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The Cisco® 8000 Series Secure Routers deliver the industry’s most complete secure networking experience, combining cutting-edge security, routing, assurance, and SD-WAN capabilities into a unified platform. Designed for diverse use cases—from branches and campuses to data centers—these secure routers empower businesses to adapt dynamically to evolving demands. Featuring the all-new secure networking processor, the customized silicon is built for high-bandwidth AI/ML workloads while reducing power consumption and operational costs. The Cisco 8000 Series provides the foundation for resilient networks that scale with your business needs.
Cisco 8000 Series Secure Router Family FAQ
Table 1. Cisco 8000 Secure Router family positioning
Platform |
Positioning |
Performance |
Cisco 8100 Series Secure Routers |
Small branch: Flexible 1GE LAN/WAN secure connectivity including 5G options |
IPsec: Up to 1.5 Gbps (512B) Threat protection: Up to 1 Gbps (EMIX) |
Cisco 8200 Series Secure Routers |
Medium-sized branch: Lead series for midsize organizations, with 1GE, 2.5GE, and 10GE LAN/WAN secure connectivity along with cellular backup options |
IPsec: Up to 5 Gbps (512B) Threat protection: Up to 2.4 Gbps (EMIX) |
Cisco 8300 Series Secure Routers |
Large branch: Purpose-built for integrated edge computing and 1GE, 2.5GE, 5GE, and 10GE LAN/WAN secure connectivity with additional expandability |
IPsec: Up to 30 Gbps (512B) Threat protection: Up to 7 Gbps (EMIX) |
Cisco 8400 Series Secure Routers |
Campus: High-performance 1GE, 10GE, and 25GE secure connectivity for WAN aggregation |
IPsec: Up to 45 Gbps (512B) Threat protection: Up to 10.9 Gbps (EMIX) |
Cisco 8500 Series Secure Routers |
Data center: Highest-performance 1GE, 10GE, 40GE, and 100GE secure connectivity for data center hub access |
IPsec: Up to 63 Gbps (512B) IPsec tunnels: 10,000 |
● Intrusion Protection and Detection (IPS/IDS)
● Advanced Malware Protection (AMP)
● Anomaly detection and machine learning
● Enterprise Firewall with Application Awareness
● Zone-based firewall
● Network Address Translation (NAT)
● Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) integration
● URL filtering
● DNS web-layer security agent
● SSL proxy
● Cisco TrustSec®
● Identity-based networking (802.1X)
● Role-based Command-Line Interface (CLI) access
● Access Control Lists (ACLs)
● Authentication and integrity verification
● Virtual Route Forwarding (VRF)-aware security
● Source-based Remotely Triggered Black Hole (RTBH) filtering
● Unicast Reverse Path Forwarding (RPF)
● Control Plane Protection (CoPP)
● Secure Shell (SSH) v2
● Management plane protections
● Secure Boot with signed images and hardware anchoring with Secure Unique Device Identity (SUDI)
● Secure storage
● Run-time defenses
● Recovery mechanisms
Table 2. Minimum Cisco IOS XE releases
Model |
Minimum IOS XE Software version |
C8570-G2, C8550-G2, C8475-G2, C8455-G2, C8375-E-G2 |
IOS XE 17.15.3 |
C8355-G2, C8235-G2, C8231-G2, C8161-G2, C8151-G2, C8140-G2, C8130-G2 |
IOS XE 17.18.1 |
Note: C8130-G2 and C8140-G2 will support routing mode only
● Cisco Catalyst™ SD-WAN Manager
● Cisco Catalyst Center
● Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP)
● Onboard Cisco IOS XE Software WebUI
● NETCONF, RESTCONF, and YANG models
● CLI
● Routing Essentials (perpetual and included with hardware purchase)
● Routing Advantage subscription
● Platform-class licensing: Each platform class is categorized as Small, Medium, Large, or Extra Large based on the throughput, performance, and positioning characteristics of the underlying hardware platforms.
● Elimination of bandwidth tiering: Licenses for the next-generation hardware will not be segmented by bandwidth tiers.
● License portability: Platform-class licenses will be transferable between all hardware models within the same class, offering greater flexibility.
● Management: Licenses can be managed via Catalyst Center, SD-WAN Manager, or Meraki dashboard (WAN only).
Cisco 8100 Series Secure Routers FAQ
Cisco 8200 and 8300 Series Secure Routers FAQ
● C8375-E-G2: Cisco 8300 Series with 1x Service Module (SM), 1x Network Interface Module (NIM) slot, 1x Pluggable Interface Module (PIM) slot, 2x 1GE/10GE Small- Form-Factor Pluggable (SFP) ports, and 4x Multigigabit Ethernet (2.5GE) RJ-45 WAN ports, with Cisco UPOE®+ support on the last 2 ports
● C8355-G2: Cisco 8300 Series with 1x PIM slot, 4x 1GE/10GE SFP ports, 4x Multigigabit Ethernet (5GE) RJ-45 ports, and 2x 1GE RJ-45 ports, with UPOE+ support on all 4 Multigigabit ports
● C8235-G2: Cisco 8200 Series with 1x PIM slot, 2x 1GE/10GE SFP ports, and 8x Multigigabit Ethernet (2.5GE) RJ-45 ports, with UPOE+ support on ports 6-7 and PoE support on ports 4-5
● C8231-G2: Cisco 8200 Series with 2x 1GE/10GE WAN SFP ports, 4x Multigigabit Ethernet (2.5GE) RJ-45 ports with PoE+ support on port 7, and 4x 1GE RJ-45 copper ports
● Higher IPsec performance and scale
● Higher Cisco Express Forwarding performance
● Higher built-in WAN port density
● Improved backplane connectivity with high-speed connections
● Fixed and modular DRAM options
● 256-bit WAN MACsec on all front-panel ports
● 128-bit LAN MACsec on select models
● Embedded Layer 2 ports on select models
● SD-WAN and SD-Routing capabilities
● Support for Kernel-based Virtual Machine (KVM) containers, providing support for integrated applications
● Support for applications including Snort® IDS/IPS, URL filtering, advanced malware protection, Cisco Secure Malware Analytics (formerly Threat Grid), SSL proxy, and TCP optimization
● Open API programmability using NETCONF and YANG
● Zero-Touch Provisioning (ZTP)
● Multiple options for WAN, LAN, voice, storage, and edge computing (Cisco UCS® E-Series) modules on the Cisco 8300 Series
● Multiple options for WAN, LAN, and cellular on the Cisco 8200 Series
● Support for border node and control plane node functionalities in Cisco Software- Defined Access (SD-Access)
● Application Quality of Experience (AppQoE), TCP optimization, Data Redundancy Elimination (DRE), Forward Error Correction (FEC), and packet duplication
● Comprehensive options for wireless WAN through LTE Cat7 and 5G
Validated modules on the Cisco 8300 Series Secure Routers
Table 3. Onboard Ethernet WAN port options on the Cisco 8300 and 8200 Series Secure Routers
Platform |
Gigabit Ethernet SFP |
Multigigabit Ethernet RJ-45 |
Gigabit Ethernet RJ-45 |
C8375-E-G2 |
2 |
4 |
– |
C8355-G2 |
4 |
4 |
2 |
C8235-G2 |
2 |
8 |
– |
C8231-G2 |
2 |
4 |
4 |
Table 4. NIM and SM configuration options on the Cisco 8300 and 8200 Series Secure Routers
Platform |
SM |
NIM |
PIM |
C8375-E-G2 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
C8355-G2 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
C8235-G2 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
C8231-G2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Table 5. Memory configuration options on the Cisco 8300 and 8200 Series Secure Routers
Platform |
Total default DRAM |
Memory upgrade options |
C8375-E-G2 |
16 GB |
32 GB |
C8355-G2 |
16 GB |
– |
C8235-G2 |
16 GB soldered |
– |
C8231-G2 |
8 GB soldered |
– |
Note: For the C8375-E-G2, a single Dual Inline Memory Module (DIMM) configuration is supported. The upgrade options available are 1x 32 GB.
● Unexpected insertion or removal of any NIM in any of the NIM slots.
● Unexpected insertion or removal of any SM in the SM slots.
● Unexpected insertion or removal of a PIM cellular module.
● Surprise replacement of the system fan tray is not supported. To replace the fans, the system has to be powered down prior to the removal of fans inside the fan tray.
Table 6. Power supply options for the Cisco 8300 and 8200 Series Secure Routers
Platform |
Type of PSU |
Dual AC |
Dual DC |
PoE AC PSU |
C8375-E-G2 |
Internal |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
C8355-G2 |
External |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
C8235-G2 |
External |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
C8231-G2 |
External |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
Table 7. PoE-capable ports on the Cisco 8300 and 8200 Series Secure Routers
Platform |
Front-panel ports |
C8375-E-G2 |
Ports 2-3 UPOE+) |
C8355-G2 |
Ports 0-3 (UPOE+) |
C8235-G2 |
Ports 4-5 (PoE), 6-7 (UPOE+) |
C8231-G2 |
Port 7 (PoE+) |
Table 8. Connectivity options on the front-panel ports of the Cisco 8300 and 8200 Series Secure Routers
Platform |
WAN Ports |
Flex Ports |
LAN Ports |
C8375-E-G2 |
2 x 10G SFP/SFP+ 4 x 2.5G mGig RJ45 (2x UPoE+) |
- |
– |
C8355-G2 |
2 x 10G SFP/SFP+ 2 x 5G mGig RJ45 (2x UPoE+) |
2 x 5G mGig RJ45 (2x UPoE+) 2 x 1G RJ45 |
2 x 10G SFP/SFP+ |
C8235-G2 |
10G SFP/SFP+ 2 x 2.5G mGig RJ45 (2x UPoE+) |
2 x 2.5G mGig RJ45 (1x PoE+) |
4 x 2.5G mGig RJ45 |
C8231-G2 |
2 x 10G SFP/SFP+ 2 x 2.5G mGig RJ45 (1x PoE+) |
2 x 2.5G mGig RJ45 |
4 x 1G RJ45 |
Cisco 8400 and 8500 Series Secure Routers FAQ
● C8455-G2: 8x 1GE + 2x 1GE/10GE + 2x 10GE/25GE
● C8475-G2: 8x 1GE + 8x 1GE/10GE + 4x 10GE/25GE
● C8550-G2: 12x 1GE/10GE
● C8570-G2: 12x 1GE/10GE + 2x 40GE + 2x 40GE/100GE (max 240GE total)
Table 9. Field-replaceable and hot-swappable parts on the Cisco 8400 and 8500 Series Secure Routers
Part |
Field-Replaceable Unit (FRU) |
Hot-swappable (OIR) |
DRAM |
Yes |
No |
M.2 storage |
Yes |
No |
Fan tray |
Yes |
No |
Power supplies |
Yes |
Yes |