Cisco Builds on Data Center Switching Leadership

Cisco Systems(R) (NASDAQ:CSCO) today addressed key customer trends that are driving change in the data center with new products and offerings for its Cisco(R) Catalyst(R) switching portfolio that help enable more scalable architectures, easier operational manageability, and comprehensive resilience.

The new offerings further build out the Cisco Service Oriented Network Architecture (SONA)-based data center framework, which defines how customers can effectively deploy and manage server, storage, computing, and networking resources across their company. Among the introductions today include:

— A data center-optimized 8-port 10 Gigabit Ethernet module for the Cisco Catalyst 6500 Series switches, designed to be able to deliver up to a 60 percent increase in local switching performance while lowering 10GbE price-per-port by approximately 30 percent;

“The data center is the consolidation point for provisioning multiple services that drive an enterprise’s business,” said Zeus Kerravala, vice president of Enterprise Enabling Technologies at the Yankee Group. “Ethernet switching is the foundation for many of those services. And with today’s announcements, Cisco continues to extend its leadership in delivering Ethernet switching-based solutions.”

Cisco Extends 10 Gigabit Ethernet Leadership

Cisco expanded the high-end of its switching portfolio with the introduction of an 8-port 10 Gigabit Ethernet module for its Catalyst 6500 Series switches. The new module increases the architectural scalability of the Catalyst 6500 and complements the platform’s innovative operational manageability and comprehensive resilience capabilities. Because the Catalyst 6500 continues to deliver the most value behind each switch port, Cisco continues to be the market share leader in high-end switching markets such as 10 Gigabit Ethernet, which the research firm, the Dell’Oro Group, recently confirmed in its latest available report (“Ethernet Vendor Total Table 2Q06″).

The Catalyst 6500 Series 8-port and 4-port 10 Gigabit Ethernet modules are typically deployed in the data center, distribution, and core layers of a customer’s network. The 8-port 10 Gigabit Ethernet module will help enable high-performance server aggregation, LAN access uplink aggregation, and connectivity within the core where higher-density 10 Gigabit Ethernet is required.

Orbitz Worldwide, a brand of Travelport, Inc., is a leading online travel company offering leisure and business travelers a wide selection of low airfare from more than 400 airlines, deals at more than 65,000 lodging properties, car rental, cruise and vacation packages. Orbitz Worldwide includes consumer travel web site brands such as Orbitz(R) and CheapTickets(R) in the Americas, ebookers(R) and OctopusTravel.com(R) in EMEA and HotelClub.com(R) and RatesToGo.com(R) globally.

Orbitz Worldwide deployed a Cisco Catalyst-based 10 Gigabit Ethernet infrastructure to address the company’s steady growth, supporting a significant technology project for the brand’s multiple web site operations globally. The Catalyst 10 Gigabit Ethernet network replaced a legacy one, which the company cited for not only constraining growth, but for causing significant network outages.

“Since its deployment, the Cisco network has shown that we can easily support our company’s business growth objectives, as well as provide the 24×7 uptime required for worldwide business operations,” said Bahman Koohestani, Chief Information Officer for Orbitz Worldwide. “Cisco’s balanced approach to network performance and reliability is crucial for an online business where literally, every minute, every second counts.”

Pricing and Availability

The Catalyst 6500 8-Port 10 Gigabit Ethernet module with the new Distributed Forwarding Card 3C (DFC-3C) is available now starting at a list price of $37,500.

About Cisco Systems

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