SAN JOSE, Calif., October 27, 1995 - Cisco Systems Inc. today announced an agreement to purchase privately-held Network Translation, Inc. (NTI), a networking manufacturer of cost-effective, low maintenance network address translation (NAT) and Internet firewall equipment. The investment is intended to broaden Cisco's offerings for security conscious network administrators who want to dynamically map between reusable private network addresses and globally unique, registered Internet addresses. Through its acquisition, Cisco will gain NTI's Private Internet Exchange (PIX) solution which helps network administrators resolve their growing need for registered IP address space. NTI's 10 employees and products will be incorporated into Cisco's Business Development efforts reporting to Vice President Ed Kozel. The financial terms of the purchase are not being disclosed. The transaction is expected to close by the end of November and is not subject to the Hart-Scott-Rodino filing.

The NTI investment is the second action by Cisco in recent months to strengthen its expertise in resource-effective Internet access technology. NTI technology will interoperate with and integrate several functions of the Cisco Internetwork Operating System(tm) (Cisco IOS) software, facilitating use throughout the enterprise. NTI addresses two of the more compelling problems facing the IP Internet -- IP address depletion and Internet security. Customers using the NAT algorithm can take advantage of a larger than assigned pool of addresses. NAT makes it possible to use either your existing IP addresses or the addresses set aside in Internet Assigned Number Authority's (IANA) reserve pool (RFC 1597). Cisco's goal of integrating NTI's technology and personnel is to ease the complexity of Internet access for applications including telecommuting and World Wide Web access.

In August, Cisco purchased Internet Junction Inc., whose products provide Novell NetWare users with easy desktop access to Internet information. Use of Internet resources are skyrocketing with an estimated 56 million users today, expanding to more than 200 million by 1999 according to International Data Corporation.

Cisco, Internet Junction and NTI all offer standards-based public network compatibility for a wide variety of applications. Cisco currently offers Internet connectivity on a variety of products targeted at headquarters sites, departments and branch offices, including the Cisco 7000, Cisco 4000, Cisco 2500, Cisco 1000 and CiscoPro series of routers. Cisco's investment in NTI will help enhance these offerings by adding software features including firewalls to network managers and Internet service providers who are looking to supply robust yet economical service.

Network Translation, Inc., founded in 1994, is headquartered in Palo Alto, CA.

Cisco Systems is the leading global supplier of enterprise networks, including routers, LAN and ATM switches, dial-up access servers and network management software. These products, integrated by the Cisco IOS(tm) software, link geographically dispersed LANs, WANs and IBM networks. Cisco news and product/service information are available at World Wide Web site http://www.cisco.com. Cisco is headquartered in San Jose, CA. Its stock is traded in the United States on NASDAQ under the symbol CSCO.

Cisco IOS is a trademark and Cisco, Cisco Systems and the Cisco logo are registered trademarks of Cisco Systems, Inc.