About 10 years ago, Cisco built its first Rugged IP67 router, the Cisco 1000 Series Connected Grid Routers. Suffice to say it had a unique skill set, such as the ability to withstand a drop from about 15ft high, being dunked in water, and shoved into an oven! These IP67 routers are completely ruggedized, modular platforms that enable you to add IP to your unconnected devices.

Electric utilities and other industrial customers were able to build a highly secure, reliable, and scalable communication infrastructure on top of their electric grid and other networks. Needless to say, these products are certified to meet harsh environmental standards. They support a variety of communications interfaces, such as Ethernet, serial, cellular, radio frequency (RF) mesh and run Cisco IOS Software. And these routers provide secure connections back to your operations center with ease.

Why would you upgrade?

Utilities all over the world are now undergoing significant transitions in their grids, from transmission to consumption and rising security threats. Regulatory mandates are influencing initiatives related to smart metering, grid reliability, and integration of solar and wind farms into the distribution grid. Do we want to help our customers with an easily deployable and replaceable router? Absolutely!  The Cisco Catalyst IR8140H Heavy Duty Router is the answer. Modularity is an understatement for this router -the only thing more modular is probably the international space station! And the battery backup capabilities make this the last router you will ever deploy on a pole. The combination of resiliency and modularity will help you keep up with high bandwidth applications and increased demands on computing resources.

Fig 1: next generation of the IP67 industrial router

Will I be able to replace my CGR1000 without additional overhead?

Yes! The router is designed to be a drop-in replacement for the CGR1000. The migration guide walks you through some of the key points you need to know before preparing to migrate your network to the new IR8140H. It also explains how we will NOT leave current customers out to pasture, with extended support options for the CGR1000 which is now end-of-sale.

See what else the router has to offer here.