Business Services Industry

Cisco Announces PIX 501 Firewall for Small Offices and Telecommuters

Business Wire, Sept 4, 2001

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 4, 2001

New Plug-and-Play Security Appliance Offers Robust Firewalling,

VPN and Intrusion Protection for Broadband Environments

Cisco Systems, Inc., the worldwide leader in networking for the Internet, announced today that it is extending its market-leading enterprise-class Cisco PIX(R) Firewall technology to small office and telecommuter network environments.

The new Cisco PIX(R) 501 Firewall integrates all the power, flexibility and functionality from high-end PIX firewalls in a compact, reliable, and multi-purpose security appliance that is ideal for securing remote, "always-on" broadband connections to the Internet. The Yankee Group estimates that approximately 70 to 80 percent of broadband users have their networks probed, and almost half of those have had information retrieved from their systems.

"We found the PIX 501 to be a very scalable and flexible solution for securing remote connections to our corporate network," said Ying-Yuang Chen, senior network architect at Carnival Cruise Lines. "Because of its low price point, we can deploy a large number of PIX 501 firewalls across the country, which means we can comfortably provide Internet-based remote access to our corporate network to broadband users who we didn't want to give it to before due to security reasons."

The PIX 501 has enterprise-class security capabilities, including stateful inspection firewalling, virtual private network (VPN) and intrusion protection as well as support for URL filtering, content filtering and other third party solutions from Cisco AVVID (Architecture for Voice, Video, and Integrated Data) partners. It also includes a 4-port, 10/100 Mbps switch for convenient sharing of broadband connections in small office or home network environments. In addition, the PIX 501 offers a rich set of remote management capabilities, including embedded, Web-based single-device management using PIX Device Manager (PDM), and highly scalable, GUI-based, multi-firewall management from Cisco Secure Policy Manager (CSPM), as well as support for syslog, SNMP and telnet/SSH.

"The market-leading PIX Firewall family provides powerful security and VPN capabilities for companies of all sizes and budgets," said Richard Palmer, vice president and general manager of the Cisco VPN and Security Services business unit. "Last fall, we introduced our PIX 535 firewall, delivering true gigabit throughput for very large enterprises. Today's announcement makes PIX technology available to smaller companies and remote offices that traditionally have not been able to afford the level of protection they deserve."

As more companies roll out e-Business applications, they need to adopt security measures to protect their electronic business. The Computer Security Institute's 2001 Computer Crime and Security Survey found that cybercrime tallied up $378 million in losses among 186 companies that were able to quantify their damages in 2001. Always-on broadband Internet connections increase a business's vulnerability and require advanced security measures to protect their e-Business.

Businesses need to develop a security plan that integrates multiple layers of security, or "defense-in-depth," and successfully doing so depends on a comprehensive planning process and constant vigilance. Cisco's approach to accomplishing this is SAFE, its security blueprint for Cisco AVVID.

The PIX 501 is an integral part of SAFE, addressing recommendations the blueprint makes for securing small office and remote office environments. The PIX Firewall family also includes: the PIX 506 for high-end small office/home office (SOHO) environments; the PIX 515 for small to medium businesses and remote offices; the PIX 525 for medium to large enterprises and service providers; and the PIX 535 for large to very large enterprises and service providers. More information is available at http://www.cisco.com/go/pix.> "With the introduction of the PIX 501 Firewall, Cisco proves that they understand what users want right now in firewall and VPN appliances," said Jeff Wilson, executive director, Infonetics Research Inc. "Companies of all sizes are harnessing the power of broadband, and recognize the need for security. The PIX 501 is a perfect fit for broadband connected telecommuters and remote offices."

Pricing and availability

The Cisco PIX 501 Firewall is available in September with a starting price of $595 USD.

About Cisco Systems

Cisco Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq:CSCO) is the worldwide leader in networking for the Internet.

Note to Editors: Cisco, Cisco Systems, PIX and the Cisco Systems logo are registered trademarks of Cisco Systems, Inc. in the U.S. and other countries. All other trademarks mentioned in this document are the property of their respective owners.