FAQ vRouter

Multi-site scenarios – medium-sized enterprises with several sites

Companies operating at several sites have high expectations of a router. It should offer a comprehensive range of functions, high performance and scalability. All of these demands are easy to implement with the LANCOM vRouter. It is based on the operating system LCOS and offers compareable functionalities as a LANCOM hardware router.

What's more, the LANCOM vRouter is easily managed and monitored via the LANCOM Management Cloud to ensure optimum transparency of the network.

Large scale enterprises – extensive distributed networks

For large, highly distributed companies with several sites, the LANCOM vRouter is the solution that provides an agile network. Based on the operating system LCOS, its extensive range of functions facilitates any number of parallel applications. At the same time, it places no restrictions on the design of the network infrastructures.

Thanks to its built-in IPSec-VPN functionality, the LANCOM vRouter ensures the secure networking of up to 3,000 sites. Its integration into the LANCOM Management Cloud makes the vRouter easy to manage and monitor. An optimal combination for high-performance networks.

Cloud-managed and virtualized networks

The LANCOM vRouter is ideally suited for companies that already operate virtualized infrastructures and orchestrate their network via the LANCOM Management Cloud.

It integrates seamlessly into the LMC, where it is managed from the user interface. Users benefit from the software-defined networking technology and control over the network via SD-WAN. Also, the software-based router harmonizes perfectly with all of the other network components. This makes the network highly integrated and fully compatible. By combining highly effective LMC-based management with the vRouter, you keep track of the entire installation even in highly complex enterprise networks.

Any scenario where the router is required for Internet access, e.g. via DSL, 4G, etc., or as a network termination router. Also we recommend the use of a hardware router wherever the network operates with highly integrated features such as All-IP, analog, and ISDN telephony, WLAN, or 4G access. If your company does not operate its own virtualized server landscape where the LANCOM vRouter can operate, a hardware router is the preferred choice. Basically, the use of a LANCOM vRouter is not recommended for smaller scenarios such as doctor's practices, accounting companies, and small offices.

When deciding between using a virtual router (vRouter) running on a virtual machine and a hardware-based router, it is important to consider the type of traffic and application requirements.

When it comes to time-sensitive traffic and applications such as VoIP, a dedicated hardware-based router is the preferred choice. The key advantage of a hardware solution is that the operating system has direct and exclusive access to the hardware. For this reason, a hardware-based router provides the necessary security and performance for critical applications that require high performance and guaranteed prioritization.

Alternatively, a vRouter can be used as a standalone instance on a hypervisor. However, in scenarios with high processing and prioritization requirements, the vRouter should not be used as a shared resource alongside other applications on a hypervisor. In the case of shared resources with other virtual instances, reliable processing in the vRouter cannot be guaranteed. 

Yes, this is possible without difficulties. Both, the vRouter and common hardware routers, are based on the longterm tested operating system LCOS. Thereby, ideal interoperability of all used components is guaranteed. For example, a LANCOM vRouter as a central VPN gateway and a hardware-based LANCOM VPN router is a perfect combination for secure VPN site networking on the branch side.

A CPU equipped with virtualization technology (Intel VT-x or AMD SVM)
The vRouter requires a x84_64 CPU with at least 1 GB RAM and up to 5 network cards
A vRouter cannot be installed directly on x86 hardware; a hypervisor is a fundamental requirement.

The following hardware requirements apply:

normal - 2 GB RAM for vRouter 50 and 250
big - 4 GB RAM for vRouter 500 and 1000
large - 8 GB RAM for vRouter unlimited