SAN JOSE, Calif. - July 10, 2001 - Cisco Systems, Inc. today announced significant design enhancements to its SAFE security blueprint and two new routers based on Cisco IOS® software: the Cisco 806 Broadband Gateway Router and the Cisco 1710 Security Access Router. Delivering advanced security and routing capabilities for small branch offices, teleworkers and small-to-medium businesses, the new routers are optimized for securing e-Business applications for customers with existing broadband modems.

Today's announcement underscores Cisco's strategy, through the SAFE blueprint, to provide organizations of all sizes with the most scalable, flexible and comprehensive method of securely, reliably and cost-effectively competing in today's fast-paced business environment.

Specific elements of the announcement include:

• The Cisco 806 Broadband Gateway Router provides secure, shared access with the power of Cisco IOS Technology for small offices and teleworkers. The Cisco 806 offers business class security features such as a stateful inspection firewall and support for VPNs with IPSec 3DES encryption.

• The Cisco 1710 Security Access Router delivers advanced routing and comprehensive security functionality to small to medium businesses and small branch offices. These include hardware-assisted wire-speed IPSec 3DES encryption (T1/E1 speeds), support for up to 100 simultaneous VPN tunnels, stateful inspection firewalls, intrusion detection, and advanced routing and QoS features.

• Two design enhancements for the SAFE blueprint. The first delivers lab-tested and proven guidelines for implementing enterprise-class security services in small, medium and remote user networks. The second details VPN-specific design considerations, including extranets, and recommendations for businesses of all sizes.

"With the addition of the Cisco 806 and 1710 routers to our list of approved devices, we believe that we can offer more advanced security and routing functionality to businesses who currently access the Internet with a simple broadband modem," said Ray Bell, chairman and chief technology officer for SmartPipes, an IP software services company that streamlines the process of implementing secure IP VPNs. "The IP VPN management and monitoring control that SmartPipes offers to enterprises, combined with the superior capabilities of these devices, will allow us to offer our customers all of the benefits of e-Business without worrying about security."

As more companies roll out e-Business applications, they need to adopt security measures to protect their electronic business. The Computer Security Institute's 2001 Computer Crime and Security Survey found that cybercrime tallied up $378 million in losses among 186 companies that were able to quantify their damages in 2001. Always-on broadband Internet connections increase a business's vulnerability and require advanced security measures such as firewall and virtual private network (VPN) to protect their electronic business. Businesses need to develop a security plan that integrates multiple layers of security, successfully doing so depends on a comprehensive planning process and constant vigilance.

"Broadband technologies provide a cost-effective means for accessing the Internet. Unfortunately the modems many businesses use to connect to the Internet have no security features and act as an open door for would-be criminals," said Jeff Wilson, Executive Director, Infonetics Research, Inc. "By adding a security device such as the Cisco 806 Broadband Gateway Router or Cisco 1710 Security Access Router to their network, businesses can greatly reduce the risk of unauthorized access to the network. By sharing its security expertise through the SAFE blueprint, Cisco is helping businesses with networks of all sizes protect themselves."

The Cisco 806 Broadband Gateway Router

The newest member of the Cisco 800 series, the Cisco 806 Broadband Gateway Router allows small offices and corporate teleworkers to add security, VPN and other business-class features to any broadband connection. The new router offers one Ethernet WAN port and a four port Ethernet hub for LAN connections. The Cisco 806 supports the SAFE security blueprint and provides multi-user network access through Network Address Translation (NAT); business-class security with optional stateful inspection firewall and IPSec 3DES; Cisco IOS remote management and troubleshooting features, along with proven Cisco IOS reliability; and Quality of Service (QoS) features for traffic management of voice and video applications such using IP Phones for corporate home office workers.

Enterprise customers can use the Cisco 806 router to provide one standard IOS-based router platform to connect diverse broadband technologies — DSL, cable, Ethernet or Long-Reach Ethernet (LRE) — for remote offices and teleworkers. Small businesses can utilize the same business-class features in Cisco IOS for mission critical Internet access. Service Providers can utilize the Cisco 806 router to supplement existing broadband services with security functionality where a clear demarcation between the WAN service and additional business-class services is needed.

The Cisco 1710 Security Access Router

The Cisco 1710 Security Access Router is a dual-Ethernet design enabling enterprise customers to deploy a standardized security access device across large numbers of geographically dispersed sites for use with broadband DSL/cable modems. This new addition to the Cisco 1700 Series features comprehensive security with integrated virtual private network (VPN), firewall, and advanced routing functionality in an all-in-one device. For service providers, the Cisco 1710 Security Access Router provides an add-on security solution to basic broadband services. By delivering managed VPN services to small branch office and small and medium-sized business customers, service providers can enable these businesses to deploy e-Business applications while increasing revenue per line.

The Cisco 1710 router is offered with 16MB Flash and 32MB DRAM default memory configuration. It includes a VPN hardware encryption module that accelerates IPSec 3DES performance up to T1/E1 speeds and stateful inspection firewall while supporting up to 100 concurrent VPN tunnels. The new Cisco 1710 router offers one Ethernet WAN port and one 10/100 Fast Ethernet port for high-speed LAN connection. An unique feature of the Cisco 1710 not found on simple security access device includes IEEE 802.1Q VLAN support to enable enterprises to set up multiple VLANs and route between them for added security within the internal corporate network and ease of network resource management. With Cisco IOS software, the Cisco 1710 includes a comprehensive suite of QoS features and optional multiprotocol routing (IP, IPX, and AppleTalk).

The SAFE Enhancements

SAFE is the first industry blueprint to address security issues for the entire enterprise, identifying which security solutions should be deployed throughout the network and providing detailed guidelines for implementation.

Built on Cisco AVVID - the Architecture for Voice, Video and Integrated Data - the SAFE blueprint utilizes a modular approach to securing the enterprise network in which security design, implementation and management processes are all specified for customers. Each design module relates to a specific area of the e-Business infrastructure. For example, one existing design module specifies how a customer can secure a network for electronic commerce while another shows how to secure campus environments.

Today's announcement adds two new designs, each with its own set of modules for the SAFE blueprint. These designs build on best-practice information found in the original SAFE document, which was aimed primarily at large enterprise networks. The resulting specifications were built and tested in Cisco labs, and they are documented at length on the World Wide Web.

The first design addresses small, medium and remote user networks by detailing the security considerations and guidelines that are specific to those environments. The second design addresses VPNs by providing companies of all sizes with the industry's most comprehensive approach to implementing business critical VPN services.

Cisco will continue to enhance and extend the SAFE blueprint with new designs aimed at meeting the changing requirements of e-Business.

Pricing and Availability

The Cisco 806 Broadband Gateway Router is currently available at a list price of $649 USD. More information is available at http://www.cisco.com/go/800. The Cisco 1710 Security Access Router is available July 12 and lists for $1,895 USD. For more information, visit http://www.cisco.com/go/1700. All SAFE design documents are available immediately at http://www.cisco.com/go/SAFE.

About Cisco Systems

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ: CSCO) is the worldwide leader in networking for the Internet. Cisco news and information are available at http://www.cisco.com.

Cisco, Cisco Systems, IOS and the Cisco Systems logo are registered trademarks of Cisco Systems, Inc. or its affiliates in the U.S. and certain other countries. All other trademarks mentioned in this document are the property of their respective owners. The use of the word partner does not imply a partnership relationship between Cisco and any other company. (0005R)