> > The majority of differences between routers is just firmware and packaging, the guts are all the same.
>
> The firmware is the part you really have to worry about, though
Professional quality routers often use ASICs to handle most of the processing, which is quite a bit faster, engineered to perform at specific workloads, and is more reliable. [1] Big iron gear are often specialized versions of blade servers. [2] And tons of software controls go into the CPU and software design to protect against firmware hacks, reverse-engineering, data exfiltration, counterfeit parts, insecure connections, license tampering, and hardening against internal compromise. [3] Aside from the CPUs and other guts inside the router, newer Cisco gear supports network adapters from Broadcom, Intel and QLogic.
[1] https://blogs.cisco.com/wireless/not-all-802-11ac-aps-are-cr... [2] https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/servers-unified-compu... [3] https://www.design-reuse.com/articles/20671/security-embedde...
