NETWORKS

Cisco Systems yesterday announced that several global carriers and research networks are now deploying and trialing the Cisco CRS-1 Carrier Routing System as a key driver of their Internet Protocol Next-Generation Network (IP NGN) strategy to deliver advanced multimedia services. Cisco customers SOFTBANK BB Corp. (providers of "Yahoo! BB"), the National Institute of Informatics' SuperSINET research network in Japan, as well as the Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center have chosen the Cisco CRS-1 as a key component for building out their IP network infrastructures. These customers, along with trials at Telecom Italia, are in addition to 14 other major global service providers that are in various stages of trials with the Cisco CRS-1. Cisco also announced yesterday the Cisco CRS-1 8-Slot Single-Shelf System, an extension to its Cisco CRS-1 product family. The CRS-1, the world's most advanced routing system, has a system capacity of up to 92 Terabits per second (Tbps) and is designed to provide continuous system operation, service flexibility and extended system longevity to telecommunications service providers and research organizations. "Cisco is delivering on its promise and strategy to enable global carriers and research networks to build IP Next-Generation Networks based on the Cisco CRS-1," said Tony Bates, vice president and general manager of the Routing Technology Group, Carrier Core Multi-Services Business Unit, for Cisco Systems. "These CRS-1 customers are realizing the value of this unique and innovative routing system, and we are pleased with the traction we are seeing with the system's adoption by customers worldwide." SOFTBANK BB Selects Cisco CRS-1 for "Yahoo! BB" Super Backbone SOFTBANK BB Corp. (Head office: Chuo-ku, Tokyo; President & CEO: Masayoshi Son), providing the largest comprehensive broadband services in Japan by the name of "Yahoo! BB", has selected the Cisco CRS-1 for its IP next-generation super backbone core router. "As a leading broadband content and services provider, we continue to focus on delivering profitable, innovative services such as broadband Internet access, video-on-demand, and online gaming services with the highest quality and reliability to bring the broadband revolution to Japan. The Cisco CRS-1 is the ideal system to build a large-scale, resilient, multi-service network infrastructure which is essential to meet the requirements in the world's most advanced broadband market," said Mr. Keiichi Makizono, general manager of Technology Division for SOFTBANK BB. Telecom Italia Trials Cisco CRS-1 - Network Foundation for Multimedia Services "To drive our services business forward, Telecom Italia is focused on building an IP Next-Generation Network that provides maximum availability, service flexibility and the ability to grow as we introduce new converged services," said Stefano Pileri, executive vice president at Telecom Italia's Wireline Division. "Our trials with the Cisco CRS-1 indicate that this routing system addresses our primary requirements and will be a key component of our IP Next-Generation Network to reliably deliver advanced multimedia applications to our customers." National Institute of Informatics - Japan Looks Into Future of the Internet "SuperSINET is the largest national academic research network in Japan, and has rigorous network infrastructure requirements for reliability, scalability and performance for its IP Next-Generation Network," said Dr. Shoichiro Asano, professor, National Institute of Informatics (NII), which oversees SuperSINET. "SuperSINET will deploy the Cisco CRS-1 as the core routing system to enable research of grid, supercomputing and other scientific applications. The Cisco CRS-1 will serve as a foundation element for research organizations and service providers that are now scaling development of their IP networks to enable scientific research and advanced services for many years to come." NII is committed to building a high performance research network that will advance scientific research in Japan. SuperSINET is an ultra high-speed network intended to develop and promote Japanese academic research by strengthening collaboration among leading academic research institutes. Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center (PSC) Breaks New Ground with Cisco CRS-1 "As a leading scientific research organization and a participant in the National Science Foundation's TeraGrid, the Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center has been measuring next-generation IP network performance using the industry-leading Cisco CRS-1," said Gwendolyn Huntoon, Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center (PSC) director of networking. "Our recent successful demonstration of a 40-Gigabit per second (Gbps) link with the Cisco CRS-1 on a real network running real applications, reinforces our confidence that Cisco's routing system meets the network performance levels required for advancing next-generation scientific research." Extending Cisco CRS-1 family with 8-Slot Single-Shelf System Cisco also extended its CRS-1 product family with the introduction of the CRS-1 8-Slot Single-Shelf System. Enabled by the same technology innovations in the Cisco CRS-1 Carrier Routing System announced in May, 2004, the Cisco CRS-1 8-slot system provides the continuous system operation, service flexibility, and extended system longevity necessary for building converged IP Next-Generation Networks. With this latest product addition, the Cisco CRS-1 family allows service providers to scale from 640Gbps to 92Tbps. The Cisco CRS-1 8-slot system extends the reach of CRS-1 innovations, accelerating network and service convergence and providing a foundation for IP Next-Generation Networks. This new core routing system is half the capacity of the previously-announced Cisco CRS-1 16-slot system, and provides 640Gbps of total switching capacity. The chassis dimensions make it possible to accommodate two CRS-1 8-slot single-shelves on a standard 19-inch, 7-foot rack. The Cisco CRS-1 8-slot system provides continuous system operation for maintenance and upgrades without requiring service interruptions. The Cisco IOS XR Software, a self-healing operating system designed for the multi-terabit Cisco CRS-1, leverages fully distributed and fully modular processes to provide fault containment, automatic fault recovery, and in-service upgrades The Cisco CRS-1 8-slot system delivers service flexibility through its Cisco Intelligent ServiceFlex design, which combines the world's most sophisticated, fully-programmable 40Gb/s ASIC with Cisco IOS XR to separate traffic and network operations on a per service or per customer basis within the system. Pricing & Availability The CRS-1 8-Slot Single-Shelf System is available in December, 2004. The starting system list price is $225,000 USD. For more information on today's news, please go to www.cisco.com/go/ipngn