The Cisco® 8600 Series Secure Routers deliver a robust and streamlined foundation for modern enterprise networking, supporting high-capacity VPN aggregation and high-density connectivity for large-scale, dataintensive operations and AI workloads. Powered by the third-generation Cisco QuantumFlow Processor® Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) for high throughput and scale, the routers have security embedded directly into the hardware, providing seamless, high-performance protection that keeps businesses ahead of evolving threats. With the Cisco 8600 Series, enterprises can confidently scale their infrastructure and stay agile in an ever-changing digital landscape.
Overview
Platform highlights
Purpose-built for data center and colocation environments, the Cisco 8600 Series Secure Routers offer massive scalability and granular traffic optimization. With support for high-throughput workloads, physical guardrails, and advanced automation, the 8600 Series helps ensure that your data center infrastructure remains fast, secure, and future ready for exponential growth and evolving demands.
Use cases
- Large-scale VPN aggregation for 100 Gigabit Ethernet (GE) deployments
- Multi-100GE internet peering
- Secure interconnects between data centers and clouds
Key features and benefits
Hardware-accelerated security and networking:
- Four dedicated QuantumFlow Processor ASICs for fast cryptography and deep packet inspection
- Hardware acceleration helps ensure high throughput and scale
Secure networking with Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) readiness:
- Future-ready security with advanced quantum-resistant encryption
Models and specifications
- The Cisco 8600 Series Secure Routers are built for high-scale data center and colocation deployments. The Cisco 8650-G2 provides 20x 10GE ports and 6x 100GE ports.
Figure 1. Front view of a Cisco 8650-G2 Secure Router
Table 1. Descriptions of front panel of Cisco 8650-G2 Secure Router
| Label | Description |
|---|---|
| 1 | RFID |
| 2 | Console RJ-45/Micro-USB port |
| 3 | Management RJ-45 port and USB 3.0 interfaces |
| 4 | AC or DC power supplies (N+2 redundancy) |
| 5 | 20x 1/10GE SFP+ ports |
| 6 | 6x 40/100GE QSFP28 ports |
Table 2. Technical specifications
| Cisco 8650-G2 Secure Router | |
|---|---|
| WAN ports | 20x 1/10GE (SFP+) 6x 40/100GE (QSFP28) |
| WAN/LAN MACsec | Supported on all built-in ports |
| Management port | 1x RJ-45 Out-Of-Band (OOB) management 1x RJ-45/1x Micro-USB Console |
| DRAM | 64 GB (default) |
| Storage | 480 GB (default) |
| Power supply | 1100W AC 950W DC |
Table 3. Throughput and scale
| Cisco 8650-G2 Secure Router | |
|---|---|
| Throughput | |
| Forwarding (512B) | Up to 540 Gbps |
| IPsec (512B) | Up to 225 Gbps |
| SD-WAN* (512B) | Up to 80 Gbps |
| Scale | |
| IPv4/IPv6 routes | 16M |
| SD-WAN IPsec tunnels | 12,000 |
| IPv4 Access Control Lists (ACLs) | 4000 |
| IPv4 Access Control Entries (ACEs) | 380,000 |
| Network Address Translation (NAT) sessions | 32M |
| Virtual Route Forwarding (VRF) instances | 8000 |
* SD-WAN feature combination: IPsec + Quality of Service (QoS) + Deep Packet Inspection + Flexible NetFlow
Table 4. Physical specifications
| Cisco 8650-G2 Secure Router | |
|---|---|
| Dimensions (H x W x D) | 5.22 x 17.25 x 26.85 in. (13.26 x 43.81 x 68.20 cm) |
| Rack Units (RU) | 3 RU |
| Chassis weight with power supplies | 77.5 lb (35.15 kg) (4x AC) 75 lb (34.02 k) (3x AC) |
| Operating temperature | 32° to 104°F (0° to 40°C) |
| Storage temperature | -40° to 150°F (-40° to 65.5°C) |
| Relative humidity | Operating: 10% to 85% Nonoperating and storage: 5% to 95% |
| NEBS criteria levels | GR-1089 and GR-63 |
| Altitude | -500 to 10,000 feet (-152 to 3048 meters) |
Software management
Software
The minimum Cisco IOS® XE release versions for the Cisco 8600 Series Secure Routers are listed in the table below.
Table 5. Minimum software releases
| Device OS | Cisco Catalyst™ SD-WAN Manager | |
|---|---|---|
| Cisco C8650-G2 | IOS XE Release 26.1.2 and later | SD-WAN Release 26.1.2 and later |
Ordering information
For a detailed overview of the ordering process, please visit the Cisco 8000 Series Secure Routers Ordering Guide.
Warranty
Cisco 8600 Series Secure Routers come standard with a Cisco Limited 2-Year Return to Factory Hardware Warranty. For more information, refer to: https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/warranties/warr-2yr-ltd-hw.html.
Sustainability profile
Cisco is embedding sustainability into the product lifecycle—from manufacturing to end of use. Designed with consideration for Cisco Circular Design Principles, our products feature both individual and portfolio-wide programs and innovations, including those that address efficient architecture design, power consumption, energy management, packaging sustainability, and takeback. These elements are pivotal in reducing operational costs and advancing net-zero Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions targets and other sustainability-related ambitions.
Information about Cisco’s Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) initiatives and performance is available in Cisco’s Purpose Reporting Hub.
Table 6. Sustainability references
| Sustainability topic | Description | |
|---|---|---|
| Energy management | Energy Management dashboard | The Energy Management dashboard on the Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager offers comprehensive energy management capabilities, allowing users to monitor energy usage, energy mix, costs, and greenhouse gas emissions in real time. |
| Environmental monitoring configuration | The environmental monitoring chapter in the System Management Configuration Guide provides guidelines for configuring monitoring of environmental conditions of chassis components. | |
| Ecolabels | 80 PLUS Platinum Certified power Supply Units (PSUs) | Cisco 8600 Series Secure Routers support highefficiency power supply units. 80 PLUS Platinum Certified PSUs offer up to 94% efficiency at 50% load. |
| Materials, modularity, and reuse | Hardware standardization and modularity | Cisco 8600 Series Secure Routers use standard subassemblies and common components across products to streamline production and enhance repairability and upgradability. |
| Simplified architecture | Cisco 8600 Series Secure Routers offer a simplified architecture by consolidating multiple discrete ASIC/NPU components into a central System-on-Chip (SoC) architecture, providing multiple discrete functions in a more integrated design. | |
| Powder-coat finish | Cisco 8600 Series Secure Routers use a powder-coating finish instead of oil-based wet paint. This finish reduces the amount of harmful solvents used and Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) emitted during the painting process. | |
| Bezel-free design | Cisco 8600 Series Secure Routers use a bezel-free design, reducing plastic usage. | |
| Cisco Takeback and Reuse Program | This program allows customers to return used equipment for responsible recycling and reuse. | |
| Cisco Refresh Program | This program offers certified remanufactured products, providing cost-effective alternatives to new equipment. | |
| Foam reduction | Cisco 8600 Series Secure Routers are packaged with corrugated and fiber flute materials, containing minimum 25% post-consumer recycled content. | |
| Accessory opt-in | Accessory opt-in allows customers to select whether to include the accessory kit. Not including the kit results in using fewer materials and reducing waste. The default is now to omit the accessory kit unless it is required. | |
| Regulatory compliance | Environmental compliance | Information regarding Cisco compliance with applicable environmental laws and regulations is available at the Environmental Compliance section of Cisco’s Purpose Reporting Hub. |
| Product Approvals Status (PAS) | Information regarding the certification status for given Cisco products in certain countries is available at Cisco’s self-service PAS database. | |
| Product-related materials compliance | This page addresses Cisco’s position regarding relevant product-related materials legislation, such as Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) and Registration, Evaluation, Authorization, and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH). | |
| Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE), battery, and packaging compliance | This page discusses Cisco’s position regarding relevant product-related legislation on recycling, battery, and packaging. | |
| Cisco packaging materials and codes | This table provides material identification for packaging used for Cisco products. | |
| General | Sustainability inquiries | For ESG or CSR inquiries, please contact your Cisco account team. |
| Cisco policies, positions, and guides | Links to select Cisco environmental sustainability policies, positions, and guides are provided in the “Policies, positions, and guides” section of Cisco’s Purpose Reporting Hub. | |
| Cisco Green Pay | This page provides an overview of Cisco Green Pay, a financing program aimed at promoting more sustainable technology adoption by providing flexible payment options. | |
Appendix
Safety and compliance
Chassis
The table below lists the safety and compliance information for the Cisco 8600 Series Secure Routers chassis.
Table 7. Chassis safety and compliance information
| Safety and certifications | EMI and EMC compliance |
|---|---|
|
|
Document history
| New or revised topic | Described in | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Document created | 8600 Series Secure Router data sheet | June 2, 2026 |
Bias-free language
The documentation set for this product strives to use bias-free language. For the purposes of this documentation set, bias-free is defined as language that does not imply discrimination based on age, disability, gender, racial identity, ethnic identity, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, and intersectionality. Exceptions may be present in the documentation due to language that is hardcoded in the user interfaces of the product software, language used based on RFP documentation, or language that is used by a referenced third-party product. Learn more about how Cisco is using inclusive language.