SAN JOSE, Calif., March, 11, 2002 - Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO), the worldwide leader in networking for the Internet, today announced that the Swedish Internet Exchange Provider Netnod is deploying the Cisco ONS 15194 IP Transport Concentrator, the industry's highest density transport solution for Dynamic Packet Transport/Resilient Packet Ring (DPT/RPR) networks, to connect all Netnod Internet traffic across northern Europe.

In order to meet the tremendous growth demands of the Internet traffic, Netnod (www.Netnod.se) arranges high-speed connections between regional Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and is responsible for the operation and maintenance of these connections. With the Cisco ONS 15194 Netnod is able to exchange Internet traffic with fifty ISPs from around the world.

"Building upon the superior economic value of Cisco's DPT/RPR technology, the ONS 15194 allows us to deliver the industry's highest level of scalability to our customers which, in turn, allows for a greater level of service and reliability not found in other offerings," said Magnus Andersson, chief of operations for Netnod. "The efficiencies inherent in Cisco's DPT/RPR product allow Netnod to also deliver transparent services, such as in-service upgrades and remote management -- critical to our operation in Sweden as the only Internet Exchange Carrier. "

Netnod created the Internet exchange point based on a Cisco's market-leading Dynamic Packet Transport (DPT) technology. As a complement to Cisco's DPT /RPR products, the Cisco ONS 15194 enables the creation of logical rings over physical star fiber topology for maximum performance and reliability. The ONS 15194 easily enables in-service management for adds, moves, changes and other maintenance without any service disruption. Since initial deployment in May 2000, the ONS 15190, and now the higher density ONS 15194, has maintained a 100% uptime record within the network according to Netnod.

With multi-gigabit transport speeds, DPT/RPR technology is ideal for customers who require high-bandwidth connectivity for mission critical applications such as voice and, video.

"With the introduction of the ONS 15194 we are seeing new market opportunities for DPT/RPR as customers recognize the business benefits of our superior scalability and carrier-class reliability," said Roland Acra, group vice president, Internet Routing Group at Cisco Systems. "Netnod is a progressive Exchange Point Operator. The organization's adoption of DPT/RPR has enabled Netnod to provide highly reliable, multi-gigabit transport services for leading ISPs coupled with sophisticated centralized ring management and monitoring."

Cisco's innovative DPT is a Resilient Packet Ring technology that, drawing upon Cisco's expertise in both IP and optical networking, combines the intelligence and scalability of IP routing with the bandwidth efficiencies of optical rings. DPT/RPR delivers simplified network operations, scalable IP services, highly reliable IP-aware optical transport, and superior economics. In addition to Exchange Point Operators, other market segments such as PTTs, ISPs, Cable MSOs and universities are increasingly taking advantage of the technology advancements afforded by DPT/RPR.Cisco DPT technology is the Resilient Packet Ring market leader, deployed in over 200 customer networks with more than 15,000 ports shipped. DPT is based on the Spatial Reuse Protocol (SRP), a Cisco-developed MAC-layer protocol for ring-based packet internetworking. Cisco has submitted SRP to the IEEE 802.17 RPR Working Group for consideration as the basis for the industry standard.

ONS 15194 Pricing and Availability

Pricing for the Cisco ONS 15194 starts at $47,250 US list. For more information on the ONS 15194 please visit: http://www.cisco.com/go/metroip

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