Cisco Unveils Catalyst 5G Industrial Routers to Seamlessly Connect Enterprise and Edge Networks

Cisco has expanded its Catalyst portfolio with a new line of routers engineered to bridge enterprise core networks with remote, industrial‑edge sites.

The Catalyst 5G Industrial Router family—comprising the modular Catalyst IR8100, the IR8100 Heavy‑Duty Series, and the IR8300 Rugged Series, as well as a gateway device—runs Cisco’s flagship IOS XE operating system. It supports a wide array of connectivity options, including SD‑WAN, Wi‑Fi 6, 5G, 4G, Private LTE, FirstNet, and Wi‑SUN, enabling customers to weave together their core and edge assets under a single, unified architecture.

“Organizations often connect edge environments in silos, creating fragmented networks that are harder to secure and manage,” says Vikas Butaney, Vice President and General Manager of Cisco IoT. “With our new routing portfolio, IT teams can deploy a consistent set of capabilities and security controls from headquarters to the most remote locations—whether those are campuses, branch offices, substations, remote operations sites, or mobile assets.”

Butaney highlights use cases across utilities and transportation: utilities can connect edge nodes to reduce outages, integrate renewable sources, and enhance grid resilience, while transportation providers can optimize first‑responder routes and share real‑time safety data with travelers—all within the same secure framework.

The modular design allows field teams to upgrade storage or CPU modules on the fly, extending the life cycle of each router without costly replacements.

Security is built in with Cisco Cyber Vision, which automatically discovers industrial devices across the network and feeds data into Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) for segmentation policies and DNA Center for centralized management. Cyber Vision also powers Cisco Edge Intelligence, enabling IT and OT teams to jointly detect anomalies in IIoT traffic and receive instant alerts when traffic deviates from established baselines.

These routers complement Cisco’s ruggedized industrial portfolio—including the Catalyst IE3x00 series switches and IR1101 Integrated Services Routers—providing a fully modular ecosystem that can evolve with new technologies such as 5G.

The new Cisco IoT Gateway Series works with Cisco’s cloud‑based IoT Operations Dashboard, a provisioning and management platform that simplifies edge device lifecycle management.

The Catalyst Industrial Routers and Gateway will be available for purchase this month.

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