Cisco Doubles Performance and Port Density of High-End Routers to Help Large Organizations and Service Providers Handle Network Growth, New Applications; New processors will deliver advanced network services at more than one million packets per second

Business Wire, April 22, 1996

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 22, 1996--Cisco Systems, Inc. today announced a new generation of Versatile Interface Processors (VIPs) that can double the performance and port density of its high-end routers, enabling large organizations and service providers to handle network growth and greatly enhance support for key network-layer services such as security, multimedia and traffic management.

The new VIPs (interface cards that plug directly into router chassis slots) will greatly increase the switching performance of Cisco 7000 and 7500 series routers and serve as ideal platforms for new higher-speed, higher-density LAN and WAN interfaces. On the 7500 series, which can support distributed switching and dual Route Switch system Processors (RSPs), performance now can scale from 500,000 packets per second to more than one million.

With the speed and distributed switching capabilities that the RISC-based RSPs and new VIPs provide, customers can deliver enhanced network-layer security services such as encryption and enhanced multimedia applications through faster, more efficient queuing. Doubling the VIP port density greatly reduces total system costs for customers that need to provide large numbers of Ethernet and Serial connections to wide area networks.

"We will continue to extend the performance and capabilities of our routers to support new network designs involving high-speed switching," said Richard Palmer, Cisco's director of marketing for high-end routing products. "Our goal is to give enterprise customers and service providers the tools to handle exponential growth and demanding new applications, while protecting their investments."

Cisco's new Versatile Interface Processors provide double the card bandwidth of previous interface processors and VIPs and double the maximum port density. In addition, a modular architecture enables multiple interface types to be supported on a single VIP interface card. Each VIP can support two port adapter modules; therefore, customers can plug a mix of port adapters -- such as Ethernet and Serial interfaces, for example -- into the card to meet their specific requirements.

Cisco today announced new Versatile Interface Processor cards that can support as many as 16 Ethernet ports and eight Token Ring ports. This complements an existing set of interface processors that can support up to six Ethernet ports and four Token Ring ports. With the new VIPs, the company also introduced seven new port adapter modules supporting various Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, Serial and Token Ring densities. (See following list.)

By fully utilizing the 11 user-configurable slots on a Cisco 7513 router, for example, users now can support 176 Ethernet ports, compared to 66 before. This high port density is achieved by using 11 of the new Versatile Interface Processor cards, each supporting two 8-port Ethernet port adapter modules. Previously, customers could deploy 11 Ethernet cards, each supporting six ports.

The new Versatile Interface Processors can be installed in Cisco's 7500 series models (the five-slot Cisco 7505, the seven-slot 7507 and 13-slot 7513), as well in Cisco's earlier-generation Cisco 7010 and 7000 routers with integrated Route Switch system Processors.

Through the router investment protection program that Cisco originally announced January 15, 1996, Cisco 7000 and 7500 series users can now return an existing interface processor and receive a $3,000 credit toward the purchase of the new Versatile Interface Processor. Customers who bought first-generation VIPs will receive a $2,000 credit for each motherboard returned. Port adapters from earlier-generation Versatile Interface Processors will be reusable in the new VIPs.

Under the investment protection program, customers with Cisco 7010s and 7000s also can take advantage of capabilities previously supported only on Cisco's new 7500 series. The program enables users to upgrade from the standalone route processors and switch processors found in the Cisco 7010 and 7000 to the new Route Switch Processor that was introduced in September 1995 for the Cisco 7500 series.

Cisco's Versatile Interface Processor -- announced in September 1995 with the 7500 series -- was the first router interface card to provide intelligent multilayer switching and run Cisco IOS(tm) software. Each VIP card in a Cisco high-end router can make local switching decisions, based on routing information received from the Route Switch Processor, and independently perform other Cisco IOS functions.

The new Versatile Interface Processors will be orderable in June and will range in price from $8,000 to $18,000, depending on the configuration and Cisco IOS software functionality desired. Port adapter pricing (which is separate) and availability are as follows: -0-

Port Adapter (PA) Modules      Price (U.S. list)    Availability