Cisco Systems officials are continuing to bring their networking capabilities farther from the data center, with the latest example being the company's new Cisco 819 ISR Machine-to-Machine Gateway.
The new Integrated Services Router (ISR), announced Aug. 23, dovetails with Cisco officials' idea of the "Internet of things," putting networking capabilities into machines not normally connected to the Internet, from ATMs and refrigerators to GPS systems, portable medical devices and vending machines.
The new router comes just as the idea of machine-to-machine (M2M) Internet connections is about to take off, according to Inbar Lasser-Raab, senior director for marketing for Cisco's ISR product line and Borderless Networks strategy.
"There is a lot of interest" in such technology, Lasser-Raab said in an interview with eWEEK. The M2M trend "is on the cusp of really big growth."
The idea is to enable businesses to use the Cisco 819 ISR gateway to extend the corporate 3G/4G wireless WAN services to devices located far away from a business' headquarters. Through the router, companies can improve the efficiency of their businesses -- which, in turn, will help them save money, she said.
There are many uses, according to Lasser-Raab. An ATM machine, sensing it s getting low on cash, can send a signal to the main office alerting it to the situation. The system at the main office can see which trucks are on the road and signal to the one closest to the ATM to bring in more cash, a move that can save the bank time and money, she said.
To read the original eWeek article, click here:
Cisco Unveils Small Router for M2M Communications
