Cisco 2620 Multiservice Modular Access Router Full Product Description

1. Short Overview

Naming & Variant Breakdown

• 2620: Mid-performance single-Fast-Ethernet modular router in the 2600 family
• -XM: Extended Memory enhanced model with larger memory ceiling, higher throughput, and IOS 12.3T feature support
• -DC: 48V DC-powered variant for telecom rack and industrial cabinet deployments

Core Differentiators vs Cisco 2611

1. Faster Motorola MPC860T 50 MHz RISC processor (40 MHz on 2610/2611) for encryption, voice, and multi-VLAN workloads
2. Native support for ISL trunking alongside IEEE 802.1Q VLAN routing (limited or less performant on lower 2600 models)Cisco News...
3. Identical modular slot layout: 1 NM (Network Module) slot + 2 WIC (WAN Interface Card) slots
4. Single onboard Fast Ethernet port (2621 offers dual FE ports)
5. Higher baseline packet forwarding throughput for concurrent voice, firewall, and VPN traffic

2. Hardware Interface & Physical Specifications

Modular Expansion Architecture (3 Total Modular Slots)

1. 1 × NM (Network Module) slot: Large-format high-density slot supporting voice, WAN, and terminal server modules fully cross-compatible across Cisco 1600, 1700, 2600, 3600 Series:
   • T1/E1 PRI, dual-T1/E1 integrated DSU/CSU network modules
   • NM-HDV DSP voice modules for analog/digital VoIP trunking and T.38 fax relay
   • ATM, Frame Relay, and 16-port analog modem terminal server modules
2. 2 × WIC (WAN Interface Card) slots: Interchangeable low-density WAN cards for flexible backup and broadband access:
   • 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 and analog modem WICs for dial-on-demand backup links
3. Internal AIM (Advanced Integration Module) daughtercard slot: Accepts AIM-VPN, AIM-ATM, or AIM-COMPRESS modules to offload CPU-intensive IPsec encryption, ATM processing, or data compression without consuming external WAN/NM slotsCisco News....

Fixed Built-in Rear Panel Ports

1. 1 × 10/100BASE-TX autosensing Fast Ethernet LAN port (RJ45)
   Auto-negotiates 10/100 Mbps full/half duplex; supports both Cisco ISL and IEEE 802.1Q VLAN trunking and inter-VLAN routing for single-segment office LAN segmentationCisco News....
2. RJ45 Console port (blue)– Local out-of-band CLI management, maximum baud rate 115.2 kbps
3. RJ45 AUX port (black)– Remote out-of-band management via external PSTN analog modem, asynchronous speed up to 115.2 kbps
4. Kensington anti-theft lock slot for physical rack security

Memory & Performance Benchmarks

• Processor: Motorola MPC860T 50 MHz RISC core
• Base C2620 default DRAM: 24MB; maximum expandable DRAM: 64MB
• C2620XM default DRAM: 64MB; maximum expandable DRAM: 256MB
• Default Flash memory: 16MB (base) / 32MB (XM); maximum supported Flash: 16MB (base) / 48MB 3.3V SIMM Flash (XM)
• IP forwarding throughput: Up to 12,000 pps (base) / 16,000 pps (XM) under mixed voice/data/security 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 / 12.3T trains (XM models unlock extended voice/security features unavailable on base 2620)
• Voice capacity: Compatible with NM-HDV DSP modules for up to 30 concurrent VoIP calls (varies by DSP density)

Physical & Power Parameters

• Form factor: 1U standard 19-inch rack-mount metal chassis with integrated rack ears
• Standard power supply: Internal universal AC power supply (100–240V 50/60Hz input; no external DC wall adapter required)
• DC variant (C2620-DC): 48V DC terminal block input for telecom central office racks
• Typical power consumption: ~50W
• Front panel status LEDs: System power, NM slot activity, two WIC slot link/activity, Fast Ethernet link/activity, AIM module health
• Operating environment: Dry indoor wiring closet / office deployments only
  • Operating temperature: 0°C to +40°C below 1800m altitude; 0°C to +25°C above 1800m up to 3000m
  • Relative humidity: 10–85% RH non-condensing
• Dimensions (H × W × D): 4.3 × 44.5 × 30 cm (1.69 × 17.5 × 11.8 inches)
• Weight: ~4.02 kg (8.85 lbs) minimum, 4.66 kg (10.27 lbs) fully loaded
• No native chassis PoE output; IP cameras and wireless APs require external PoE injectors.

3. Cisco IOS Multiservice Feature Suite

Core Routing & Multi-WAN Connectivity

• Full IPv4 routing stack: Static routes, RIP v1/v2, OSPF, EIGRP, BGP (IP Plus feature set)
• WAN encapsulations: PPP, HDLC, Frame Relay, ATM, ISDN, PPPoE for DSL, Dial-on-Demand Routing (DDR) for redundant backup links
• HSRP for router failover redundancy; NHRP for DMVPN hub-spoke multi-site overlay VPN architectures
• NAT services: Static NAT, dynamic NAT, PAT overloading for multi-user Internet access
• Dual VLAN trunking standards support: ISL and IEEE 802.1Q for inter-VLAN routing across the onboard Fast Ethernet port and downstream switchesCisco News....

Multiservice Voice & Fax Integration

1. VoIP call control protocols: H.323, SIP, MGCP, RSVP bandwidth reservation for voice QoS
2. Analog/digital telephony via NM-HDV DSP + VIC voice cards: FXS station ports, FXO PSTN trunk ports, E&M PBX tie-line support
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 reduce WAN bandwidth consumption
5. Multi-site dial plans, voice hunt groups, toll bypass to eliminate costly long-distance PSTN charges.

Enterprise QoS & Bandwidth Management

• Base QoS tools: Weighted Fair Queuing (WFQ), traffic shaping
• Advanced QoS (IP Plus image): Low Latency Queuing (LLQ), Frame Relay Traffic Shaping (FRTS), WRED, DSCP/802.1p marking, Link Fragmentation and Interleaving (LFI) to eliminate voice jitter over low-speed WAN links
• cRTP VoIP header compression to cut packet overhead on DSL and ISDN backup circuits.

Integrated Self-Defending Network Security

1. IOS Context-Based Access Control (CBAC) stateful firewall: Dynamic deep packet inspection for HTTP, FTP, SIP, H.323, and other business applications
2. Optional IOS signature-based IDS for inline intrusion detection and real-time threat mitigation
3. Hardware-accelerated VPN suite (with AIM-VPN module):
   • DES/3DES IPsec site-to-site branch tunnels
   • Cisco Easy VPN Remote for centralized security policy deployment to remote branch locations
   • L2TP/L2F remote worker user VPNs
4. AAA security framework: PAP/CHAP authentication, RADIUS/TACACS+ centralized access control and audit logging
5. Standard/extended ACLs, dynamic ACLs, anti-DDoS policing, and traffic segmentation to isolate sensitive subnets (e.g., POS payment VLANs).

Management & Operations

• Dual out-of-band management: RJ45 serial Console and AUX modem port
• Secure remote access: SSHv2, HTTPS, SNMP v1/v2c network monitoring with RMON traffic statistics
• Graphical configuration tool: Cisco ConfigMaker for simplified zero-touch deployment
• AutoInstall automated remote configuration download over WAN links
• Single Flash bank storage for IOS image hosting (no dual-bank redundant boot)
• Syslog event logging, NTP time synchronization for consistent audit log timestamps.

4. Typical Deployment Scenarios

1. Single-segment medium retail flagship branch: ADSL WIC primary broadband WAN, ISDN BRI WIC dial backup, NM-HDV voice module for multi-line store analog phones and fax machines, single Fast Ethernet LAN for POS terminals and employee PCs, IPsec site-to-site VPN to corporate headquarters, integrated CBAC firewall for PCI DSS compliance.
2. Regional SMB edge router: T1 NM leased-line primary WAN, analog modem AUX-port remote out-of-band management, ISL trunking to downstream office switches for multi-VLAN segmentation, LLQ QoS prioritization for business VoIP and video conferencing.
3. Networking training lab core router: Flexible NM/WIC modularity to teach serial, T1, DSL, ISDN WAN connectivity, dual-standard ISL/802.1Q VLAN trunking, IPsec VPN, and IOS security labs; cross-compatible with legacy 1600/1700-series WIC training inventory.
4. Global mixed POTS/ISDN DSL carrier managed business CPE: Universal dual-standard DSL WIC copper access, single Fast Ethernet port for enterprise internal LAN, integrated firewall and IDS for customer threat protection, DMVPN overlay to carrier central service hub.

5. Standard Package Contents of C2620 / C2620XM / C2620-DC

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 trunking
• AIM daughtercards: AIM-VPN encryption, AIM-ATM, AIM-COMPRESS data compression modules
• DRAM memory expansion SIMMs (24MB / 64MB / 256MB for XM variants)
• 3.3V SIMM Flash memory upgrades (16MB base / 32MB / 48MB XM)
• CAT5e/CAT6 Gigabit Ethernet patch cords, RJ11 DSL/ISDN telephone line cables
• External PoE injectors for IP cameras and wireless access points
• External redundant power supply units (RPS-compatible variants)

Software Licensing Information

Short Commercial Catalog Summary