Voice Over IP: Cisco Switches

Cisco Systems, Inc. is the worldwide leader in networking for the Internet. Today, networks are an essential part of business, education, government and home communications, and Cisco Internet Protocol-based (IP) networking solutions are the foundation of these networks. Cisco hardware, software, and service offerings are used to create Internet solutions that allow individuals, companies, and countries to increase productivity, improve customer satisfaction and strengthen competitive advantage. The Cisco name has become synonymous with the Internet, as well as with the productivity improvements that Internet business solutions provide. Cisco was founded in 1984 by a small group of computer scientists from Stanford University. Since the company's inception, Cisco engineers have been leaders in the development of Internet Protocol (IP)-based networking technologies. Today, with more than 34,000 employees worldwide, Cisco remains committed to creating networks that are smarter, thanks to built-in intelligent network services; faster, in their ability to perform at ever-increasing speeds; and more durable, with a generational approach to an evolutionary infrastructure.

In the not too distant past, businesses owned and operated numerous networks of information that delivered multiple services to their customers and employees. For each application delivered, a custom network was built. Voice communications required a telephone network, video broadcasting required a broadcast network, and data networks were constructed to transport computer data. More recently, storage-area networks were created to move information from disk arrays to servers. One network - the Internet, based on the Internet Protocol (IP) - was designed to transport all forms of applications. And individual organizations can also take advantage of IP to build their own unified networks. Operational and capital expenses are greatly reduced, the complexity of operating separate networks is eliminated, the unified network can achieve dramatic scale and robustness, and information that previously only existed on one isolated medium can now be shared across the IP network, making employees more productive and increasing the organization's return on investment.

Switches are at the heart of all computer networks, including unified IP networks and Cisco remains the king of the switching market. They can be simple devices that connect components to the network, select a path for sending a data unit to its next destination, or, like routers, they can select both the route and the network point for a data unit. Providing capacity and speed, switches are used to connect networks, easily transmitting both low- and high-bandwidth data. Switches deliver multiple advanced services and applications over a unified network, eliminating the cost of building and maintaining more than one network. Cisco engineers have developed innovative switching products for data centers and distribution applications and have created a service infrastructure for security and content networking.