SAN JOSE, Calif. - April 22, 1997 - Cisco Systems, Inc. announced today thatExcite, Inc. has selected the Cisco LocalDirector for its Internet navigationnetwork. Cisco's LocalDirector is a network device that reduces the cost ofproviding large-scale Internet services. By deploying LocalDirector, Excite isable to scale its Internet services to handle high-volume traffic and providereliable service in mission-critical environments.
Excite and Cisco are working together to deploy a scalable solution thatallows Excite's network to serve more users by distributing network trafficacross multiple Web servers. The Cisco LocalDirector flexibility enables Exciteto manage the workflow of its numerous servers, add and remove servers from agroup transparently and easily manage and support IP addresses for its collectionof servers and systems.
"We have a solid network using the best technology the industry has to offer.As Internet usage increases, we want to ensure that our users can rely on thesame quality of service and speed they've come to expect from us," said JohnPrall, director of network operations at Excite. "Cisco's LocalDirector allowsus to deliver quality service to our users even during network updates andmaintenance."
Cisco's LocalDirector is part of the company's Internet Appliance Series thatoffers dedicated hardware to enhance Internet and intranet scalability. TheCisco LocalDirector increases accessibility to Web servers by providing theappearance of a single, "virtual" server that distributes traffic among a systemof servers and provides support for all common TCP/IP Internet services such asthe World Wide Web, File Transfer Protocol (FTP), Telnet and Gopher.LocalDirector maximizes Web site performance by supporting more than one millionsimultaneous TCP sessions and providing fault tolerance to Internet serviceswhile providing over 45 Mbps of throughput.
"Cisco is committed to providing vendors like Excite with the most flexiblesolutions to increase the performance and capacity of their networks," saidChristine Hemrick, vice president of marketing at Cisco's Internet Applicationsand Appliances Business Unit. "With a dependable Cisco solution in place, Exciteis well positioned to manage increased usage, deliver reliable content andsimplify its Web site management."
Excite, one of the biggest and most popular navigational hubs on the Web,offers Internet users information retrieval tools that are sophisticated and easyto use. Excite has one of the largest network reaches on the Internet; 44.3%according to the February report from PC Meter. The company's Internetnavigation service uses a unique concept search technology to search more than 50million Web pages.
About Excite
Founded in 1994, Excite, Inc. is one of the Web's most popular networks. TheExcite Network consists of four of the Internet's leading brands: Excite
