News Release

Nivea Skincare Products Manufacturer Deploys Cisco Systems Gigabit Ethernet-Over-Copper Network

SAN JOSE, Calif., January 9, 2002 - Cisco Systems, Inc.
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Jan 09, 2002

SAN JOSE, Calif., January 9, 2002 - Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO), the worldwide leader in networking for the Internet, today announced that Beiersdorf North America, worldwide manufacturer of Nivea skincare products, has selected Cisco's Gigabit Ethernet-over-copper switching solution to support an increasing number of users and deploy more robust, intelligent services.

Beiersdorf will replace its 10Mbps, hub-based local area network (LAN) infrastructure with Cisco Catalyst 2950T-24 and Catalyst 3550-12T Series Switches throughout its corporate headquarters in Wilton, Connecticut and its production center located in Norwalk, Connecticut. Once completed, employees using bandwidth-hungry applications in production, manufacturing and shipping logistics will experience a 4X improvement in the speed and performance of the network.

In addition, Beiersdorf was able to save considerable time and money in deploying its network upgrade because the Cisco Catalyst switches transmit network traffic at Gigabit Ethernet speeds over Category 5 copper cabling, which is the most widely installed LAN cabling. In fact, no rewiring with fiber is required to migrate to Gigabit Ethernet; all Ethernet speeds - 10, 100 and 1000 Mbps - can operate in the same network using Category 5 cables.

Once deployed, Cisco Cluster Management Suite (CMS) Software allows Beiersdorf to simultaneously configure and troubleshoot their Catalyst desktop switches using a standard Web browser. This embedded tool makes common, time-consuming tasks easier by allowing network managers to perform upgrades or do maintenance of up to 16 switches via the Web, regardless of location. Thus, even though the Cisco switches are located across town and are 15 miles apart, yet are managed as one entity. Beiersdorf's wide area network (WAN) is built with Cisco 3600 Series Routers.

"We selected the Cisco Catalyst 2950T-24 and Catalyst 3550-12T Series Switches because they optimized performance of our business-critical applications, removed many of the bottlenecks in our network, and as a result improved overall employee productivity," said Eric Mucci, Network Administrator of Beiersdorf North America. "Because these switches also support Gigabit Ethernet, we know that our network investment will have lasting value as we continue to grow and deploy more advanced applications, such as SAP."

"Cisco Gigabit switching solutions are ideal for mid-sized enterprise companies, such as Beiersdorf, who want to leverage their existing cabling infrastructure to cost-effectively remove performance bottlenecks and deploy consistent intelligent services, such as IP routing or quality of service, from the wiring closet to the core through the WAN," said Kathy Hill, vice president and general manager of Cisco's Desktop Switching Business Unit. "Using products from our Catalyst 2950 and 3550 Series, Beiersdorf is able to reap the immediate benefits of improved network performance and a more manageable networking environment for administrators, all in one efficient upgrade."

Cisco Catalyst 2950 and 3550 Series Switches are 1000BaseT products that enable mid-sized and enterprise customers to deploy intelligent services across the network - improving availability, scalability, security and control. Robust, network-wide intelligent services can be deployed from the core to the network edge for local access to today's Internet business solutions such as e-learning, e-commerce, IP Telephony and converged voice, video and data.