Cisco Extends Enterprise WAN Solutions; High-End Router Enhancements will Improve Bandwidth Utilization, Security and Access

Business Wire, Oct 29, 1996

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 29, 1996--Cisco Systems, Inc. today announced significant enhancements to its high-end routers that will enable network managers to improve bandwidth utilization, security and access in enterprise wide area networks (WANs), while reducing costs.

These enhancements extend the company's comprehensive, Cisco IOS software-based solution set for enterprise WAN environments, which span from home and remote offices to headquarters data centers.

"With the combination of enhanced Cisco IOS network services and new, higher density interfaces, we can offer cost-effective, integrated solutions across the entire enterprise WAN," said Richard Palmer, director of marketing for Cisco's high-end routing products.

Improving Bandwidth Utilization

As enterprises become more distributed, new mission-critical applications tax bandwidth availability. Network managers can solve these bandwidth constraints by adding new WAN links, but they are being pressured to reduce networking costs.

Data compression technology maximizes bandwidth and increases WAN link efficiency by enabling more data to be sent in every packet. Consequently, network managers can cost-effectively increase application performance and service availability for end users without costly infrastructure upgrades.

Cisco IOS compression services operate on both high-end, central site routers and on remote site routers to provide an integrated wide area networking solution. Cisco's new Compression Service Adapter (CSA) enables central site routers to aggregate the compressed data streams from multiple remote site routers, which improves performance without impacting system resources. The CSA offloads Cisco IOS software compression algorithms from the main Route/Switch Processor (RSP). The RSP remains dedicated to routing tasks, while the CSA optimizes compression performance.

A single CSA can increase the compression capabilities of Cisco 7500 series routers from 10 to 20 times. And a Cisco 7513 router can support as many as 11 such adapters.

Improving Security

The rapidly growing use of the Internet and other WAN connections increases concern about securing corporate information assets from unauthorized access. To date, encryption services have been implemented on a limited basis. Either the additional network processing power required impacts router performance or the use of external link encryptors are too costly and difficult to manage.

Cisco today announced the capability to distribute Cisco IOS encryption services to the Versatile Interface Processor Model 2-40 (VIP2-40). This enables large-scale deployment of encryption at central sites with high encryption requirements.

The VIP2-40 offloads processor-intensive encryption tasks normally performed by the RSP to the processing capabilities of the VIP. Because the RSP is relieved of encryption tasks, it can dedicate its resources to ensuring high packet routing and switching performance.

Network managers can use NetFlow Switching, a new Cisco IOS software switching mechanism, with Cisco IOS encryption services to selectively apply encryption to only the users, applications or sessions which require it. This improves overall network performance and is less expensive than encrypting all traffic on each link.

Cisco IOS encryption features include Diffie-Hellman public key encryption (PKE), Digital Signature Standard (DSS) and Data Encryption Standard (DES) algorithms. Both DSS and DES depend upon "crypto-maps" that use extended IP access lists to define network, subnet, host or protocol pairs for encryption between routers.

Improving Access to Enterprise WANs

Today's enterprise WANs must be flexible and extendible to use an ever-changing mix of carrier services. New port adapter modules and interface processors for Cisco 7200, 7500 and 7000 series routers (with RSPs) will allow network managers to support more users and locations, over a wider variety of WAN access technologies, than ever before. These include:

-- An eight-port serial port adapter module for high-density serial

connections. With this port adapter, network administrators can

provision eight T-1 (1.55 Mbps) or E-1 (2.048 Mbps) ports; four

ports delivering speeds up to 4 Mbps, or two ports delivering

speeds up to 8 Mbps (E-2).

-- Channelized T-3 interfaces for Cisco 7500 series routers that can

aggregate traffic from 28 T-1 links and provide 45 Mbps of

bandwidth on a single card. This solution delivers dedicated T-1

access at less than half the cost of any competing solution.

-- A high-speed serial interface (HSSI) port adapter, which offers

one to two full-duplex, 52 Mbps HSSI interfaces for use in

distributed switching environments requiring large numbers of

connections. -0-

Product                    Price             Availability

Compression Service         $ 8,000-           Immediate
 Adapters (CSAs)            $14,000

Cisco IOS encryption        $ 7,000            Immediate
services software
feature license for
Cisco 7500 series
routers
(includes NetFlow Switching)

Cisco IOS encryption        $ 3,400            Immediate
services software
feature license for
Cisco 7200 series routers
(NetFlow Switching optional)

8-port Serial Port Adapter  $ 8,000            Immediate

Channelized T-3 Interface   $49,000-           Q1 1997
Processors for              $55,000
Cisco 7500 series routers

1-port HSSI Port Adapter    $ 6,000            Immediate

2-port HSSI Port Adapter    $10,000            Immediate

    All port adapters and CSAs operate with Cisco 7200 series
routers, and on Cisco 7500 and 7000 series routers (with RSPs).