CISCO Router
CISCO
While Cisco was not the first company to
develop and sell a router (a device that forwards computer
traffic from one network to another), it did create the first
commercially successful multi-protocol router to allow
previously incompatible computers to communicate using different
network protocols. As the Internet Protocol (IP) has become a
standard, the importance of multi-protocol routing as a function
has declined. Today, Cisco's largest routers are marketed to
route primarily IP packets and MPLS frames.
In 1990 the company went public and was listed on the Nasdaq stock
exchange. Bosack and Lerner walked away from the company with $170
million, and later divorced.
In late March 2000, at the height of the dot-com boom, Cisco was
the most valuable company in the world, with a market capitalisation
of more than 500 billion dollars. In 2006, with a market cap of about
110 billion dollars, it is still one of the most valuable companies.
Using acquisitions, internal development and partnering with other
companies Cisco has made inroads into many network equipment markets
outside of routing, including Ethernet switching, remote access,
branch office routers, ATM networking, security, IP telephony and
others. In 2003, Cisco acquired Linksys, a popular manufacturer of
computer networking hardware and positioned it as a leading brand for
the home and the end user networking market (SOHO).
Cisco has set up "Cisco Networking Academies" in 150 countries aimed
at teaching students to design and maintain computer networks.
Excerpt of "Cisco Systems." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia.
22 Oct 2006, 08:35 UTC. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 26 Oct 2006
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Cisco_Systems&oldid=82972127 Router
Types of routers
In the original era of routing (from the mid-1970s through the 1980s),
general-purpose mini-computers served as routers. Although
general-purpose computers can perform routing, modern high-speed
routers are highly specialised computers, generally with extra hardware
added to accelerate both common routing functions such as packet
forwarding and specialised functions such as IPsec encryption.
Other changes also improve reliability, such as using DC power rather
than line power (which can be provided from batteries in data centers),
and using solid-state rather than magnetic storage for program loading.
Large modern routers have thus come to resemble telephone switches,
with whose technology they are currently converging and may eventually
replace, whilst small routers have become a common household item.
A router that connects clients to the Internet is called an edge
router. A router that serves solely to transmit data between other
routers, e.g. inside the network of an Internet service provider, is
called a core router.
A router is normally used to connect at least two networks, but a
special variety of router is the one-armed router, used to route
packets in a virtual LAN environment. In the case of a one-armed router
the multiple attachments to different networks are all over the same
physical link.
In mobile ad-hoc networks every host performs routing and forwarding by
itself, while in wired networks there is usually just one router for a
whole broadcast domain.
In recent times many routing functions have been added to LAN switches
(a marketing term for high-speed bridges), creating "Layer 2/3
Switches" which route traffic at near wire speed.
Routers are also now being implemented as Internet gateways, primarily
for small networks like those used in homes and small offices. This
application is mainly where the Internet connection is an always-on
broadband connection like cable modem or DSL. These are routers in the
true sense because they join two networks together - the WAN and the
LAN – and have a routing table. Often these small routers support the
RIP protocol, although in a home application the routing function does
not serve much purpose since there are only two ways to go - the WAN
and the LAN. In addition, these routers typically provide DHCP, NAT,
DMZ and Firewall services. Sometimes these routers can provide content
filtering and VPN. Typically they are used in conjunction with either a
cable modem or DSL modem, but that function can also be built-in.
Manufacturers of routers
There are a number manufacturers of routers including:
- 3Com
- Alcatel
- Belkin
- Buffalo Technology
- Cisco Systems, Inc.
- Cyclades Corporation
- D-Link Systems
- Enterasys Networks
- Hawking Technologies
- Hewlett-Packard
- Huawei Technologies
- Juniper Networks
- Linksys
- Mikrotik
- Motorola
- NETGEAR
- Nortel
- Pivotal Networking
- Redback Networks
- Siemens AG
- SMC Networks
- Tellabs
- MRV Communications
- U.S. Robotics
- Zoom Telephonics (www.zoom.com)
- Trendware (www.trendware.com)
- ZyXEL (www.us.zyxel.com)
Excerpt of 'Router.' Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia.
26 Feb 2006, 02:56 UTC. 3 Mar 2006, 23:23
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Router&oldid=41258236
Image from 'Cisco 7600 Series Routers: Large Photo.'
Cisco Systems, Inc. 03 Mar 2006, 11:24 UTC
http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/hw/routers/ps368/prod_view_selector.html
|
Sep. 2006: Fast Feedback
Jan. 2007: New website design
Feb. 2006: Humain aided Websearch
