SAN JOSE, Calif., August 8, 1994 -- Cisco Systems today extended thepopular Cisco4000 series of internetworking routers with theCisco 4500, a modular, mid-range router with performance to accommodatecomputation-intensive wide-area network applications. The Cisco 4500accepts Cisco 4000 network processor modules and runs the CiscoInternetwork Operating System (IOS) software.

"The Cisco 4500 employs a 100MHz 64-bit RISC processor, theMIPS-derived R4600 from Integrated Device Technology," said Kevin Kennedy,director of Cisco's access products. "The resulting greater-than-threefoldperformance increase over the Cisco 4000 makes the Cisco 4500 ideal forregional office applications that concentrate increasing densities ofincoming branch office communication lines. A Cisco 4500 with two LANports, eight ISDN BRI ports and two serial ports, for example, could serve aregional office with local LAN-attached servers, many remote branch officesvia dial-up ISDN links and connect to a distant core network over theserial lines."

The Cisco 4500 is designed for customers who anticipate heavy use ofexisting Cisco IOS WAN optimization features such as: local acknowledgmentof SNA WAN traffic; encapsulation of one protocol inside another fortransport over a WAN backbone; priority and custom queuing; or filteringfor remote access security.

The Cisco 4500 will also be the best choice for customers who requireheavy use of the new Cisco IOS WAN optimization features as well as the newhigh density ISDN interfaces:

• A new interface with four or eight ISDN Basic Rate Interfaces will allow customers to save on transmission costs using the Cisco 4000/4500 to serve as an ISDN hub for small businesses or corporate branch offices. (See accompanying press release, "CiscoDelivers Cross-Platform ISDN Products." )

• Protocol translation, previously available only on Cisco's CommunicationServers, will be available for the Cisco 4000/4500. (Protocol translation facilitates communication from remote terminals that need to connect to an IP network over X.25, for example.)

• X.25 Packet Payload Compression and Link Compression will optimize WAN bandwidth.

The original Cisco 4000 continues to be a cost-effective router forbranch office applications. For example, a Cisco 4000 with an Ethernetport and a token ring port and four serial ports could serve a mixed-mediabranch office and provide connectivity to a core network over load-sharingleased lines.

Pricing and Availability

The Cisco 4500 can be ordered immediately for delivery next month. TheUS$9,200 price includes the Cisco Internetwork OperatingSystem withall Cisco-supported communication protocols, routing protocols, bridging,packet switching, WAN technologies, IBM features, and protocol translationsoftware that provides a gateway between X.25, Telnet and DEC LATenvironments. US list price for the original Cisco 4000 with equivalentmemory configuration and software functionality continues to be $6,400.

Software upgrades during the fourth quarter of 1994 (free to customerson maintenancecontracts) will allow the Cisco 4000/4500 tosupport ISDN BRI, protocol translation and X.25 payload compression.

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.