CISCO SYSTEMS UNVEILS VPN ACCESS ROUTER.

Cisco Systems, Inc. has unveiled the Cisco 1720 VPN access router for small and medium-sized businesses and small branch offices of larger corporations. The Cisco 1720 defines a new class of VPN access routers, delivering three key benefits:

extensive VPN capabilities through the power of Cisco IOS software; flexibility through modular design; and network device integration to simplify deployment and lower management costs.

"Extending the success of the Cisco 1600 Series, the Cisco 1720 router is designed for small and medium-sized businesses and for enterprise small branch offices whose corporate networks are evolving into next-generation Intranets and Virtual Private Networks," said Paulette Altmaier, VP of the remote internetworking business unit at Cisco Systems.

Cisco 1720 VPN Access Router The modular Cisco 1720 router, a new addition to the Cisco Networked Office stack suite of products, features two WAN Interface Card (WIC) slots, one autosensing 10/100 Fast Ethernet port and one auxiliary (AUX) port. The Cisco 1720 offers WAN-service flexibility and investment protection by supporting the same WAN interface cards available for the Cisco 1600, 2600, 3600 Series platforms, including ISDN, serial, and integrated data service unit/channel service unit (DSU/CSU) cards. Powered by a RISC processor, the Cisco 1720 delivers enhanced encryption performance to meet the VPN needs of small and medium-sized businesses and small branch offices.

An Integrated, Flexible Solution With an integrated router, firewall, VPN tunnel server, DSU/CSU, NT1, and encryption, the Cisco 1720 quickly and easily deploys secure standards-based VPN tunnels. Customers realize reduced deployment and management costs via simplified configuration and troubleshooting of a single integrated device.

Virtual Private Networking Virtual private networks (VPNs) can significantly reduce WAN costs, improve global connectivity, and provide new capabilities such as secure extranet communications among business partners.

Cisco IOS software now offers a comprehensive set of VPN features. The Cisco IOS Firewall provides an advanced security solution that protects networks from external security violations. IP Security (IPSec) Data Encryption Standard (DES)

and Triple DES, provide standards-based data privacy, integrity, and authenticity to ensure security of data traveling across a public network or the Internet. The Cisco 1720 supports software-based encryption at speeds up to 512 Kbps. With an internal expansion slot built-in, a future hardware-based encryption card could be inserted to support encryption at speeds up toT1/E1. The combination of Layer 2 Tunneling Protocol (L2TP) and IPSec encryption enables a multiprotocol (such as IP, IPX, and AppleTalk) solution for remote access VPNs. Cisco IOS features for Quality of Service (QoS) allocate appropriate VPN bandwidth to mission-critical applications. The Cisco 1720 supports leadership QoS features such as committed access rate (CAR) and weighted fair queueing (WFQ). With these advanced Cisco IOS software features, customers reduce their costs, simplify management, and safely utilize the Internet for business growth.

"VPN services provide a multitude of benefits to our firm and to our clients," said Chris Hagmann, director of technology at the law firm Keesal, Young & Logan. "The Cisco 1720 router is going to pay for itself within the next six months. The savings in access charges to go from a 56/64 Kbps dedicated leased line to a 256 Kbps Internet access line is greater than 50 percent, not to mention the fact that we'll see equal security and faster performance."

Ease of Deployment and Management The Cisco 1720 router supports a range of network management and ease of installation tools. Cisco ConfigMaker, a network design and configuration tool, is also included offering resellers a step-by-step tool to further simplify the installation and configuration process. The Cisco 1720 will also support the Web-based network management suite CiscoWorks2000 in early 1999.

Availability The Cisco 1720 router with IP software and a T1/E1 serial WAN interface card is available at a US list price starting at $2195.

About Cisco Systems Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) is the worldwide leader in networking for the Internet. Cisco news and information are available at http://www.cisco.com.

For more information, call 514/335-2776.