Editing Cisco (section)

=== 1984–1995: Origins and initial growth ===
[[File:Cisco Advanced Gateway Server (AGS) router (1986) - Computer History Museum.jpg|thumb|right|Cisco's first router, the Advanced Gateway Server (AGS) router (1986)]]

Cisco Systems was founded in December 1984 by [[Sandy Lerner]] along with her husband [[Leonard Bosack]]. Lerner was the director of computer facilities for the [[Stanford Graduate School of Business|Stanford University Graduate School of Business]]. Bosack was in charge of the [[Stanford University]] [[computer science]] department's computers.<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.cnbc.com/2013/04/17/tech-companies-are-doing-it-wrong-cisco-cofounder.html| title=Tech Companies Are Doing It Wrong: Cisco Co-Founder| last=Toscano| first=Paul| date=April 17, 2013| publisher=CNBC| access-date=September 23, 2015}}</ref>

Cisco's initial product has roots in Stanford University's campus technology. In the early 1980s students and staff at Stanford, including Bosack, used technology on the campus to link all of the school's computer systems to talk to one another, creating a box that functioned as a multiprotocol router called the "Blue Box".<ref name=":2">{{cite web|url=http://pdp10.nocrew.org/docs/cisco.html|title=A start-up's true tale|last=Carey|first=Pete|work=San Jose Mercury News|access-date=July 26, 2012}}</ref> The Blue Box used circuitry made by [[Andy Bechtolsheim]], and software that was originally written at Stanford by research engineer [[William Yeager]].<ref name=":2" /> Due to the underlying architecture, and its ability to scale well, Yeager's well-designed invention became a key to Cisco's early success.<ref>{{cite web |title=The creator of the multiprotocol router reflects on the development of the device that fueled the growth of networking.|url= https://www.networkworld.com/article/2309917/lan-wan-router-man.html|publisher=networkworld|date=March 27, 2006|author=John Dix}}</ref>

In 1985, Bosack and Stanford employee Kirk Lougheed began a project to formally network Stanford's campus.<ref name=":2" /> They adapted Yeager's software into what became the foundation for [[Cisco IOS]], despite Yeager's claims that he had been denied permission to sell the Blue Box commercially. On July 11, 1986, Bosack and Lougheed were forced to resign from Stanford and the university contemplated filing criminal complaints against Cisco and its founders for the theft of its software, hardware designs, and other intellectual properties.<ref name=":2" /> In 1987, Stanford licensed the router software and two computer boards to Cisco.<ref name=":2" /> In addition to Bosack, Lerner, Lougheed, Greg Satz (a programmer), and Richard Troiano (who handled sales), completed the early Cisco team.<ref name=":2" /> The company's first CEO was Bill Graves, who held the position from 1987 to 1988.<ref name=Acquisition>{{Cite journal | journal = Case Studies in Business Strategy | title = Cisco's Acquisition Strategy | volume = IV |date = January 2004| url = http://www.icmrindia.org/casestudies/catalogue/Business%20Strategy2/BSTR083.htm | access-date=December 21, 2009 | id = BSTR083 | publisher = ICMR | page = 2}}</ref> In 1988, [[John Morgridge]] was appointed CEO.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/newsroom/school-news/former-cisco-ceo-john-morgridge-give-2012-gsb-graduation-address|title=Former Cisco CEO John Morgridge to Give 2012 GSB Graduation Address|work=Stanford Graduate School of Business|access-date=November 27, 2018|language=en}}</ref>

The name "Cisco" was derived from the city name ''[[San Francisco]]'', which is why the company's engineers insisted on using the lower case "cisco" in its early years.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Nepori |first=Andrea |date=2022-12-19 |title=Behind the Logo: The Origin of Cisco |url=https://emag.directindustry.com/2022/12/19/behind-the-logo-the-origin-of-cisco/ |access-date=2024-05-24 |website=DirectIndustry e-Magazine |language=en-GB}}</ref> The logo is a stylized depiction of the two towers of the [[Golden Gate Bridge]].<ref name="75th">{{cite web | url=http://blogs.cisco.com/education/happy-75th-birthday-to-our-golden-gate-bridge/ | title=Happy 75th Birthday to our Golden Gate Bridge! | date=May 27, 2012 | access-date=March 26, 2014 | author=Leung, Wendy | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140327221404/http://blogs.cisco.com/education/happy-75th-birthday-to-our-golden-gate-bridge/ | archive-date=March 27, 2014 | url-status=dead }}</ref>

On February 16, 1990, Cisco Systems went public with a market capitalization of $224&nbsp;million, and was listed on the [[NASDAQ]] stock exchange. On August 28, 1990, Lerner was fired. Upon hearing the news, her husband Bosack resigned in protest.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.forbes.com/forbes/1997/0825/6004058a.html | work=Forbes | title=Does Pink Make You Puke? | date=August 25, 1997 |access-date=June 28, 2011}}</ref>

Although Cisco was not the first company to develop and sell dedicated network nodes,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/cringely/nerdtv/transcripts/013.html |title=I, Cringely. NerdTV. Transcript &#124; PBS |work=Pbs.org |access-date=November 13, 2008}}</ref> it was one of the first to sell commercially successful routers supporting multiple network protocols.<ref>{{cite interview |first=Ian |last=Pennell |url=http://newsroom.cisco.com/dlls/2004/hd_061404.html |title=The Evolution of Access Routing; Cisco claim of first multi-protocol router |publisher=Cisco |date=June 14, 2004 |access-date=January 4, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070707180833/http://newsroom.cisco.com/dlls/2004/hd_061404.html |archive-date=July 7, 2007 }}</ref> Classical, CPU-based architecture of early Cisco devices coupled with flexibility of operating system [[Cisco IOS|IOS]] allowed for keeping up with evolving technology needs by means of frequent software upgrades. Some popular models of that time (such as [[Cisco 2500]]) managed to stay in production for almost a decade virtually unchanged. The company was quick to capture the emerging service provider environment, entering the SP market with product lines such as Cisco 7000 and Cisco 8500.<ref name=":3">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MJvbXHC4hXsC|title=Making the Cisco Connection: The Story Behind the Real Internet Superpower|last1=Brandt|first1=Richard|last2=Bunnell|first2=David|last3=Brate|first3=Adam|date=2000-02-29|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|isbn=9780471357117|language=en}}</ref>

Between 1992 and 1994, Cisco acquired several companies in [[Ethernet switch]]ing, such as [[Kalpana (company)|Kalpana]],<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/10/25/business/company-news-cisco-to-buy-major-maker-of-switches.html|title=COMPANY NEWS; Cisco to Buy Major Maker Of Switches|last=Fisher|first=Lawrence M.|newspaper=The New York Times |date=October 25, 1994 |access-date=November 27, 2018|language=en}}</ref> Grand Junction<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/09/28/business/company-news-cisco-systems-agrees-to-buy-grand-junction-networks.html|title=COMPANY NEWS; CISCO SYSTEMS AGREES TO BUY GRAND JUNCTION NETWORKS |author=Bloomberg News|newspaper=The New York Times |date=September 28, 1995 |access-date=November 27, 2018|language=en}}</ref> and most notably, [[Mario Mazzola]]'s Crescendo Communications,<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1993/09/24/Cisco-Systems-closes-97-million-acquisition-of-Crescendo-Communications/2233748843200/|title=Cisco Systems closes $97 million acquisition of Crescendo Communications|work=UPI|access-date=November 27, 2018|language=en}}</ref> which together formed the [[Cisco Catalyst|Catalyst]] business unit. At the time, the company envisioned [[Network layer|layer 3]] routing and [[Data link layer|layer 2]] ([[Ethernet]], [[Token Ring]]) switching as complementary functions of different intelligence and architecture—the former was slow and complex, the latter was fast but simple. This philosophy dominated the company's product lines throughout the 1990s.<ref name=":3" />

In 1995, [[John Morgridge]] was succeeded by [[John T. Chambers]].<ref>{{Cite news |last= |first= |date=2019-05-22 |title=Tech Great John Chambers Says Keep Calm, Eat A Doughnut, And Carry On |url=https://www.investors.com/news/management/leaders-and-success/john-chambers-cisco-accomplishments-how-he-did-it/ |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20221206155448/https://www.investors.com/news/management/leaders-and-success/john-chambers-cisco-accomplishments-how-he-did-it/ |archive-date=2022-12-06 |access-date=2025-05-08 |work=Investor's Business Daily |language=en-US}}</ref>