It’s often a challenge to find clear comparisons of Cisco router performance, so I’ve decided to display this information in our blog. Juniper, Adtran and HP make fine routers. But Cisco leads the pack.
Note that the chart displays the following:
- Switching performance in packets per second
- 64 byte packet size, IP only
- These are test numbers that will decline significantly if you add ACLs, encryption, compression, etc.
Router Performance Matrix
| Process Switching | Process Switching | Fast/CEF Switching | Fast/CEF Switching | |
| Platform | PPS | Mbps | PPS | Mbps |
| 14xx | 600 | 0.3072 | 4,000 | 2.05 |
| 160x(-R) | 600 | 0.3072 | 4,000 | 2.05 |
| 1701 | 1,700 | 0.8704 | 12,000 | 6.14 |
| 1710 | 1,300 | 0.6656 | 7,000 | 3.58 |
| 1711-1712 | 1,700 | 0.8704 | 13,500 | 6.91 |
| 1720 | 1,400 | 0.7168 | 8,500 | 4.35 |
| 1721 | 1,700 | 0.8704 | 12,000 | 6.14 |
| 1750 | 1,400 | 0.7168 | 8,500 | 4.35 |
| 1751 | 1,500 | 0.768 | 12,000 | 6.14 |
| 1760 | 1,700 | 0.8704 | 16,000 | 8.19 |
| 1801-1812 | 70,000 | 35.84 | ||
| 1841 | 75,000 | 38.4 | ||
| 1861 | 146,142 | 74.82 | ||
| 1941 | 299,000 | 153.08 | ||
| 2500 | 800 | 0.4096 | 4,400 | 2.25 |
| 261x | 1,500 | 0.768 | 15,000 | 7.68 |
| 262x | 1,500 | 0.768 | 30,000 | 15.36 |
| 265x | 2,000 | 1.024 | 40,000 | 20.48 |
| 2691 | 7,400 | 3.7888 | 70,000 | 35.84 |
| 2801 | 3,000 | 1.536 | 90,000 | 46.08 |
| 2811 | 3,000 | 1.536 | 120,000 | 61.44 |
| 2821 | 11,500 | 5.888 | 170,000 | 87.04 |
| 2851 | 15,000 | 7.68 | 220,000 | 112.64 |
| 3620 | 2,000 | 1.024 | 20,000-40,000 | 10-20 |
| 2901 | 327,000 | 167.42 | ||
| 2911 | 353,000 | 180.73 | ||
| 2921 | 480,000 | 245.76 | ||
| 2951 | 580,000 | 296.96 | ||
| 3640 | 4,000 | 2.048 | 50-70,000 | 25.6-36 |
| 3660 | 12,000 | 6.144 | 100-120,000 | 51.2-61.4 |
| 3631 | 4,000 | 2.048 | 50-70,000 | 25.6-36 |
| 3725 | 100-120,000 | 51.2-61.4 | ||
| 3745 | 225-250,000 | 25.6-36 | ||
| 3810 | 2,000 | 1.024 | 8,000 | 4.10 |
| 3810-V3 | 3,000 | 1.536 | 15,000 | 7.68 |
| 3825 | 25,000 | 12.8 | 350,000 | 179.20 |
| 3845 | 35,000 | 17.92 | 500,000 | 256.0 |
| 3925 | 833,000 | 426.49 | ||
| 3945 | 982,000 | 502.78 | ||
| 4000 | 1,800 | 0.9216 | 14,000 | 7.17 |
| 7120 | 13,000 | 6.656 | 175,000 | 89.60 |
| 7140 | 20,000 | 10.24 | 300,000 | 153.60 |
| 7200-NPE100 | 7,000 | 3.584 | 100,000 | 51.20 |
| 7200-NPE150 | 10,000 | 5.12 | 150,000 | 76.80 |
| 7200-NPE175 | 9,000 | 4.608 | 177,848 | 91.06 |
| 7200-NPE200 | 13,000 | 6.656 | 200,000 | 102.40 |
| 7200-NPE225 | 13,000 | 6.656 | 233,170 | 119.38 |
| 7200-NPE300 | 20,000 | 10.24 | 353,000 | 180.74 |
| 7300-SD-WAN-Experts-100 | 3,500,000(PXF) | 1,792 | ||
| 7600-MSFC2 | 20,000 | 10.24 | 30,000,000 | 1,792 |
| ASR1000-PRE4 | 10,000,000 | 5,120 | ||
| 12000(Engine 6) | 50,000,000 | 20,000 | ||
| CRS-1 LC | 80,000,000 | 40,960 |
1 “Punts to RSP” means that when a VIP cannot process the packets in a distributed manner (for instance, when doing MLPPP across different PA’s instead of keeping the bundles on the same PA), it must push that forwarding decision and packet flow to the RSP. In these cases, use the RSP switching numbers.
2 The 7600 only slows centralized forwarding when a classic line card is installed, and then only for flows that must be centrally forwarded. For instance, a system with a Sup720 with two 6748
DFC3A equipped cards has a legacy gigabit switching module installed – the 6148-GE-TX, for instance. Flows going to or originating from that card operate at 15Mpps, but flows going between the 6748’s operate at full 48Mpps per slot. Therefore, distributed forwarding is unaffected by the insertion of a legacy card.
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