unmanaged fibre

[cammy]

Hi

We've just had an additional fibre connection installed at work which comes into a media convertor > ethernet. We hadn't considered the implications of an unmanaged service other than the ISP nor providing a router. It transpires that we have to configure their WAN subnet to our public IP range which means that our existing two Gb port cisco 1921 is not sufficient. Can we just buy a module to stick in the 1921 to give us another interface or is it better to have separate router doing this?

Thanks

Cammy

 

[dgrizzard]

1) The additional modules, in some cases, can be expensive as a new router

2) By leaving in everything in one router you have a single point of failure

3) Depending on the current load of your 1921 and the speed/utilization of the new service, the 1921 may not be sufficient from a capacity perspective

My recommendation would be a new router.

 

[VinceWhirlwind]

The 1921 is old enough that you can justify replacing it.

 

[cammy]

Thanks for your replies

If we bought a second router it would serve a separate purpose and both routers would be a single point of failure unless we also invested in backup units. The modules do look quite pricey admittedly.

The 1921 is not an old box for us. It has two gb ethernet ports and is capable of a high enough encrytped throughput to maintain all of our site-site links.

What I would like to know is can I achieve the same goal by using virtual interfaces in the router - i.e. WAN Gi0/0 > Virtual IF > LAN Gi0/1 and create zones based on this?

Cammy

 

[dgrizzard]

You could do it via a vlans on a switch and then subinterfaces on your router interface...from experience though you'll regret doing that later down the road Its better just to do it right from the start.

Plus to have a "backup unit" you would also need to have a secondary circuit as well. Better to just get the second router from the beginning.