CiscoPro 750 Family


Introduction

Today more than half of all small business employees are information workers. Lawyers, writers, consultants, and engineers are all examples of people who work with information as a fundamental part of their job. While having the most up-to-date information is critical for these people, the costs associated with accessing that information must also be managed. As information-based businesses become increasingly diversified and competitive, the demand for cost-effective high-speed access to rich information resources will continue to increase.

Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) provides information workers with the power to access the resources they need quickly and inexpensively. ISDN is here today, and it provides the enabling technology for new network applications such as telecommuting, electronic commerce, and high-speed access to on-line services and the Internet. Because ISDN is a digital service, information can be transmitted up to ten times faster than is possible using standard analog modems. And because ISDN uses the same copper wiring as the existing telephone network, most buildings and residences are ISDN-ready today.

ISDN gives information workers the power they need to share resources and exchange data, regardless of their physical location. As businesses strive to improve productivity, control real estate and travel expenses, and facilitate effective communication, high-speed access to information will be essential to remain competitive.


CiscoPro Solutions---Access That Works

CiscoPro(TM) products from Cisco Systems offer comprehensive ISDN access solutions for growing businesses and individual users. All CiscoPro products combine the benefits of Cisco's industry-leading networking technology with the convenience of tailored solutions. CiscoPro delivers an outstanding value in products that are easy to install, use, and manage. With a 50% share of the LAN-to-LAN access router market, Cisco has the technology and experience necessary to provide your business with world-class solutions to your networking needs.

For example, CiscoPro products can help you control the overall cost of ownership of your ISDN network. Wide-area network (WAN) charges represent the most costly component of most network installations, followed closely by the cost of providing support for mission-critical network services. While CiscoPro products offer the industry's most advanced features for optimizing the use of expensive WAN bandwidth, these products have also been designed to be easy to install and manage. Access That Works means that you can stay focused on your business, not your network.


The CiscoPro 750 Family

The CiscoPro 750 family of access routers gives you everything you need to take advantage of the power of ISDN. The CiscoPro 750 family provides an affordable ISDN access solution that is complementary to the CiscoPro 1000 family. While the CiscoPro 1000 family is ideal for connecting small branch offices to a central site, the CiscoPro 750 family is tailored for telecommuters, small professional offices, and home offices. By providing full routing support for IP and IPX protocols, the CiscoPro 750 family allows maximum flexibility for companies with small networks that wish to start with a simple bridged topology of Cisco 750 family products and implement IP and IPX routing over time.

The CiscoPro 750 family also features an optional analog telephone interface that allows devices such as standard telephones, fax machines, and modems to share the ISDN BRI line, eliminating the need for multiple telephone lines or expensive ISDN telephones. A built-in Network Termination 1 (NT1) device is also available for customers who demand an all-in-one solution for ISDN access. To simplify the process of using CiscoPro 750 family routers, each model includes the Cisco ConnectPro software, a Microsoft Windows-based application that makes CiscoPro 750 family routers easy to install, configure, and manage.


CiscoPro 750 Family Models

Table 1. The Three Models in the Cisco Pro 750 Family

Model CPA0751 CPA0752 CPA0753
Description Multiprotocol ISDN Access Router Multiprotocol ISDN Access Router Multiprotocol ISDN Access Router
Ethernet 10BaseT, 10Base2 10BaseT, 10Base2 10BaseT, 10Base2
NT1 No Yes Yes
Analog Telephone Interface No No Yes

The CiscoPro 751 multiprotocol ISDN access router is a low-cost solution for telecommuters, small offices, or home offices with Ethernet LANs. The CiscoPro 751 is the product of choice for international users or users who prefer to use an external NT1 device for connecting to the ISDN network.

The CiscoPro 752 includes a built-in NT1 device to provide an all-in-one solution for ISDN users in North America. The CiscoPro 752 also provides an external ISDN BRI S/T port to support additional ISDN devices such as digital telephones or video codecs.

The CiscoPro 753 includes both a built-in NT1 and an analog telephone interface. Using Cisco's call priority feature, the CiscoPro 753 can be configured to drop one ISDN B channel to accept an inbound call if both channels are being used for data. Users can enter the initial configuration for the CiscoPro 753 by using a standard touch-tone telephone.


CiscoPro 750 Family Features at a Glance

The CiscoPro 750 family offers the following features:


CiscoPro 750 Family Software Features

The CiscoPro 750 family offers a comprehensive set of software features tailored specifically for the needs of the telecommuter or small office user. All CiscoPro 750 models feature both IP and IPX routing and transparent bridging, as well as advanced features normally found only in more expensive internetworking products. In addition, the CiscoPro 750 family is interoperable with Cisco Internetwork Operating System (Cisco IOS(TM))-based routers such as the CPA4500 using Multilink PPP in IP or IPX routing environments.

The standard version of the CiscoPro 750 family supports up to four Ethernet devices on the LAN side of the router. The Remote Office (RO) version is available for users who require support for more than four LAN devices.

Table 2. CiscoPro 750 Family Software Features

Category Feature
LAN IP routing, IPX routing, transparent bridging
WAN ISDN BRI, PPP, Dial-on-Demand Routing, Bandwidth-on-Demand, Multilink PPP, 4:1 compression
PPP Support for LCP, BCP, IPCP, and IPXCP protocols
IP Routing RIP, static routes, Demand RIP (RFC 1582)
IPX routing Novell RIP
Management SNMP, telnet, console port, TFTP for software upgrades
Security PAP, CHAP, access lists, local password, PPP dialback


CiscoPro Solutions


Telecommuting

The CiscoPro 750 family gives employees who work from their homes transparent access to network servers and other resources on their companies' office LANs. IP and IPX routing support the most common LAN protocols found on today's networks, while transparent bridging provides a solution for other network environments. Combinet Connection Manager provides security, call management, device configuration, and accounting functions when used with the Combinet 900 or CiscoPro 750 family products at the central site, and CiscoVision provides a standards-based SNMP network management and monitoring solution.

Table 3. CiscoPro 750 Family Telecommuting Features and Benefits

Feature Description Benefit
Optional analog telephone interface Allows a standard analog telephone, fax machine, or modem to share the ISDN line Controls recurring costs by eliminating the need for a separate analog line
Optional built-in NT1 Eliminates the need for a separate NT1 device and power supply for users in North America Minimizes acquisition, installation, and support costs
External S/T interface on models with built-in NT1 Allows a digital device such as a digital telephone or video codec to share the ISDN line Controls recurring costs by eliminating the need for a separate ISDN line or NT1 for voice and videoconferencing applications
PPP dialback Central site initiates dialback connection to known directory number in user profile More secure than password-only authentication schemes

Figure 1. Telecommuting Solution

fig_1.gif


Small Office/Home Office

The CiscoPro 750 family allows small offices and home offices to connect easily and inexpensively to customers, vendors, service bureaus, and other small offices. For example, a small publishing firm with several large clients can use a CiscoPro 750 family router to connect transparently to customer sites for transferring large image files quickly and efficiently. CiscoVision provides SNMP network management functions, and TACACS+ provides a centralized solution for authentication, authorization, and accounting.

Figure 2. Small Office/Home Office Solution

fig_2.gif

Table 4.

Feature Description Benefit
Multiprotocol routing and concurrent transparent bridging Supports routing of IP and IPX protocols and concurrent bridging on a per-connection basis Maximizes application availability
Flash memory Allows software images to be downloaded to the router remotely over the WAN Protects capital investment by enabling software upgrades
Centralized administration Routers can be managed remotely via SNMP and telnet Minimizes support costs by leveraging centralized technical staff
Access Lists Allows traffic to be filtered by protocol or by address on a per-user basis Permits remote access only to specified resources


Internet Access

The CiscoPro 750 family offers customers a cost-effective, high-speed solution for accessing on-line information services or the Internet. The IP routing feature allows transparent access to the Internet for applications such as e-mail, file transfers, and browsing the World Wide Web. With Personal Network Profiles, the user can maintain one set of configuration parameters for connecting to the Internet, and another for connecting to other offices or service providers.

Table 5.

Feature Description Benefit
Multilevel user authenti- cation Support for CHAP and PAP security protocols Prevents unauthorized access to computing resources
Personal Network Profiles Allows protocol, security, and DDR parameters to be assigned on a per-connection or ad-hoc basis Increases productivity by simplifying the process of connecting to multiple sites
Cisco Connect Pro Provides a user-friendly, guided configuration interface for device setup and configuration Minimizes deployment and support costs by simplifying device configuration

Figure 3. Internet Access Solution

fig_3.gif


The CiscoPro 750 Advantage

The CiscoPro 750 family features Cisco's Dial-on-Demand Routing (DDR) feature allows WAN connections to be activated only when the router senses traffic that has been defined as "interesting" by the user or network administrator. As bandwidth needs increase---for instance, when a large file transfer is initiated---the second B channel on the ISDN line can be activated to carry the additional traffic.

Multilink PPP and 4:1 data compression ensure efficient use of WAN bandwidth and minimize connect-time charges. Access lists and IPX spoofing prevent traffic on the LAN from activating the WAN connection unnecessarily.

Personal Network Profiles enable CiscoPro 750 users to create a customized set of configuration parameters, such as filters, dialer maps, demand thresholds, and passwords for each remote site. These Profiles also allow on-demand calls to be made to different numbers, using demand filters tailored to each site.

Cisco ConnectPro software gives a user or network administrator an easy-to-use tool that simplifies the deployment of CiscoPro 750 family routers. A series of interview dialogs and context-sensitive help screens guide the user through initial configuration. A graphical interface makes it easier for the user to enter ISDN-specific parameters such as directory numbers and Service Profile IDs (SPIDs).

Like all CiscoPro products, the CiscoPro 750 family can be managed by CiscoVision, a full-featured PC-based network management application based on the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP). When connecting to other CiscoPro 750 family routers or the Combinet 900 ISDN Primary Rate Interface (PRI) router, Combinet's Connection Manager application can also be used for call management, device configuration, and call accounting.

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