CISCO INTRODUCES 800 SERIES ROUTERS FOR SMALL OFFICES.

Cisco Systems, Inc., San Jose, Calif., has extended its small office and corporate telecommuter product line with the Cisco IOS(R) software based Cisco 800 series routers. Now, small offices and corporate telecommuters can quickly and easily install and deploy secure and manageable networking products that combine telephone, data and fax communications to deliver high-speed Internet or corporate network access. Cisco is committed to delivering a wide range of connectivity solutions for small offices and corporate telecommuters spanning customer requirements and technologies.

"Telecommuting reduces office costs, increases employee productivity, improves morale and job satisfaction, and enhances our company's ability to recruit top talent in a competitive job market. With Cisco 800 series routers, we can spend more time improving communications and productivity and less time deploying, configuring, and managing products from different vendors," said Rudy Labson, senior network engineer at Genentech Inc. "We can manage the solution as a single entity and rely on Cisco for service and support."

Cisco 800 Series

The Cisco 800 series connects small offices and corporate telecommuters with Ethernet LANs to the Internet or corporate network using ISDN. The 800 series consists of four models; each includes an Ethernet port. The 801 provides a basic rate interface ISDN S/T port, the 802 adds an integrated Network Termination device, NT-1, and the 803 and 804 include a four-port Ethernet hub and two optional analog telephone interfaces. Users can connect their standard telephone and fax to the same ISDN line to reduce telephone charges while providing simultaneous access to the Internet or a corporate LAN.

Security and Management in a Small Office Router

The Cisco 800 series offers extensive end-to-end security and data privacy features not commonly available in small office routers that ensure the safety and integrity of customers' information throughout their networks with Cisco IOS security features. The 800 series includes advanced secure access features such as firewall, router/route authentication, Lock and Key, generic routing encapsulation (GRE), access control lists and encryption. With more advanced business capabilities such as managed network services (MNS), virtual private networking (VPN), or point-of-sale (POS) applications, the Cisco 800 series offers small offices the latest networking technology to accelerate their business growth. The Cisco 800 series relieves small offices from network management via managed network services so they can focus on their core business needs.

"The Cisco 800 series featuring Cisco IOS software brings the technological expertise that powers 80 percent of the Internet to the small office," said Bruce Laird, senior director of marketing of the Remote Internetworking Business Unit at Cisco Systems. "The Cisco 800 series enables business professionals to cost-effectively deploy advanced business applications and scale those solutions to meet their growing and changing Internet access requirements. With integrated management and security capabilities, Cisco eliminates the inherent limitations formerly associated with networking a small office. Additionally, Cisco IOS technology is being extended from the enterprise network to corporate telecommuters and small offices for end-to-end management and security."

Ease of Use

Every Cisco 800 series router ships with Cisco Fast Step(TM) installation and configuration software. The routers include color-coded cabling and an open-me-first instruction pack to ensure easy out-of-the-box deployment. Cisco ConfigMaker, a reseller network design and configuration tool, is also included offering value added resellers (VARs) a step-by-step network design and configuration tool to further simplify the installation and configuration process.

The Cisco 800 series expands the Cisco SOHO product line that also includes the Cisco 700 series. The affordable Cisco 700 series personal routers are ideally suited for home office professionals that need to cost-effectively share local resources and high-speed Internet access.

Availability

The Cisco 800 series routers are available directly from Cisco resellers at a US list price starting at $799. The Cisco 700 series routers are now available at US list prices starting at $499.

For more information, call 514/335-2776.