Cisco Delivers Complete System for Content Delivery Networks and Next Generation Content Based Services

Business Wire, August 28, 2000

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 28, 2000

Enabling service providers to build new value into their networks and to deploy content delivery services for new profit opportunities, Cisco Systems, Inc. today announced its Content Delivery Network (CDN) system. With Cisco's comprehensive CDN system offering, service providers can enhance their customer's end user web experience and deliver new content-based services while maintaining availability, security and minimizing response times.

Setting the benchmark for deploying content-delivery infrastructures, a Cisco CDN allows service providers to distribute content closer to the end user and overcome issues such as network bandwidth availability, distance or latency obstacles, origin server scalability, and congestion issues during peak usage periods. In addition to service provider customer benefits, CDNs enable enterprises to accelerate their deployment of advanced e-business applications such as e-learning and live streaming.

Cisco's CDN system is comprised of five technologies; Content Distribution and Management, Content Routing, Content Edge Delivery, Content Switching, and Intelligent Network Services. Only Cisco delivers all five elements as an integrated solution.

"Cisco is aggressively moving into the content delivery market with a new CDN solution geared to enable network service providers to deliver CDN services as well as equipping enterprise customers to deploy their own private CDNs," said Greg Howard, Principal Analyst with The HTRC Group, LLC. "Cisco's recent acquisitions of CDN technology companies, Sightpath and Arrowpoint, have provided the building blocks for delivering a complete CDN solution."

Cisco's CDN system is designed to meet the needs of a wide spectrum of service providers including network service providers (ISP and access providers), overlay content service providers, Web, e-commerce and ASP/hosting service providers, and emerging new-world service providers (e.g., offering applications, streaming, and storage). With its building-block approach to CDNs, only Cisco can deliver service providers a comprehensive end-to-end solution or individual components that add value to the service providers existing network cache and server infrastructures.

Enterprise and dot.com environments also benefit from Cisco's CDN offering which can now roll out accelerated e-business applications including e-commerce, e-learning, gaming, online communities and TV-quality streaming media for communication with employees and partners.

"Our CDN solution will increase the value of our customers' networks by enabling them to offer new interoperable and profitable value-added services," said Krish Ramakrishnan, vice president and general manager at Cisco. "Because we are providing the complete solution based on industry standards, service providers and their enterprise customers can quickly gain access to the accelerating CDN market opportunity -- without needing to integrate disparate emerging technologies or products themselves."

Cisco's CDN Portfolio

Cisco's approach to delivering CDNs is to provide a complete product portfolio that addresses multiple network requirements and scenarios. Cisco's CDN system components include:

-- CE 7320 -- Content delivery appliance for larger content PoPs and
co-location sites. Supports transparent/reverse-proxy caching, distributed web
hosting, and content replication. Upgradeable to support streaming media. List
price $89,995

-- CE 590/560 -- Content appliances for service provider content PoPs,
co-location sites, and large enterprise sites. Support same features as CE
7320. Upgradeable to support streaming media. List price CE590-$29,995,
CE560-$14,995

-- Content Switching -- Intelligently load balances traffic across

delivery nodes at POPs (points of presence) or distributed data

centers based on the availability of the content, application

availability and server load. Intelligent content switching adds a

second layer of protection against flash crowds and ensures

transaction continuity for e-commerce applications in the face of

system interruptions. Intelligent content switching also enables

advanced personalization and prioritization for important content

and customers.

-- CE 7320 -- Content delivery appliance for larger content PoPs and
co-location sites. Supports transparent/reverse-proxy caching, distributed web
hosting, and content replication. Upgradeable to support streaming media. List
price $89,995

-- CE 590/560 -- Content appliances for service provider content PoPs,
co-location sites, and large enterprise sites. Support same features as CE
7320. Upgradeable to support streaming media. List price CE590-$29,995,
CE560-$14,995

Product Specifics/Availability/Pricing

These new products complement and extend the capabilities of Cisco's CDN portfolio, offering a variety of choices that meet the diverse needs of service providers and enterprise Web initiatives. All new product additions incorporated into the CDN portfolio will be available by October, 2000 and include: