Cisco Unveils LAN Switching Solution to Ready Mid-Sized Companies and Branch Offices for IP Telephony Deployment.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 30, 2000

Cisco Systems, Inc. today announced a high performance local area network (LAN) switching solution that will ready midmarket customers -- mid-sized companies and branch offices with 250-1000 employees -- for deployment of IP telephony and other converged applications.

An extension of Cisco's Architecture for Voice, Video and Integrated Data (AVVID), the new solution provides a path to future-proof LANs for Internet business applications, including IP telephony, and other integrated voice, video and data applications. This LAN infrastructure solution enables companies to take advantage of New World applications that enhance competitiveness by cutting costs and improving productivity.

The LAN switching solution consists of the new Cisco Catalyst 3524-PWR XL model that features inline power together with updated software functionality for the Catalyst 3500 series XL and 2900 series XL desktop switches. The software update includes enhanced quality of service (QoS), high availability, integrated management capabilities and security.

"Convergence has made the network a dynamic entity. As today's midmarket companies make networking decisions, they must map a course for their LAN infrastructures to support new applications," said Bill Rossi, senior director of marketing for the Desktop Switching Business Unit at Cisco Systems, Inc. "With Cisco's high performance LAN switching capabilities, mid-sized companies can take the first step toward converged applications."

Through adoption of IP-based applications, companies are able to improve business processes by increasing customer focus, satisfaction and loyalty. In addition, companies deploying an IP-based infrastructure will enjoy reduced phone costs, greater control over the network and the ability to deploy new IP applications that will save time and costs while providing more flexibility for the workforce and customer base.

"Cisco is sending a clear signal to midmarket companies that they must prepare their LANs for converged applications, such as IP telephony," said Michael Speyer, director, Small & Medium Business Communications at the Yankee Group, a Boston, Mass.-based research firm. "By offering a robust switching solution to support IP telephony, Cisco is providing companies that are looking to enjoy the business benefits of a single, converged network with the option of a phased migration path, starting with the LAN."

Optimized Switch for Converged Applications

Cisco's new Catalyst 3524-PWR XL switch includes features making it ideal for customers that expect to deploy converged applications. The new switch, the latest addition to the Catalyst 3500 series XL is a single rack unit (RU) switch featuring 24 10/100 switched ports with integrated inline power and two Gigabit Interface Connector (GBIC)-based Gigabit Ethernet ports that accommodate a range of industry-standard GBICs, including the Cisco GigaStack(TM) GBIC, and 1000BaseSX, 1000BaseLX/LH and 1000BaseZX GBICs.

With integrated inline power, the Catalyst 3524-PWR XL automatically detects the type of IP device on each port, such as an IP phone, and powers it directly, using 48-volt DC power over standard Category 5 unshielded twisted pair cable. Thus, an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) or separate wall power is not required for each IP phone.

The Catalyst 3524-PWR XL is compatible with Call Manager 3.0 and the new Cisco IP Phones announced in March of this year, and with the Cisco Integrated Communications System 7750 announced this month.

Prioritizing Network Traffic

All Catalyst 3500 and 2900 series XL switches support LAN edge QoS based on IEEE 802.1p class of service (CoS). In addition, the Catalyst 3524-PWR XL supports the added feature of port-based reclassification, allowing users to change the switch CoS settings of tagged packets on a per port basis. These features enable users to prioritize mission critical traffic, such as voice traffic ahead of file transfers or Web surfing.

Enhanced Network Availability and Reliability

Catalyst 3500 and 2900 series XL switches include hardware- and software-based high availability features that optimize network uptime and prevent network outages from disrupting network availability. Network administrators can ensure that power outages don't affect a building's telephony connections by implementing the Centralized Power Provisioning system, which consists of the Catalyst 3524-PWR XL with inline power, a Redundant Power Supply (RPS) and a UPS system to back it up in secured wiring closets.

There are also a number of redundancy features that can be built in via the network design. With a redundant switched design that includes standby routing in the backbone, physical redundant links and optimized recovery features, network uptime can be enhanced. Also, dual gigabit uplinks on Catalyst 3500 switches provide a redundant uplink in case the primary link goes down, eliminating the possibility of network disruption. The Catalyst 3500 and 2900 series XL switches utilize intelligent Layer 2 functions such as VLANs, fast convergent Spanning Tree, and other high availability features to enhance overall network stability and reliability.

Integrated Management and Security

The Cisco Catalyst 3500 series XL switches feature a Web-based management tool, Cluster Management Suite (CMS), which allows network managers to view and manage a switch cluster from anywhere on the network through a standard Web browser. CMS is launched from the switch itself and delivers simple network and device-level management, including VLAN set-up, port configuration, network cluster views and port monitoring.

In addition, the Catalyst switches provide a number of wiring closet security options. The switches include port security, which prevents intrusion by limiting port access to specific MAC addresses. Also, TACACS+ authenticates management access to the switches, and Private VLAN Edge provides security and isolation between ports on a switch so that traffic from "protected" ports is only sent to the uplinks and cannot travel to another port within a switch, thereby keeping calls private.

Deploying IP Telephony Today

The Catalyst 3500 XL and 2900 XL switches combined with Cisco IP phones, a Cisco voice-enabled router, call processing software and network management applications provides mid-sized companies and enterprise branch offices with a distributed, highly available, high performance LAN infrastructure solution for IP telephony.

About Cisco AVVID

Cisco's AVVID is the foundation for tomorrow's converged networks. This architecture encompasses: converged client devices, infrastructure hardware/software, directory services, call processing, telephony/data applications, network and policy management, service and support. It enables businesses to deploy IP-enabled business applications, implement a standards-based open architecture, and migrate to a converged network in a customized timeframe. For more information about AVVID, please visit http://www.cisco.com/go/CiscoAVVID.

Pricing and Availability

The Cisco Catalyst 3524-PWR XL is available today and has a list price of U.S $3,995. Cisco's current line of Catalyst 2900 and 3500 XL series switches are priced starting at U.S. $1,995.

For more information on the Cisco's IP Telephony for mid market solutions and the Catalyst 3524-PWR XL, please visit http://www.cisco.com/warp/public/146/kits/ip_telephony/index.htm.

About Cisco Systems

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

Note to Editors: Cisco, Cisco IOS, Cisco Systems, and the Cisco Systems logo are registered trademarks of Cisco Systems, Inc. in the U.S. and certain other countries. All other trademarks mentioned in this document are the property of their respective owners. The use of the word partner does not imply a partnership relationship between Cisco and any of its resellers.