The Cisco Virtual Office is in fact a multi-component platform that provides centrally managed and controlled remote access to the corporate network and its applications for home-based teleworkers. The individual components of the platform--which include an "Integrated Services Router" and an IP phone for the teleworker's home location itself, and the Cisco 7200 Series router and management software at the home base--combine to enable the teleworker to access both corporate data and applications (through corporate-managed VPN connectivity through the 7200 Series router) as well as provides voice and video communications similar to those enjoyed by personnel within the corporate office (the vendor notes that the home-worker can continue to use their existing voice number/extension while using their home IP phone).

A key feature of the platform as touted by the vendor is its "zero-touch" deployment capabilities; wherein the Integrated Services Router (ISR) deployed to the home worker will automatically retrieve its configuration and updates from the home office when it connects to the Internet. Corporate management tools for the platform include the vendor's Cisco Configuration Engine, which can manage the distribution of configuration images to as many as 10,000 ISRs; and the teleworkers themselves do not have access to make configuration changes on the ISR.

The individual components included in the base Cisco Virtual Office platform include:

- The 881w Integrated Services Router, which facilitates the connectivity between the home office and the corporate network. The 881w supports use as an Ethernet switch (4 10/100 ports) as well as an 802.11n Access Point; and includes such features as support for up to 20 VPN tunnels, a firewall, and support for the vendor's dynamic multipoint VPN (DMVPN) technology. Additionally, the vendor notes that split-tunneling features enable the device to also be used by additional family members at the same time it is being used by the teleworker. The 881w connects to the WAN via an Ethernet connection to the end user's existing Internet access device (I.E., Cable/DSL modem).

- The 7970G IP phone, with features including PoE support, a 5.6" diagonal color touchscreen (234 px. and 4,096 colors), support for up to 8 lines, and speakerphone support. The 7970G connects to the ISR via Ethernet. Cisco notes that the 7970G's display is not, however, used for video-conferencing; a different IP phone would need to be used for video support.

- The Cisco Series 7200 Router, which serves as a VPN concentration point for the remote ISRs; supporting IPsec as well as SSL and L2TP over IPsec connections.

- Management servers for centralized control of the system's configuration as well as access controls; including the aforementioned Cisco Configuration Engine in addition to Cisco Security Manager and Cisco Secure Access Control Server.

The components listed above represent the vendor's initially tested and validated deployment scenario; however, Cisco also notes that other products from their catalog may be used as substitutions for the above components as needed by the customer. For example, a specific customer may require an ISR supporting differing WAN connections, or an IP Phone with extended features (such as built-in support for video conferencing, which the above 7970G does not include), or a larger VPN aggregation appliance. Substitute components are available for potential customers now, and the vendor expects to test and validate additional components and applications for use with CVO in the future.

Cisco Virtual Office is available now, with pricing starting at $700/seat. Visit the Cisco Systems Web site for further information.