Connecting and Protecting the Things that Matter Most:
Cisco Unveils New 5G Industrial Router Portfolio to Unite the IoT Edge
- Cisco’s new IoT router portfolio is the broadest on the
market, bringing reliable connectivity to any IoT edge use case to run
connected operations securely and at scale.
- The portfolio provides unprecedented modularity to
future-proof the network with a broad variety of access technologies
including Wi-Fi 6, 5G, 4G, Private LTE, FirstNet and Wi-SUN.
- Leading brands around the world including Landis+Gyr
share how they are working with Cisco to unite edge networks and scale IoT
deployments.
Cisco announced a new
portfolio of Catalyst industrial routers to extend the power
of the enterprise network to the edge with the flexibility, security and
scalability needed for IoT success. Featuring 5G capabilities today, the
portfolio enables organizations to run connected operations at scale with
choice of management tools suited for both IT and operations. The unified
architecture simplifies collaboration between IT and operations and streamlines
their deployments from the enterprise to the edge.
For most of our customers, the
opportunity to improve efficiencies, the customer experience, and business
results is achieved with data generated at the edge. Because the edge is all
the places where organizations serve their customers and create revenue. The
edge is diverse and is located anywhere and everywhere – from utility
substations and pipelines to roadways and the police cars and buses that run on
them. According to Gartner, 75% of data will be generated outside of the data
center in these edge environments.
This type of growth brings challenging new requirements.
Unite
your edge with Cisco Industrial Routers
Whether it’s connecting
point-of-sale kiosks or a remote piece of equipment, edge use cases have
different technology needs. Typically, organizations connect these environments
in isolation, resulting in a fragmented network architecture, increased security
vulnerabilities, and isolated data. As organizations accelerate digitization,
they need a way to simplify management and security across the network and edge
devices.
“Only Cisco offers a network from
the enterprise to the industrial edge, with an architecture that provides
visibility, automation, and security from campuses and branch offices
to substations, remote operating locations,
fleets, on-the-go connected assets, and beyond,” said Vikas Butaney,
VP/GM of Cisco IoT.
The new portfolio includes:
- Three new Catalyst 5G Industrial Routers to securely
connect mobile and fixed assets: These
new routers are based on Cisco IOS XE to extend the enterprise network and
SD-WAN to the edge. This unified architecture provides IT and operational
teams with consistent tools, eliminates training on new devices and
technologies, and improves security. The new Catalyst routers are modular
and also offer built-in edge compute to develop business apps and drive
decisions at the edge.
- New Cisco IoT Gateway Series for essential indoor or
outdoor connectivity at mass scale:
Packaged with Cisco’s cloud-based IoT Operations Dashboard, these cloud-simple
gateways are cost-effective and offer fast and simple set up; simply plug
it in and power it on to connect previously unconnected assets.
Unprecedented
modularity and scale to handle the 5G future and beyond
The need for data means
organizations will increase the number of devices connected and the
applications supported. As 5G, Wi-Fi 6, and new technologies proliferate, the
edge must be able to quickly adapt. The time is now to prepare the edge to
handle the future.
The new Catalyst routing portfolio
delivers the scale, flexibility and security to adapt as use cases evolve and
new applications are needed. It offers a broad choice of modules – including 5G
and LTE for public or private cellular networks, public safety applications
like FirstNet, DSL, Wi-SUN – and upgradeable storage. Plus, the portfolio
enables updating the CPU and battery in the field.
“Our customers need our hardware to
be in play for 7-10 years in their operational environments. This modularity
eliminates a rip and replace cycle to take advantage of 5G and whatever comes
next,” added Vikas. “Now they can easily take advantage of new technologies and
future-proof their networking investments.”
Built-in,
end-to-end security with visibility into operational environments
As industrial and enterprise
networks converge with more assets connected, the threat of exposure at the
edge increases. This ever-expanding attack surface presents complex cyber
security challenges.
The Catalyst industrial router
portfolio, based on Cisco’s industry-leading cybersecurity architecture,
delivers a holistic strategy to manage security across siloed IT and OT
environments. The portfolio integrates Cisco Cyber Vision to provide full visibility
from enterprise to the edge. Cyber Vision embeds a sensor within the industrial
network so security teams can detect threats to their industrial environments
with operational context, enabling organizations to build a truly converged
IT/operations threat management strategy – without the need for extra boxes and
vendors. Plus, the portfolio supports secure remote access for operations
and equipment monitoring/servicing.
Industry
response:
"Managing the complexity of the
industrial edge is challenging. Beyond multiple use cases — each of which has
different protocols, connectivity requirements, form factors and security. As a
result, there are often multiple vendors involved, creating siloed networks,
increased maintenance time and cyber security risks. Uniting this unruly edge
can be the gateway to real transformation. Approaches like Cisco's new
industrial routing portfolio potentially simplifies the management of this
complexity, securely and at scale." — Kevin Prouty, Group Vice
President for IDC Energy and Manufacturing Insights.
“As a core part of supporting
critical infrastructure, utilities require networking products that provide
long life, enable open standards to prevent vendor lock-in, and strengthen
end-to-end security with tight integration to their enterprise systems. By
unifying the routing capabilities across their portfolio with modularity,
support for the Wi-SUN standard, and a choice of public and private cellular
technologies, Cisco is bringing a reliable, scalable and future-proof platform
our utility customers demand.” — Tim Weidenbach, SVP of Technologies,
Landis+Gyr
Source: Cisco media announcement
