SAN JOSE, Calif., December 3, 2001 — Cisco Systems, Inc., the worldwide leader in networking for the Internet, today announced Cisco Catalyst. Series Intelligent Ethernet Switches for mid-sized enterprise and branch office wiring closets. These new products enhance Cisco's offering by allowing customers to deploy consistent Layer 3/4 Services from the desktop to the core and through the wide area network (WAN) - resulting in optimized performance of Internet business applications. Cisco also introduced new configuration and verification services that will further ease the deployment of network-wide intelligent services.

The new switching products include new models of the Cisco Catalyst 3550 Series and 2950 Series Intelligent Ethernet Switches, the Cisco Catalyst 4000 Family 48-Port 10/100/1000BaseT Line Card, and a switching network module for the Cisco 2600 and 3600 Series Routers. The new products are part of Cisco AVVID (Architecture for Voice, Video and Integrated Data) — the one enterprise architecture that provides an intelligent network infrastructure for today's Internet business solutions.

In addition to running existing mission-critical applications, network infrastructures are evolving to address four key developments at the edge:

• Increase in desktop computing power
• Extensive use of bandwidth-intensive applications
• Increased presence of business critical and highly sensitive data on the network
• Deployment of multiple device types, such as IP phones and wireless access points

As a result, companies are increasingly relying on networks as the strategic business infrastructure. In order to effectively manage access to and delivery of information and applications, today's networks must meet new, higher standards. These standards include: increased network availability to accommodate business-critical needs, scalability to accommodate growth, security to control access to network resources and sensitive information, and traffic control to accommodate video and voice applications.

"With our new Catalyst Intelligent Ethernet switches, companies can realize the full benefits of deploying intelligent services, such as advanced Layer 3/4 Services and multilayer switching, as standard functionality in the wiring closet," said Kathy Hill, Vice President and General Manager of Cisco's Desktop Switching Business Unit. "By delivering intelligent capabilities in our new desktop switch families, we are addressing the mid-size network need for enterprise-class functionality that's also affordable and easy-to-use."

Cisco's new Intelligent Ethernet Switches are designed to be upwardly compatible with its Layer 2 Catalyst 3500 and 2900 Series XL desktop switches installed base, allowing for continuity in stacking capabilities and software features.

Enhancing Cisco's Product Portfolio with Intelligent Ethernet Switches

Cisco today introduced the following new products and enhancements to its switching product line:

• Cisco Catalyst 3550 Series Intelligent Ethernet Switches — Three new enterprise-class, wire-speed stackable, multilayer Intelligent Ethernet switches in Fast Ethernet and Gigabit Ethernet configurations that deliver, for the first time, network-wide intelligent services, such as advanced quality of service, rate-limiting, Cisco security access control lists, multicast management, and high-performance, full dynamic IP routing - while maintaining the simplicity of traditional local area network (LAN) switching.
• Cisco Catalyst Enhanced Multilayer Software Image (EMI) — Software upgrade to standard versions of the Catalyst 3550-48 and 3550-24 switches with enhanced services including wire-speed dynamic IP routing.
• Cisco Catalyst 2950 Series Intelligent Ethernet Switches — Four fixed-configuration, stackable models that provide wire-speed Fast Ethernet and Gigabit Ethernet connectivity and bring intelligent services, such as advanced quality of service, rate-limiting, security filters, and multicast management, to the network edge. When a Catalyst 2950 Switch is combined with a Catalyst 3550 Series Switch, the solution enables IP routing from the edge to the core of the network.
• Cisco Cluster Management Suite (CMS) Software Enhancements — Embedded in the Catalyst 3550 and 2950 Series, CMS Software allows users to simultaneously configure and troubleshoot multiple Catalyst desktop switches using a standard Web browser. New capabilities include configuration wizards that greatly simplify the implementation of converged applications and network-wide intelligent services.
• Cisco Catalyst 4000 Family 48-Port 10/100/1000BaseT Line Card — Delivering the industry's highest-density, triple-speed, auto-sensing 10/100/1000 connectivity from the network edge to the desktop, this new line card is affordable for every desktop in the enterprise, while offering investment protection for Gigabit Ethernet and the Catalyst 4000.
• Cisco 2600 and 3600 Series Routers EtherSwitch Network Module — Introducing the first switching module that adds 16 ports of 10/100 Ethernet connectivity and one optional 1000BaseT uplink port together with inline power support for IP phones and wireless LAN access points to the popular Cisco 2600 and 3600 Series routers. This provides customers the option of a single, integrated routing and switching platform at the small branch for easier configuration, deployment and management of low-density data and IP telephony deployments.

New Service and Support Options for Intelligent Ethernet Solution

The Cisco Catalyst 2950 Series, Catalyst 3550 Series, Catalyst 4000 Family switches and the Cisco 2600/3600 Series routers EtherSwitch Network Module are supported by a full portfolio of services designed to align our customers' unique business strategies and goals with high-performance, high availability networks.

Cisco's Total Implementation Solutions (TIS) program, which provides a full range of implementation services, has been expanded to provide new configuration and verification services that will ease the deployment of network-wide intelligent services such as quality of service (QoS) and multicast management. Education and training on these new services will also be available to support channel partners in the delivery of intelligent networks to their end customers.

Cisco continues to offer technical support services to augment the resources of customer operations staffs through Cisco SMARTnet^TM and SMARTnet On-Site.

Pricing and Availability

Cisco is delivering its new products according to the following price points and timeline:

Product	Price	Price/Port	Shipping
Cisco Catalyst 3550-12G	US$9,995	US$833	Now
Cisco Catalyst 3550-24 with EMI	US$5,490	US$229	This month
Cisco Catalyst 3550-24 with SMI	US$3,495	US$146	This month
Cisco Catalyst 2950G-48	US$4,995	US$104	This month
Cisco Catalyst 2950G-24	US$2,995	US$125	This month
Cisco Catalyst 2950G-12	US$2,495	US$208	This month
Cisco Catalyst 2950G-24-DC	US$3,995	US$166	This month
Cisco Catalyst 4000 Series 48-port 10/100/1000BaseT Line Card	US$9,995	US$208	This month
Cisco 2600 and 3600 Routers EtherSwitch Network Module	US$1,800	US$113	This month
Cisco Catalyst 3550-48 with Enhanced Multilayer Software Image (EMI)	US$7,790	US$162	Q1 2002
Cisco Catalyst 3550-48 with StandardMultilayer Software Image (SMI)	US$5,795	US$121	Q1 2002
Cisco Catalyst EMI Upgrade	US$1,995		Q1 2002

In addition, Cisco has recently dropped the list price for some of its previously announced Catalyst 2950 Series switches. The new list prices are as follows:

Product	Price
Cisco Catalyst 2950T-24	US$1,995
Cisco Catalyst 2950-24	US$1,295
Cisco Catalyst 2950-12	US$1,195

For more information on Cisco Service and Support options for QoS and multicast configuration, contact gps-pds-west@cisco.com.