ATLANTA, Sept. 12, 1994 -- In an aggressive foray into the fastest-growing segment of the internetworking business, Cisco Systems has added five new product lines to its family of remote access internetworking devices, which enable workers in satellite offices, telecommuters and mobile professionals to access corporate data networks. The product lines, which include both new hardware platforms and new variations on the widely used Cisco 2500 platform, bring the user over 50 specific remote access solutions.

More than 57 percent of the Access Products sold worldwide during 1993 were shipped by Cisco, according to the market research firm In-Stat (Scottsdale, Ariz.). Cisco is currently shipping more than 10,000 branch office routers per month, chiefly various versions of the entry-level Cisco 2500 model the company introduced in January.

Don Listwin, Cisco vice president of marketing, said, "Cisco now offers by far the broadest range of remote access options in the industry. Whether the need is for small offices or individual telecommuters, for one or several remote connections, for PC-based or stand-alone routing, Cisco has the solution. And enterprise-wide interoperability is guaranteed because all Cisco products -- from the smallest remote unit to our highest-end backbone router -- run the same Cisco Internetwork Operating System software." Cisco's new products are:

• The Cisco AccessPro PC Card, the first PC card that provides the full power of a stand-alone router. The router on a card is the result of a 1993 agreement between Cisco and Microsoft to develop a board-level router for Microsoft Windows NT Advanced Server PCs. Priced starting at $1,995, the card began shipping in August.

• The Cisco 1000 LAN Extenders, designed for the smallest, most cost-sensitive remote sites. Based on a new two-port hardware platform and specialized switching software, at $1,595 these are Cisco's lowest-priced stand-alone remote access devices; they will be available in October.

• Combined access router/wiring hubs, based on the Cisco 2500 platform, that provide simplified installation, integrated management, and cost and space savings. Priced starting at $3,095, these integrated products will ship in November.

• Three new models of the Cisco 2500 platform that support two LAN connections each, instead of the single connection on earlier versions. The new models, priced starting at $2,995, will be available in October.

Cisco Systems, Inc., headquartered in San Jose, Calif., is the leading global supplier of internetworking products, including routers, bridges, workgroup systems, ATM switches, dial-up access servers, software routers and router management software. These products are used to build enterprise-wide internetworks linking an unlimited number of geographically dispersed LANs, WANs and IBM SNA networks. Cisco's Internetwork Operating System (IOS) technology, found in more than 200,000 installed Cisco units and in the products of over 20 partners, is the de facto industry standard for data transmission. In the U.S., Cisco is traded over the counter under the Nasdaq symbol CSCO. A member of the S&P 500 and Fortune 500, Cisco in fiscal 1994 logged sales of $1.2 billion.

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Posted: Sep 12 09:41:19 1994