Cisco Systems, Inc. , one of the most successful companies of the Internet era, originally manufactured only enterprise routing equipment. These days, Cisco sells a variety of devices for both enterprises and telecommunications carriers. These include, but are not limited to:
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Ethernet switches
- Branch office routers and CPE (Customer Premises Equipment)
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IP Telephony products such as IP PBXes (CallManager), VoIP gateways and IP phones
- Network security devices such as Firewalls and VPN concentrators
- Metro optical switching platforms
- Large telco-class core and edge routers / MPLS switches
- Carrier and enterprise ATM switches
- Cable Modem Termination Systems (CMTSes)
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DSL subscriber aggregation / concentration equipment
- Remote access and universal gateways
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Storage Area Network (SAN) switches and appliances
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Network management software and appliances
Cisco's tag line is "The Worldwide Leader in Networking for the Internet" [1].
Corporate History
The married couple Leonard Bosack and Sandra Lerner , who worked in computer operations staff at Stanford University, founded Cisco Systems in 1984. Bosack adapted multiple protocol router software originally written by William Yeager , another staff employee who had begun the work years before Bosack arrived from the University of Pennsylvania, where Bosack had received his Bachelor's degree.
While Cisco was not the first company to develop and sell a router (a device that forwards computer traffic from one network to another), it did create the first commercially successful multi-protocol router to allow previously incompatible computers to communicate using different network protocols. As the Internet Protocol (IP) has become a standard, the importance of multi-protocol routing as a function has declined. Today, Cisco's largest routers only route IP packets and MPLS frames.
In 1990 the company went public and was listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange. Bosack and Lerner walked away from the company with $170 million [2], and later divorced.
Using acquisitions, internal development and partnering with other companies Cisco has made inroads into many network equipment markets outside of routing, including Ethernet switching, remote access, branch office routers, ATM networking, security, IP telephony and others. In 2003, Cisco acquired Linksys, a popular manufacturer of computer networking hardware and positioned it as a leading brand for the home and the end user networking market ( SOHO).
Cisco has set up "Cisco Networking Academies" in 128 countries aimed at teaching students to design and maintain computer networks.
Cisco provides certifications to professionals in the networking field. These include:
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CCIE (Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert)
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CCNA (Cisco Certified Network Associate)
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CCDA (Cisco Certified Design Associate)
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CCNP (Cisco Certified Network Professional)
- CCDP (Cisco Certified Design Professional)
- CCIP (Cisco Certified Internetwork Professional)
- CCSP (Cisco Certified Security Professional)
The company has its corporate headquarters in San Jose, California.
John Chambers is the current President and CEO.
Origin of the Cisco name
The name "Cisco" is not an acronym, but an abbreviation of San Francisco. According to John Morgridge, employee 34 and the company's first president, the founders hit on the name and logo while driving to Sacramento to register the company -- they saw the Golden Gate Bridge framed in the sunlight [3]. The name cisco Systems (with the lowercase "c") continued in use within the engineering community at the company long after the official company name was changed to Cisco Systems, Inc. Users of Cisco products can still see the name ciscoSystems occasionally in bug reports and IOS messages.
The company's logo reflects its San Francisco name heritage: it represents a stylized Golden Gate Bridge.
Corporate acquisitions
For a list and discussion of Cisco's acquisitions, see Cisco Systems acquisitions.
A partial list of products:
- Cisco CallManager
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Wireless IP Phone 7920
- IP Phones 7960 and 7940
- Catalyst switch series: 29xx, 35xx, 37xx, 40xx, 45xx, 5xxx, 6xxx
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Routers: 700, 800, 1600, 1700, 1800, 2500, 2600, 3600, 3700, 3800, 4500, 4700, 7200 , 7500, 7600, 12000 , CRS-1 etc.
- Content Loadbalancers (acquired from Arrowpoint )
- Content Engine
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CiscoWorks Network Management software
- Wireless Access Points : 350, 1100, 1200, 1300
- Wireless LAN Solution Engine
- VPN Concentrator
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PIX Firewall
- AS5xxx Remote Access dial in servers (RAS)
- AS5xxx series VoIP gateways
Diversity
Cisco received a 100% rating on the Corporate Equality Index released by the Human Rights Campaign starting in 2004, the third year of the report. In addition, the company was named one of the 100 Best Companies for Working Mothers in 2004 by Working Mothers magazine.
See also
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IOS - Internetwork Operating System
External links
