Replacement Option for End-of-Life Cisco 2900 Series Routers

Over the past few weeks I’ve been on several engineering calls where people are looking into alternatives to Cisco 2900 series appliances (including analog POTS) for Out-of-Band network Management.  Cisco announced on November 17, 2017 that the 2900 have been earmarked for upcoming End of Life and End of Support.  (click to see table for affected devices)

If you have 2900’s s in play today supporting your network OOB via PSTN access, what are the alternatives?  The analog PSTN line you’ve been using on the 2901 for Out-of-Band is soon to no longer be an option.

The Cisco replacement line for the 2900’s is the 4000 Series.  For some, you can likely utilize a 3G/4G cellular wireless modules card to create an Out-of-Band connection to your other network devices. One consideration of this solution is does this create a single point of failure in your network infrastructure?  What happens if you lose the router entirely (specifically off hours) and require secondary access?
As you analyze options for replacement products, one consideration may be a dedicated secure appliance for Out-of-Band Management.  The benefits of this type of arrangement may include:  physical/logical redundancy, multiple serial ports, remote power control, two-factor security, and organizational structure for your Out-of-Band network- including keystroke logging.

CDI has options for Out-of-Band Management that can allow you to enhance your network design by providing OOB via:  Ethernet, PTSN, and Cellular Wireless, all on the same 1u appliance footprint.

Please email sales@commdevices.com to answer any questions.