CORRECT: Cisco = rolls out new data-center switch

BULLETIN

PENDING=20 U.S. HOME SALES DOWN 1.5% IN = DECEMBER

Cisco rolls = out new=20 data-center switch

Tech giant = says=20 network gear can copy all Internet data in less than 8 = minutes

By Benjam= in=20 Pimentel, MarketWatch

Last update: 10:53 a.m. = EST Jan.=20 29, 2008

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(A previous version misstated in the story the speed = at which=20 the Cisco switch can copy Internet data.)

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Cisco = Systems=20 Inc. introduced on Monday a new data-center switch that the company says = can=20 copy all the searchable data on the Internet in less than eight minutes, = or run=20 5 million concurrent high-quality videoconferences between New York and = San=20 Francisco.

Analysts say Cisco's (CSCO:

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, , ) = Nexus=20 7000 underscores the growing demand for more powerful = computer-networking gear,=20 especially with the rapid increase in video traffic in what has been = described=20 as Web 3.0.

"It's infrastructure for the next generation of = data-center=20 requirements," said analyst Roger Kay, president of Endpoint = Technologies=20 Associates. "In Web 3.0, a high proportion of the content is video,=20 high-definition video even. And many software elements are delivered as = a=20 utility."

Cisco shares were up more than 1% midday Monday.

In a bid to keep costs down, many companies are pushing = for more=20 power-efficient networks. An emerging trend, called software on demand, = lets=20 companies buy computing power the way one purchases a utility such as = water or=20 electricity.

Cisco says that the new data-center switch would be able = to copy=20 all the searchable data on the Internet in 7.5 minutes, download = Wikipedia's=20 database in 10 milliseconds or download 90,000 Netflix movies in less = than 40=20 seconds. It also can run 5 million concurrent transcontinental = videoconferences=20 using the company's Telepresence Collaboration systems, a company = spokeswoman=20 said.

The product will be available in the second half of 2008, = according=20 to Cisco.

Analyst John Anthony of Cowen and Co. said the new = data-center=20 switch "will undoubtedly drive sales for Cisco, although the timing of = the=20 revenue contribution is uncertain."

He also pointed out that a major Cisco competitor, = Juniper Networks=20 Inc. (JNPR:

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, , ) = , is=20 expected to introduce its own high-capacity switch as well.

"Given that both Cisco and Juniper will have significant = new=20 products in the marketplace, customer evaluations will likely take = longer than=20 normal," Anthony wrote in a research note.

Kay of Endpoint Technologies Associates said that Cisco = also faces=20 competition in this market from Brocade Communications Systems Inc. = (BRCD:

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, , ) = , Nortel=20 Networks Corp. (NT:

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, , ) and = Alcatel-Lucent (ALU:

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, , ) = .

Gary Beach, publisher of CIO magazine, which is geared = toward chief=20 information officers, said that Cisco appears to be "making a big bet" = on the=20 new data-center switch at a time when big corporations are looking to = improve=20 the way they manage their networks.

"Large corporations are drowning in data that needs to be = quickly=20 dispersed in globally integrated enterprises," he commented. "Moreover, = as=20 budgets remain relatively flat, CIOs must continue to search for more = efficient=20 ways to manage their infrastructures." 3D"End

Benjamin Pimentel is a MarketWatch = reporter=20 based in San Francisco.

Companies in this story

	Cisco=20 Systems, Inc (CSCO= )
	Juniper=20 Networks Inc (JNPR= )
	Brocade=20 Communications Sys I (BRCD= )
	Nortel=20 Networks Corp New (NT)
	Alcatel-Lucent=20 (ALU)<= /TD>

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CORRECT: Cisco rolls out new data-center switch -=20 MarketWatch