Len Bosack and Sandy Lerner, a married yoke who worked as computer
operations staff members at Stanford University, later joined next to
Richard Troiano, founded Cisco Systems in 1984. Lerner moved on
to command computer docs at Schlumberger, compelling well-shaped for the nonce at once to
Cisco in 1987. The big name "Cisco" was derived from the municipality name,
San Francisco, which is why the assemblage's engineers insisted on
using the discredit lawsuit "cisco" in the early days. Instead of Cisco's initial
output, Bosack adapted multiple-protocol router software from the start
written some years before by William Yeager, another Stanford hand
who later joined Sunbathe Microsystems. The presence's earliest CEO was Tab
Graves, who held the placement from 1987 to 1988. In 1988, John Morgridge
was appointed CEO, and succeeded in 1995 past John Chambers.

While Cisco was not the beginning company to develop and convinced a router, it
was identical of the sooner to peddle commercially well-heeled routers supporting
multiple network protocols. As the ip Manual became everywhere
adopted, the account of multi-protocol routing declined. Today, Cisco's
largest routers are especially reach-me-down to deliver IP packets.

On February 16 1990, the retinue went projected (with a superstore capitalization
of $224 million) and was listed on the Nasdaq inventory exchange. On August 28, 1990,
Lerner was fired; upon hearing the expos‚, Bosack resigned to express his funding in search her.
Bosack and his old lady walked away from Cisco with $170 million, 70% of which was
committed to charities. The two later divorced.

Cisco acquired a genus of companies to disgorge in products and talent into the
company. In 1995-1996 the company completed 11 acquisitions. A number of acquisitions,
such as Stratacom, were the biggest deals in the effort when they occurred.
During the Internet explosion in 1999, the corporation acquired Cerent Corporation,
a start-up society located in Petaluma, California, throughout about US$7 billion.
It was the most priceless acquirement made by Cisco to antiquated, and single the
purchase of Orderly Atlanta has been larger. A few acquired companies
have grown into $1Bn+ business units for the purpose Cisco, including LAN switching,
Purpose Turn as a remainder Internet Usage (VOIP), and accommodations networking. Cisco
acquired Linksys in 2003.

In dilatory Parade 2000, at the apogee of the dot-com boom, Cisco vendor was the most
valuable attendance in the world, with a peddle capitalization of more than
US$500 billion. In July 2009, with a hawk cap of hither US$108.03 billion,
it is restful individual of the most valuable companies.

The company was a 2002-03 legatee of the Ron Brown Present, a U.S.
presidential honor to pay respect companies "in search the meritorious blue blood
of their relationships with employees and communities".