Cisco's 1841 Router

Cisco's 1841 router was created with the smaller branch office in mind. This router is a low-end device making the 1841 as one of the cheaper models manufactured by Cisco. The 1841 Cisco router has low failure rates and is enterprise class hardware. Typical of Cisco products, this router has openings for standard Cisco cards offering network interfaces and features while running on the IOS software. With such a comfort level in the IT community for Cisco products and its IOS, setup time and maintenance usually have a minimal learning curve compared to competing manufacturers. The 1841 router fits in rack mounts making it suitable for data closet installation. However, the 1841 has only a single power supply revealing its intended place in the field offices rather than central routing for a large company.
This particular model comes with these features:

• 2 10/100 Ethernet ports (copper - RJ45)
• 2 Wan Interface Card (WIC) slots for the ports of your choice
• 1 internal expansion slot
• Standard pair of console/auxiliary console ports
• 1 USB port for console access (local device management)
• 128 Meg RAM; only expandable to 384 Meg.
• 1U height

The 1841 routers come with three-speed fans controlled by a thermostat in the chassis. For noise abatement and extended life, fan speeds are variable depending on the cooling needs. The 1841 routers come with internal clocks, but are dependent on a non-replaceable battery. If the battery fails, this would require the chassis be sent back to the factory for repair - which should be covered under warrantee.

For VoIP implementations a separate appliance will be needed since the 1841 router capabilities do not include VoIP or voice even though it has 2 WICs. A single power supply is a drawback, but for most implementations this means no redundant power supply. For installations of 300 users or less, the Cisco 1841 meets the needs of a field office. It is overkill for a job of less than 20 nodes where a smaller router or a PIX firewall is recommended.

Whatever the router selection, Network Address Translation, a secondary Internet circuit to the headquarters and a reasonable amount of access control lists (ACLS) should be included in its capabilities.