LAS VEGAS, Nevada - April 4, 2001 -- Cisco Systems, Inc., the worldwide leader in networking for the Internet, today extended its virtual private network (VPN) leadership by announcing its unified VPN client strategy to simplify the process of managing VPN networks while dramatically lowering total cost of ownership. Additionally, Cisco today introduced the Cisco VPN 3002 Hardware Client, an innovative appliance for branch and home offices, and extended availability of its multi-protocol Cisco VPN 5001 Concentrator to channel partners.

Announced at the Cisco Partner Summit 2001 in Las Vegas, Cisco said its unified VPN client strategy is a new framework with a specification to enable VPN connectivity between all desktop, laptop and personal digital assistant clients and the full range of Cisco VPN-enabled concentrators, routers and firewalls. Utilizing "push policy" capabilities, the unified VPN client framework allows customers to centrally manage security policies, while easily delivering large-scale VPN connectivity to remote users. All of Cisco's IPsec-based VPN products for the enterprise and service providers will support the unified VPN client framework.

"This is the first time that any major vendor has devised a roadmap for IPsec VPN clients that work across both enterprise and service provider networks," said Richard Palmer, vice president and general manager of the Cisco VPN and Security Services business unit. "Cisco's VPN client framework will simplify the remote user's experience while improving the company's ability to vastly reduce the cost and complexity of VPN deployments."

The first implementation of this unified client framework is already available for the Cisco VPN 3000 Concentrator series via just-released Cisco VPN Client Release 3.0 software. Further implementations will be added in phases for other enterprise and service provider "edge" devices, including the market-leading Cisco PIXT Firewall family, Cisco 7100/7200 VPN routers, the Cisco VPN 5000 Concentrator series and all modules providing VPN capabilities for Cisco IOSR routers and switches. At the same time, Cisco will add universal interoperability for all major operating systems, including Macintosh, Linux and Solaris in addition to the currently supported Microsoft Windows 95/98/NT/2000/CE/Me and Palm Pilot platforms (through movianVPN from Certicom).

The 3002 Client: Simple, Scalable and Cost Effective

Based on the new unified VPN client framework, the Cisco VPN 3002 Hardware Client combines the best features of a software client, including scalability and ease-of-deployment, with the stability and independence of a hardware platform. The Cisco VPN 3002 Hardware Client works with all operating systems and does not interfere with the operation of the PC because it is a separate hardware appliance.

The Cisco VPN 3002 Hardware Client is a small, highly cost effective appliance. It is ideal for organizations where thousands of remote end-users might be tunneling into corporate networks from large numbers of geographically dispersed branch or home office sites. Some examples of businesses that can benefit from deploying the 3002 include fast food and retail chains, banks and brokerages, insurance franchises, auto dealerships and business associations providing on-line services to member offices. "Cisco continues to deliver on AVVID (the Cisco Architecture for Voice, Video and Integrated Data) with its newest offering, the VPN 3002 Hardware Client," said David Kosiur, senior analyst, The Burton Group. "The 3002 client is well-suited for large-scale VPN rollouts, providing customers with an easy-to-deploy, cost-effective VPN client solution for telecommuters, franchise sites and branch offices."

A single 3002 client can connect a variety of devices > from workstations, servers and hubs to IP phones, cash registers and printers > to a company's central site. At the same time, by integrating push policy technology from the unified VPN client, the 3002 client can also provide significant cost savings to customers.

"We're an efficient organization, but every time I get a support call from one of our dealerships, it costs about $500 to $700 to get someone on the phone or send someone out to resolve it," said Elliot Zeltzer, Volkswagen. "The Cisco VPN 3002 Hardware Client easily pays for itself through the ability to centrally manage and administer configurations, security policy and access controls."

Cisco 5001 VPN Concentrator: Multi-protocol, Multi-platform and Channel-Friendly

For companies that require multi-protocol and multi-platform support today, Cisco announced the availability of the Cisco VPN 5001 Concentrator for channel partners.

"The Cisco VPN 5001 offers us a new revenue stream with significant gross profit," said Greg Byles, vice president of sales at Denver-based Global Technology Resources, Inc., a leading technology reseller. "With its multi-client support, we can now sell a comprehensive VPN solution into virtually any business - opening up a huge market opportunity for us."

Designed specifically for resellers targeting small service providers, as well as small to medium enterprise organizations, the Cisco VPN 5001 Concentrator is the only VPN concentrator in the industry supporting non-Windows software clients. Current OS support includes Windows 95/98/NT/2000 and Windows ME as well as Macintosh, Solaris, Linux and Intel. It also supports organizations using IPX and AppleTalk protocols.

"As a VPN solution with multiple-client platform support, the Cisco VPN 5001 was a clear choice for Adobe," said Ed McCreight, a principal computer scientist in Adobe System's Advanced Technology Group. "Our multi-platform environment requires a VPN solution that supports Mac, Solaris and Linux as well as Windows."

Pricing and Availability

Cisco VPN Client Release 3.0 is available for unlimited distribution with Cisco VPN products for no additional charge. The Cisco VPN 3002 Hardware Client is available immediately in a dual Ethernet version for $995 USD or an eight-port Fast Ethernet switch version for $1,195 USD. The Cisco VPN 5001 Concentrator is available immediately for $19,000 USD.