MAYNARD, Mass. - April 22, 1997 - Digital Equipment Corporation (NYSE: DEC)and Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) today announced a licensing agreement forDigital's patented FDDI Full Duplex Technology (FFDT) to be used on Cisco'shigh-end routers. The agreement will enable Cisco high-end routers to maximizeperformance when connected to full duplex FDDI-capable devices, such as Digital'sGIGAswitch/FDDI backbone switch. The agreement will also provide FDDI customerswith a path encompassing future growth and capacity needs.
Digital pioneered FFDT to further the robust nature of FDDI networks.Enabling two 100 Mbps simultaneous, independent data paths between any sendingstation and any receiving station, FFDT provides an aggregate throughput of up to200 Mbps, twice that of traditional FDDI, with point-to-point connections. Forexample, Digital's GIGAswitch and FFDT enable a given router to transmit to asecond router while simultaneously receiving from a third router. In networkbackbones, which support a large number of switched connections, FFDT enablescustomers to significantly boost throughput without changing their networkinfrastructure.
Digital's FFDT autoconfiguration capability allows plug-and-play andinteroperability with FDDI standard products. Products supporting FFDT areautomatically configured to operate at full duplex mode.
Business Research Group's recent Network 2000 study of network managersshowed that FDDI is used as the primary medium for backbone networks in 56% ofthe businesses surveyed. "FDDI will continue to be a viable force in the campusbackbone through 1999," said Greg Cline, Business Research Group's Director ofNetworking and Internet Research. According to In-Stat, FDDI switchingdeployments grew nearly 250% last year.
"The real bet-your-business-and-your-career workhorses at the switched FDDIbackbone are Digital GIGAswitch/FDDI switches and Cisco 7500 series routers,"said Robert Rennick, vice president and general manager of Digital's NetworkProduct Business. "By licensing our FDDI Full Duplex Technology to Cisco, Digitalis very pleased to be able to continue to meet our customers' needs forperformance improvement, investment protection and interoperability with proventechnologies."
Cliff Meltzer, vice president and general manager at Cisco Systems, said,"With full duplex FDDI, we're again improving the price and performance of ourFDDI connectivity by offering this option on our high-end routers. Thistechnology complements our wide range of network interfaces."
Frank Byrum, vice president of network engineering at Infinet NetworkServices, an Internet service provider (ISP) based in Norfolk, Va., said,"Enabling my core network devices, including GIGAswitches and Cisco routers, torun at equivalent speeds significantly boosts the performance of the applicationsrunning over our FDDI network. FFDT not only extends the bandwidth available tomy users, it also protects my current investment."
About Digital Equipment Corporation
Digital Equipment Corporation isa world leader in open client/server solutions from personal computing tointegrated worldwide information systems. Digital's scalable Alpha and Intelplatforms, storage, networking, software and services, together withindustry-focused solutions from business partners, help organizations compete andwin in today's global marketplace.
Additional information on Digital's networking solutions is available on theWorld Wide Web at
Digital, the Digital logo and GIGAswitch are trademarks of Digital EquipmentCorporation.
Cisco Systems
Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO)is the worldwide leader in networking for the Internet. News and information areavailable at http://www.cisco.com.
Cisco IOS and Cisco Systems are trademarks, and Cisco and the Cisco logoare registered trademarks of Cisco Systems, Inc. All other trademarks, servicemarks, registered trademarks or registered service marks mentioned in thisdocument are the property of their respective owners.
