundancy meets strict enterprise business continuity requirements, full Gigabit switching supports dozens of wired endpoints without external switches, PoE eliminates separate power injectors for IP cameras and VoIP handsets, integrated dual-band Wi-Fi serves mobile staff devices, EIGRP/BGP enables seamless integration into corporate core routing domains.
3. Service Provider Managed Fiber CPE for Medium Business Subscribers
   Uniform hardware platform allows ISPs to provision SFP fiber or copper Ethernet broadband services for enterprise clients, centralized ZTP mass deployment and remote SNMP monitoring for managed security, PoE and wireless networking service offerings.
4. Campus Small Remote Building PoE IoT & Surveillance Edge Router with Wireless
   Aggregates PoE-powered IP cameras, access control units and environmental monitoring sensors via FE LAN ports; SFP fiber uplink delivers high-throughput backhaul to campus core network, automatic copper GE failover ensures uninterrupted video and sensor data transmission during fiber outages, built-in Wi-Fi supports short-range wireless IoT sensors and campus visitor access.
5. High-Bandwidth Teleworker Small Office Secure VPN Gateway
   Deployed at remote employee residences with fiber coverage, SFP fiber provides high-speed primary transport, encrypted Easy VPN tunnels back to corporate headquarters, PoE ports power home office IP cameras and VoIP phones, dual-band Wi-Fi supplies wireless connectivity for laptops and mobile devices, stateful firewall protects all wired/wireless endpoints from internet malware and unauthorized access.

6. Standard Package Contents of C891FW-K9 SKU

Separately Sold Optional Accessories

• RJ45 rollover console cable for local CLI configuration
• SFP GE fiber transceivers (SX/LX/ZX) for fiber WAN uplink
• V.92 analog telephone line cord for modem backup
• 60W non-PoE AC power supply / 125W high-power PoE AC power supply
• USB flash storage drives for log archiving and offline configuration backup
• CAT5e/CAT6 Ethernet patch cords for LAN/copper GE WAN connections

Software Licensing Information

• The-K9suffix includes a permanent built-in cryptographic license; no additional purchase required for IPsec, AES encryption and secure management protocols
• All core routing, dual-WAN fiber+copper failover, xDSL line management, PoE power control, integrated WLAN AP, firewall, inline IPS, QoS, ZTP and Gigabit managed switch features are fully included in the base Advanced Security IOS image; no extra paid feature licenses required
• No cellular modem feature licenses applicable (cellular WWAN hardware is omitted from this wired+wireless hybrid SKU)

Short Commercial Catalog Summary for Quotation