Secure Borderless Access

“IT managers want to use the network to support the needs of the business,” said Brett Galloway, senior vice president of Cisco’s Wireless, Security and Routing Technology Group, in a statement. “But the business is changing and IT managers are under increasing pressure to make the network available to anyone, anywhere, anytime and on any device – in a highly secure, reliable, seamless manner.

“This is precisely the challenge that the Cisco Borderless Network was designed to address. This third expansion of the Borderless Network’s portfolio is designed to help customers reach new levels of innovation and participation by engaging their customers and employees to create entirely new ways of doing business.”

In AnyConnect 3.0, Cisco added IPsec IKEv2 support as well as SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) and DTLS (Datagram Transport Layer Security), an integrated 802.1X supplicant and 802.1AE MACSec support. The latest version also supports hybrid secure mobility deployments by extending protection to mobile workers through ScanSafe cloud security services and on-premises Web security appliances, Cisco said.

The company also unveiled the ASR 1001 router, which enables 5Gbps performance throughput and will be available in December, and the Catalyst 4500 E-Series switch, which delivers 848Gbps of system bandwidth.

Pricing for the ASR 5585-X starts at $29,995 and extends to $300,000, with pricing models depending on capacity and what features are enabled. The VPN, firewall and integrated remote access features are shipping now, while the IPS blade will be available by the end of the year, Cisco said. The Catalyst 4500-E series starts at $27,480.