Cisco IPS Advanced Integration Module (IPS-AIM)

The Cisco IPS Advanced Integration Module (IPS-AIM) shown in Figure 20-4 can be used with Cisco Integrated Services Routers (ISR)—Cisco 2800 and 3800 series routers used for small and medium-sized business (SMB) and full service branch office environments.

Figure 20-4. Cisco IPS Advanced Integration Module (IPS-AIM) for Cisco Integrated Services Routers (ISR)

IPS-AIM is part of the Cisco integrated IDS/IPS family sensor portfolio and an integral part of the Cisco Self-Defending Network solution.

IPS-AIM is attached directly to the router motherboard and does not require a separate slot, thereby saving a module slot. IPS-AIM monitoring interface is also integrated into the module directly, connecting to the router backplane. The interface can monitor incoming and outgoing packets from any router interface. IPS-AIM can deliver monitoring performance up to 45 Mbps of traffic and is suitable for T1/E1 and up to T3 environments.

The IPS-AIM provides traditional detection and prevention with enhanced capabilities such as stateful pattern matching and heuristic and anomaly detection, using the Cisco IPS Sensor Software that supports both inline and promiscuous modes.

Cisco IPS-AIM has a dedicated processor and dynamic random access memory (DRAM). Note that there is no dedicated Command and Control (management) interface. However, for in-band management, an internal Gigabit Ethernet port is used, which can be accessed through the console port or SSH to connect to any router interface.