BERLIN, June 6, 1994 -- Cisco Systems has introduced Point and ClickInternetworking(tm), a way to let small- to medium-sized customers withlittle or no networking experience design, install and configure their ownrouter-based internetworks using a single Windows-based personal computer.

Created for users who need to interconnect office workgroups at up to15 sites, Point and Click Internetworking bundles two or more Cisco 2500entry-level routers with a suite of PC software tools on three CD-ROMs thatoffer step- by-step instructions for interconnecting multiple remote sites.The program initially is aimed at customers purchasing routers throughCisco's European resellers.

"Up to now vendors, in an effort to reduce the level of technicalexpertise required by customers, have focused mainly on remote-accessproducts in large installations," said Bruce Byrd, Cisco product marketingmanager. "This does nothing to help the smaller customer who is setting up aninternetwork for the first time -- perhaps connecting a half dozen LANworkgroups at different sites -- who isn't technically oriented and whoseinstallation is based on the TCP/IP, Novell IPX or AppleTalk protocols.

Helping Smaller Users Move into Internetworking

"Point and Click Internetworking addresses for the first time the needsof the small to medium-size user who typically buys products throughreseller channels and wants a simple, cost-effective way to set up aninternetwork," Byrd said. Its key components are the Cisco 2500 series --the entry-level router family of which we've shipped more than 20,000 unitssince its introduction inJanuary -- and a comprehensive set of softwaretools that guides even the novice user through router setup quickly andeasily."

Point and Click Internetworking has two components:

• CD-PAC(tm), consisting of three CD-ROMs:

  1. an Internetworking Overview, which provides a tutorial on IP/IPX/AppleTalk internetwork design and installation plus descriptions of third-party offerings such as WAN services and DSU/CSU devices;

  2. an Installation Toolkit of PC-based tools, which includes the Cisco Configuration Builder, a graphical application that synchronizes Cisco router configurations across a network; a TCP/IP protocol software application that provides a TFTP (Trivial File Transfer Protocol) server and Telnet client; and an interactive step-by-step program that leads the user through router installation and configuration. The TFTP server works with Cisco's AutoInstall protocol, a feature that allows a remote router to automatically "learn" its network address and download the software configuration prepared on the PC at the central site using Configuration Builder;

  3. Cisco Connection Documentation,which contains the full Cisco router documentation library and enables users to search quickly for topics by keyword.

• Router Stack, a design employing two or more units of the Cisco 2500, the four-member family of entry-level routers offering one Ethernet or Token Ring port, two synchronous serial ports, an additional asynchronous port for use over telephone lines, and (on two of the models) an ISDN BRI port. The Cisco 2500s are physically stacked at central sites and deployed individually at remote sites.

Pricing and Availability

Point and Click Internetworking, available in November through Cisco'sEuropean reseller partners (see accompanying release), will be offered inthe form of Point and Click Kits (PACKs) consisting of multiple Cisco 2500sand a CD-PAC. The Cisco 2500s are offered at list prices, which range from$3,295 to $4,495 depending on interface configuration. Each PACK containingfive or six Cisco 2500s comes with one CD-PAC free of charge. Each PACKcontaining two to four Cisco 2500s comes with one CD-PAC priced at $495.CD-PACs can be purchased separately for $995 each. (All prices are U.S. list.)

Cisco Systems, Inc., is the leading worldwide supplier ofhigh-performance, multimedia and multiprotocol internetworking products,including routers, bridges, workgroup systems for 10- Mbps/100-Mbps datatransmission, ATM switches, communication servers, and router managementsoftware. Cisco technology is used to build enterprise-wide networkslinking an unlimited number of geographically dispersed LANs, WANs and IBMSNA networks. In the United States, Cisco is traded over the counter underthe NASDAQ symbol CSCO.

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Posted: Jun 6 09:06:40 1994