Cisco 2611 Multiservice Modular Access Router Full Product Description

1. Short Overview

Naming & Variant Breakdown

• 2611: Dual-Fast-Ethernet modular router in the 2600 lineup
• -XM: Extended Memory upgraded model with expanded memory ceiling and higher mixed voice/data throughput

Core Differentiators vs Cisco 2610

1. Two fixed 10/100 Fast Ethernet LAN ports(2610 only has one FE port) for multi-VLAN internal segmentation
2. Identical modular expansion layout: 1 Network Module (NM) slot + 2 WIC slots
3. Same Motorola MPC860 CPU, cross-compatible NM/WIC hardware, and IOS feature support
4. Targeted for multi-subnet small/medium office deployments (2610 for single-LAN sites)

2. Hardware Interface & Physical Specifications

Modular Expansion Architecture (3 Total Modular Slots)

1. 1 × NM (Network Module) slot: Large-format slot for high-density WAN/voice modules, supporting:
   • T1/E1 PRI, dual-T1/E1 integrated DSU/CSU network modules
   • NM-HDV DSP voice modules for analog/digital VoIP trunk telephony and T.38 fax relay
   • ATM, Frame Relay, and 16-port analog modem terminal server modules
2. 2 × WIC (WAN Interface Card) slots: Interchangeable WICs fully backward compatible with Cisco 1600, 1700, 3600 Series routersCisco:
   • ISDN BRI, synchronous/asynchronous serial leased lines
   • ADSL, G.SHDSL copper broadband WICs (Annex A/M POTS and Annex B/J ISDN)
   • Dual-port serial, analog modem WICs for dial backup
3. Internal AIM (Advanced Integration Module) daughtercard slot: Optional AIM-VPN module for hardware-offloaded IPsec DES/3DES encryption to reduce CPU VPN overhead

Fixed Built-in Ports (Rear Panel)

1. 2 × 10/100BASE-TX autosensing Fast Ethernet LAN ports (RJ45)
   Auto-negotiates 10/100 Mbps full/half duplex; each port supports IEEE 802.1Q VLAN trunking and inter-VLAN routing to separate internal subnets (e.g., corporate LAN, guest Wi-Fi, payment POS networks)
2. RJ45 Console port (blue)– Local out-of-band CLI management, max 115.2 kbps baud rate
3. RJ45 AUX port (black)– Remote out-of-band management via external analog PSTN modem, up to 115.2 kbps asynchronous speed
4. Kensington security lock slot for physical rack anti-theft protection

Memory & Performance Benchmarks

• Processor: Motorola MPC860 40 MHz RISC core
• Base C2611 default DRAM: 32MB; max DRAM: 64MB
• C2611XM default DRAM: 64MB; max expandable DRAM: 128MB
• Default Flash memory: 16MB; maximum supported Flash: 16MB (base) / 48MB (XM variant)
• IP forwarding throughput: Up to 10,000 pps (base) / 13,000–14,000 pps (XM) under mixed voice/data loads
• Maximum concurrent IPsec site-to-site VPN tunnels: Up to 100 (scales with DRAM and AIM-VPN crypto module)
• Supported IOS releases: Cisco IOS 12.0, 12.1, 12.2 XM, 12.3 mainline / T trains (XM models support extended feature sets unavailable on base 2611)
• Voice capacity: Supports NM-HDV DSP modules for up to 30 concurrent VoIP calls (depends on DSP density)

Physical & Power Parameters

• Form factor: 1U standard 19-inch rack-mount metal chassis with integrated rack ears
• Power supply: Internal universal AC power supply (100–240V 50/60Hz input; no external DC wall adapter required)
• Front panel LEDs: System power, NM slot status, two WIC slot link/activity, dual Fast Ethernet link/activity, AIM crypto module health
• Operating environment: Dry indoor office/wiring closet use only; operating temperature range 0°C to +40°C, non-condensing relative humidity 10–85% RH
• No native PoE power output; all IP cameras, wireless APs, and PoE endpoints require external PoE injectors

3. Cisco IOS Software Multiservice Feature Suite

Core Routing & WAN Connectivity

• IPv4 core routing protocols: Static routes, RIP v1/v2, OSPF, EIGRP, BGP (IP Plus feature set)
• WAN encapsulations: PPP, HDLC, Frame Relay, ISDN, PPPoE (DSL deployments), Dial-on-Demand Routing (DDR) for redundant backup links
• HSRP for router failover redundancy; NHRP for DMVPN hub-spoke multi-site VPN architectures
• Network Address Translation (NAT): Static NAT, dynamic NAT, PAT overloading for multi-user Internet access
• IEEE 802.1Q VLAN trunking and inter-VLAN routing between the two onboard Fast Ethernet ports for multi-segment internal LANs

Multiservice Voice & Fax (Key Differentiator Over Data-Only Routers)

1. VoIP call control: H.323, SIP, MGCP, RSVP bandwidth reservation for voice QoS
2. Analog/digital telephony via NM-HDV + VIC voice cards: Connect PBX trunk lines, analog desk phones, and fax machines
3. T.38 real-time fax relay over IP, fax passthrough, store-and-forward fax
4. Voice compression codecs: G.711, G.729a, G.726 with hardware DSP acceleration to minimize WAN bandwidth consumption
5. Call routing, multi-site dial plans, voice hunt groups, and toll bypass to reduce long-distance PSTN telephony costs

Enterprise QoS & Bandwidth Management

• Base QoS: Weighted Fair Queuing (WFQ), traffic shaping
• Advanced QoS (IP Plus): Low Latency Queuing (LLQ), Frame Relay Traffic Shaping (FRTS), WRED, DiffServ DSCP marking, Link Fragmentation and Interleaving (LFI) to eliminate voice jitter over low-speed WAN links
• cRTP header compression to reduce VoIP packet overhead on DSL/ISDN circuits

Integrated Enterprise Security Suite

1. IOS Context-Based Access Control (CBAC) stateful firewall: Dynamic deep packet inspection, application-layer filtering for HTTP, FTP, SIP, H.323
2. Optional IOS signature-based IDS for real-time intrusion threat detection and mitigation
3. Full VPN stack:
   • AIM-VPN hardware-accelerated IPsec (DES / 3DES) site-to-site branch tunnels
   • L2TP, L2F remote worker user VPN
   • Cisco Easy VPN Remote: Centralized security policy pull from headquarters VPN headends to simplify remote branch provisioning
4. AAA security framework: PAP/CHAP, RADIUS, TACACS+ for user access audit and centralized control
5. Standard/extended ACLs for granular traffic filtering and access restriction

Management & Operations

• CLI command-line management via Console/AUX out-of-band ports
• SNMP v1/v2c for network monitoring, RMON traffic statistics collection
• Cisco ConfigMaker graphical configuration tool for simplified zero-touch deployment
• AutoInstall: Remote automated configuration download over WAN links
• Single Flash bank storage for IOS image hosting (no dual-bank backup)
• Syslog event logging, NTP time synchronization for consistent audit log timestamps

4. Typical Deployment Scenarios

1. Multi-subnet retail branch office: ADSL WIC primary broadband WAN, ISDN BRI WIC dial backup, NM-HDV voice module for store analog phones and fax machines, two Fast Ethernet ports to isolate POS payment terminals from employee PC LAN, IPsec site-to-site VPN to corporate HQ, integrated firewall for PCI compliance security
2. Regional SMB edge router: Dual T1 serial NM leased-line primary/secondary WANs, analog modem AUX-port out-of-band management, separate FE ports for finance and general office subnets, LLQ QoS prioritization for office VoIP telephony
3. Networking training lab core router: Flexible NM/WIC modularity for teaching serial, T1, DSL, ISDN WAN connectivity, dual-port inter-VLAN routing, IPsec VPN, and IOS security labs; cross-compatible with legacy 1700-series WIC training inventory
4. Mixed POTS/ISDN DSL carrier customer premise equipment: Universal dual-standard DSL WIC primary access, dual Fast Ethernet ports for multi-segment enterprise LAN, CBAC stateful firewall protection against external Internet threats

5. Standard Package Contents of C2611 / C2611XM

Separately Sold Optional Accessories

• WAN Interface Cards (WIC-1B-S/T, WIC-T1-DSU, WIC-ADSL, WIC-2SERIAL, etc.)
• Network Modules (NM-1T1, NM-HDV, NM-16AM analog modem terminal server, etc.)
• VIC voice interface cards for analog/digital telephony
• AIM-VPN hardware IPsec encryption accelerator module
• DRAM memory expansion SIMMs (32MB / 64MB)
• Flash memory upgrades (16MB base / 48MB XM)
• CAT5e/CAT6 Ethernet patch cords, RJ11 DSL/ISDN telephone line cables
• External PoE injectors for IP cameras and wireless access points

Software Licensing Information

Short Commercial Catalog Summary