SAN JOSE, Calif., Aug. 8, 1994 -- Cisco Systems, with an installed baseof 15,000 Integrated Services Digital Network equipped routers, todayexpanded its ISDN solutions. In October:

• The Cisco7000 core router product line gains an ISDN Primary Rate Interface (PRI).

• The Cisco 4000/4500 regional router product line gains an ISDN Basic Rate Interface (BRI).

• A new model of the Cisco 2500 priced and configured for entry-level ISDN applications, becomes available.

Cisco also announced that new Cisco Internetwork Operating System (IOS)features that increase the efficiency of ISDN-based wide-area networks willbegin shipping in the fourth quarter.

"Cisco's ISDN products now go beyond remote branch office routers toinclude regional office and corporate headquarters routers that serve ashubs to link the growing number of remote sites," said Christine Hemrick,marketing director for Cisco's Internetwork Operating System. "Dial-on-demand routing using Cisco's scalable ISDN solutions benefitsregional and headquarter sites that need medium to high levels of ISDNconcentration."

ISDN Primary Rate Interfaces for the Cisco 7000, Worldwide

During fourth quarter 1994 (for North America and Japan) and firstquarter 1995 (for Europe and elsewhere), Cisco will add Primary RateInterface (PRI) support to its highest-performance products, the Cisco 7000and Cisco 7010 core routers, permitting cost-effective concentration ofmultiple remote ISDN users. ISDN PRI will be implemented via a softwareoption for the MultiChannelInterface Processor (MIP), a high-densityWAN access card for the 7000 family. This approach will let users easilyswitch between channelized lease line services and ISDN.

With each MIP card supporting one or two PRIs, the user can run up to240 ISDN channels -- connecting 240 remote sites -- from a seven-slot Cisco7000, which can hold four MIPs.

Basic Rate Interface Hubbing on a Cisco 4000/4500

In October, Cisco will provide support for four or eight Basic RateInterfaces (BRIs) on the modular Cisco 4000 or Cisco 4500 (seeaccompanying press release, "CiscoAnnounces High-Performance Regional Router for NewGeneration of WAN Applications"). These mid-range routers willoffer ascalable ISDN hubbing solution for smaller businesses or branch offices oflarge organizations. Customers can add ISDN support to Cisco 4000/4500 routers with a BRInetwork processor priced at US$4,800 with four BRI ports, or US$8,000 witheight BRI ports.

New Entry-Level ISDN Router

New versions of the Cisco 2500, priced and configured for entry-levelISDN applications, will be available in October. US list price will be: $2,200 for one Ethernet and one ISDN BRI port, and; $2,700 for one tokenring and one ISDN BRI port.

ISDN Enhancements to Cisco's Internetwork Operating System

Cisco's bandwidth-efficient dial-on-demand routing capability enablesCisco routers to establish circuit-switched connections on the basis oftraffic demand. The currently shipping version of the Cisco IOS allowsusers to:

• Establish extra connections automatically to a single destination in response to load conditions.

• Configure ISDN subaddresses so that Cisco routers answer only calls to specific subaddresses (in Europe and Japan, where ISDN BRI standards support multidrop ISDN lines).

• Configure the ISDN Basic Rate Interfaces on Cisco routers with a list of acceptable incoming phone numbers as an added security measure.

The Cisco IOS today also supports dial-on-demand routing of theTCP/IP,Novell IPX and AppleTalk protocols as well as transparent bridging. Beforethe end of the year, the Cisco IOS will add dial-on-demand routing ofBanyan VINES and DECnet/OSI.The Cisco IOS will also support multiple X.25virtual circuits over a single ISDN B-Channel allowing small offices togain access to X.25 networks without the burden of leased line rental.

Cisco products support all popular ISDN signaling schemes and arecertified for ISDN operation in 18 countries. In 1992, the Cisco 3000became the first multiprotocol router to provide a native ISDN interface.

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: Aug 8 09:24:41 1994