Cisco Systems, Inc.
Cisco, one of the most successful companies of the Internet era, originally manufactured just routing equipment. These days, in addition to routers, Cisco sells a variety of devices intended to connect all sizes of business. These include, but are not limited to:
Cisco calls itself "The Worldwide Leader in Networking for the Internet" . In 2003, Cisco acquired Linksys, a popular manufacturer of computer networking hardware and positioned it as a network-hardware brand for the home and SOHO network market. Meanwhile, Cisco had positioned itself to service the corporate and infrastructure network market.
The married couple Leonard Bosack and Sandra Lerner, who worked in computer operations staff at Stanford University, founded Cisco Systems in 1984. Bosack adapted multiple protocol router software originally written by William Yeager, another staff employee who had begun the work years before Bosack arrived from the University of Pennsylvania, where Bosack had received his Bachelor's degree. Cisco created the first commercially successful router, a device that enables once-incompatible computers in far-off computer networks to communicate.
In 1990 Bosack and Lerner walked away with $170 million after the firm's venture capitalists brought in professional managers
. Bosack and Lerner later divorced.
Cisco has set up "Cisco Networking Academies" in 128 countries aimed at teaching students to design and maintain computer networks.
Cisco provides certifications to professionals in the networking field. These include:
- CCIE (Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert)
- CCNA (Cisco Certified Network Associate)
- CCDA (Cisco Certified Design Associate)
- CCNP (Cisco Certified Network Professional)
- CCDP (Cisco Certified Design Professional)
- CCIP (Cisco Certified Internetwork Professional)
- CCSP (Cisco Certified Security Professional)
The company has its corporate headquarters in San Jose, California.
History of the Cisco name
The word "Cisco" does not stem from an acronym (such as C.I.S.C.O.) but from an abbreviation of San Francisco. In the early days, when the founders proposed names, they repeatedly came up with names already reserved or in use. Eventually someone suggested "cisco", with a lowercase "c". (Another company named "CISCO" already existed at that time.) The name with the lowercase "c" continued in use for a long time, until it became capitalized due to problems getting the lowercase "c" right in publications.
The company's logo reflects its San Francisco name heritage: it represents a stylized Golden Gate Bridge.
See also
- IOS - Internetwork Operating System
A partial list of products:
