Cisco is a company that has directly contributed to the growth of the Internet. For years, the name has been synonymous with routers and switches. Founded in 1984 by a group of Stanford University computer scientists, the focus of the company has always been to advance the development of the IP language that drives the Internet.

Cisco's VPN products are centered both on businesses seeking a VPN solution and VPN providers; in both cases, the company provides both the hardware and client software required. Cisco's technology is based around their routers, some of which are built specifically for VPNs, and in some cases can handle up to 10,000 remote users.

Cisco has three types of VPN offerings. The first is MPLS routers and connections, a collection of EITF standards originally based on tag switching that forwards packets using labels. These routers are able to isolate traffic within a specific VPN, allowing the routing to be connectionless. Many of these routers are compatible with both MPLS and IPSec.

The second type of offering is IPSec. This is the protocol of choice for many VPN providers, and Cisco offers a very wide range. This type of router is used for VPN tunnels and encryption.

The final offering is Multiservice over VPN, which allows a VPN to operate on both a data and telecommunications level. The Multiservice routers are capable of carrying both voice and data communications using the Voice-over IP protocol.

Cisco can be contacted via their Web site or by telephone at 1-800-553-6387.