MENLO PARK, Calif., June 21, 1993 -- Cisco Systems has introduced a new remote access router platform that extends the enterprise internetwork to remote sites where true routing was previously too costly and too difficult to manage.

The Cisco 2000 is a two-port router priced starting at $3,195. It is designed for price-sensitive smaller corporate locations, where users typically require a specified set of protocols and other features.

Two versions of the Cisco 2000 are available: One with an Ethernet and a serial connection and the other with a token ring and a serial connection.

Access Routing Tailored for Limited-Protocol Environments

Discussing the Cisco 2000, David Gudmundson, Cisco product manager, said, "Until now, for cost and management reasons, branch offices of a certain size haven't been included in enterprise networks. Our customer research shows that such sites are waiting for affordable routers that are easy to install. Although they generally require only one or two protocols, they need full network services at the remote sites.

"For MIS managers trying to extend their networks outward to these sites, price is more important than a comprehensive array of protocols. To achieve the needed price point, Cisco decided to offer its first router with a selected protocol set.

"With this product, Cisco becomes the only vendor to offer a product family that spans the enterprise, from the high-speed backbone to the small office, with true routing capability: Access without compromise."

Like all Cisco routers, the Cisco 2000 has a unique auto- installation capability that handles software configuration from a central network operating system. This eliminates the costly task of sending expert personnel to the remote site to install a new router. The user at the site need only connect the LAN/WAN cables and activate the unit. (See accompanying release.)

Features Used Most in Access Applications

The Cisco 2000 offers the features that Cisco has found to be most widely used in access router applications, as opposed to those more common in backbone networks. LAN protocols include TCP/IP, Novell IPX, AppleTalk I and II and transparent bridging. WAN protocols include HDLC, PPP, dial-on-demand, frame relay and X.25 transport. IP routing protocols include RIP, OSPF and Cisco's IGRP.

In addition, the Cisco 2000 supports a number of IBM internetworking features found on larger Cisco routers, including remote source-route bridging, proxy explorer, local acknowledgment, SNA local LU address prioritization, administrative filtering, and NetBIOS name caching and access control filtering.

In the network management area, the Cisco 2000 supports SNMP, LAN Network Manager, and standard and extended lists for all supported LAN protocols.

Because it is a true router, with a router's security features and access control mechanisms (such as access lists and priority output queuing), the Cisco 2000 makes remote access points as secure as the central backbone network.

Upgrade Later to Full-Featured Routing

Cisco plans to offer an upgrade kit that will allow users to convert the new low-end product to a full-featured Cisco 3000 router that supports all protocols and Flash memory. "This means that users can buy for today's needs without worrying about being limited when they want to add more protocols or redeploy the router to a larger site," Gudmundson said.

Pricing and Availability

Available in the third quarter of 1993, the Cisco 2000 Model 2102 (one Ethernet, one Serial port) is priced at $3,195; the Cisco 2000 Model 2202 (one Token Ring, one serial port) at $4,195 (U.S. list price).

Cisco's Remote Access Plans for the Future

Cisco will continue to increase network applications availability and to decrease the total cost of owning a network with future remote access capabilities.

Cisco will extend Appletalk and Novell IPX networks to increase applications availability for mobile and telecommuting users. And, because asynchronous technology is an integral part of network extension, Cisco will integrate asynchronous services throughout its remote access router family.

Cisco will continue to decrease the cost of network ownership by greatly increasing the number of remote sites that can connect to a single Cisco 7000 serial interface. Development plans include a Multichannel Interface Processor that provides channelized T1/E1 and Integrated ISDN PRI for the Cisco 7000.

Cisco will also extend plug and play remote access by enhancing AutoInstall over wide area packet-switched services.

To further decrease the cost of network ownership, Cisco is committed to implementing data compression technology across the high end and remote access product lines, which will reduce wide area access costs by allowing more efficient utilization of wide area links.

Cisco Systems, Inc., is the leading worldwide supplier of high-performance, multimedia and multiprotocol internetworking products, including routers, bridges, communication servers and router management software. Cisco technology is used to build enterprise-wide networks linking an unlimited number of geographically dispersed LANs, WANs and IBM SNA networks. In the United States, Cisco is traded over the counter under the NASDAQ symbol CSCO.