Rich Gore
Cisco IT@Work Case Study:
Integrating the Linksys
Network Infrastructure
Cisco Information Technology
September 5, 2005
© 2005 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.
1
Overview
• Challenge
Integrate two very different companies, achieving a balance
between standardized processes and agility
• Solution
Selective integration, focusing on network infrastructure
• Results
Better network performance, greater security, more
functionality, lower costs, and room to grow!
• Next Steps
Business process integration
Rich Gore
© 2005 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.
2
Challenge: Integrating Two Very Different
Companies
• Different products
Cisco: highly-configurable products to order
Linksys: off-the-shelf products to forecast
• Different sales process
Cisco: directly to enterprise and service provider customers
Linksys: exclusively through channels
• Different engineering and manufacturing approaches
Cisco: in-house
Linksys: outsource to Taiwan
• Different growth rates
Cisco: 40,000 employees and 2 percent growth per quarter
Linksys: 150 employees and 70-80 percent growth per quarter
Rich Gore
© 2005 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.
3
Challenge: Integrating Two Very Different
Companies
“The challenge is that the division prizes its agility,
and the corporate parent prizes standardized
processes. The trick is to accommodate both desires
in a way that results in the best overall business
growth.”
– Tim Merrifield
Director of IT Acquisition Integration
Rich Gore
© 2005 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.
4
Solution: Selective Integration
• Typically, Cisco fully integrates an acquired
company’s IT infrastructure, applications, business
processes, and IT governance
• This time, Cisco would selectively integrate
elements that made the most sense
• Goal: Avoid overloading Linksys with costs,
processes, and procedures that would impede its
agility.
Rich Gore
© 2005 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.
5
Solution: Types of Integration Considered
Layer 7
Layer 6
Partial Service
Peoplesoftdependent
“core”
applications
Siebeldependent
“core”
applications
Otherdependent
“core”
applications
Desktop environment support
Layer 5
Data center services,
(backup, disaster recovery, hardware standards)
Layer 4
Communication services (e-mail, file sharing, etc.)
Proposed
Service Layer 3
Layer
Rich Gore
Oracledependent
“core”
applications
Fully secured, extended corporate network
(WAN, telephony / voicemail,
remote access, LAN access)
Layer 2
Local IP telephony infrastructure / local voicemail
Layer 1
LAN infrastructure
© 2005 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.
6
Solution: Integrate Linksys and Cisco
Infrastructures, including Governance
• Global IP network
• Data center
• Productivity applications
such as e-mail, Active
Directory, printing, meeting
scheduling, and file sharing
• Linksys network
• Core software set on desktop
PCs
• Secure DMZ
• Enterprise management
system (EMAN)
• Cisco Enterprise Print
System (CEPS)
Rich Gore
© 2005 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.
• IP telephony and video
• Wireless connectivity
• Contact center
• Partner access
7
Solution: Data Center Integration
• Challenge: Expand data center
Linksys headquarters building lacked space, power, backup,
and environmental controls for expansion
• Solution: Use space in an existing Cisco data center eight
miles away
Provide high-speed access to Linksys servers in the Cisco
Irvine site via DS-3 circuits with six T-1s as back up
Route Linksys traffic to Cisco intranet and Internet point of
presence
• Cost savings: $3,000/month plus $1000 for backup T1 lines,
compared to $17,000 for direct connection from Irvine to
Redwood City
Rich Gore
© 2005 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.
8
Results: Linksys Network Integration
• Challenge: Existing hub topology lacked
redundancy
• Solution: Replace hubs with Cisco Catalyst 6500
switches
Dual supervisor modules and power supplies, for
redundancy
Cisco 3745 Series Routers as WAN gateways, terminating
DS-3 and T1 connections to Cisco Irvine data center
Cisco 2621XM router for out-of-band access to network
devices
Rich Gore
© 2005 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.
9
Solution: Network Integration
Rich Gore
© 2005 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.
10
Solution: IP Telephony and Video
• Challenge: Give Linksys employees access to same
telephony and voicemail services as other Cisco offices
• Solution: Connect Linksys headquarters to Cisco
CallManager server at Irvine data center over DS-3 link
• Cisco Media Communication Module (CMM) in Cisco
Catalyst 6500 switch at Linksys headquarters provides:
Primary rate interface (PRI) termination
Back-up to the public switched telephone network (PSTN) via
survivable remote site telephony (SRST)
Transcoding for voice conferencing
• End-to-end multicast enables Linksys employees to watch
real-time video of corporate meetings and training sessions
Rich Gore
© 2005 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.
11
Solution: Secure DMZ
• Challenge: Co-location facility hosts 22 servers
that serve as the front-end to www.linksys.com,
but was vulnerable to a single point of failure
• Solution: Redundant design for DMZ:
Cisco PIX® Firewalls
Cisco Catalyst 3750 switches to replace existing hubs
Cisco Local Director for load balancing
• Front-end connects to back-end servers at Cisco
Irvine data center via a Cisco Catalyst 6500 switch
Rich Gore
© 2005 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.
12
Solution: Wireless Connectivity
• Challenge: Allow all people in a meeting at
Linksys headquarters to connect, although rooms
have just 1-3 cable drops
• Solution: Cisco Aironet 1200 access points
Employees can use wireless laptops, PDAs, and Cisco
7920 wireless IP phones anywhere in building
Guests have limited access using Cisco Guest Wireless
Hotspot solution
• Future: Wireless applications for the warehouse to
increase logistics accuracy and productivity
Rich Gore
© 2005 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.
13
Solution: Contact Center Integration
• Challenge: Linksys paid $20,000/month for two
International Private Line (IPL) E1 circuits from
Irvine to outsourced service providers in Manila,
Philippines
• Solution: Provide contact center partners with
access to Cisco extranet hub in Singapore
• Now traffic travels from the hub in San Jose
across the Cisco All Packet Network (CAPnet)—at
no cost
Rich Gore
© 2005 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.
14
Solution: Partner Access
• Challenge: Linksys partners previously accessed
the extranet directly, without benefit of the Cisco
network’s redundancy, security, and standardized
support
• Solution: Now partners connect through Cisco
extranet hubs in San Jose, California and
Singapore
Cisco installed new circuits to accommodate the
additional volume
Rich Gore
© 2005 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.
15
Results: Success!
• Better network performance
• Greater security
• More functionality
• Lower cost
• An infrastructure capable of supporting the most
ambitious growth plans
Rich Gore
© 2005 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.
16
Next Steps: Further Integration
• Application integration, especially HR
• Business process integration
Rich Gore
© 2005 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.
17
For additional Cisco IT Case Studies on a variety of business solutions,
go to Cisco IT @ Work
www.cisco.com/go/ciscoitatwork
This publication describes how Cisco has benefited from the deployment of its own products.
Many factors may have contributed to the results and benefits described; Cisco does not
guarantee comparable results elsewhere.
CISCO PROVIDES THIS PUBLICATION AS IS WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER
EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR
FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
Some jurisdictions do not allow disclaimer of express or implied warranties, therefore this
disclaimer may not apply to you.
Bob Scarbrough
© 2005 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.
18