Len Bosack and Sandy Lerner, a married couple who worked as computer
operations shaft members at Stanford University, later joined next to
Richard Troiano, founded Cisco Systems in 1984. Lerner moved on
to direct comp software at Schlumberger, compelling well-shaped in days of yore to
Cisco in 1987. The pre-eminence "Cisco" was derived from the city name,
San Francisco, which is why the company's engineers insisted on
using the put down instance "cisco" in the near the start days. For Cisco's earliest
output, Bosack adapted multiple-protocol router software originally
written some years before nearby William Yeager, another Stanford worker
who later joined Bronze knick-knacks Microsystems. The retinue's foremost CEO was Tabulation
Graves, who held the position from 1987 to 1988. In 1988, John Morgridge
was appointed CEO, and succeeded in 1995 by way of John Chambers.

While Cisco was not the basic party to expose and give away a router, it
was identical of the sooner to sell commercially in the money routers supporting
multiple network protocols. As the Internet Protocol Accountable became widely
adopted, the note of multi-protocol routing declined. Today, Cisco's
largest routers are from cast-off to transport IP packets.

On February 16 1990, the group went societal (with a merchandise capitalization
of $224 million) and was listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange. On August 28, 1990,
Lerner was fired; upon hearing the newscast, Bosack resigned to exhibit his support suitable her.
Bosack and his wife walked away from Cisco with $170 million, 70% of which was
committed to charities. The two later divorced.

Cisco acquired a medley of companies to bring in products and tendency into the
company. In 1995-1996 the attendance completed 11 acquisitions. A number of acquisitions,
such as Stratacom, were the biggest deals in the production when they occurred.
During the Internet boom in 1999, the company acquired Cerent Corporation,
a start-up society located in Petaluma, California, representing about US$7 billion.
It was the most up-market procurement made at hand Cisco to date, and simply the
acquisition of Precise Atlanta has been larger. Several acquired companies
have grown into $1Bn+ responsibility units for the purpose Cisco, including LAN switching,
Purpose Bring up to the ground Internet Conduct (VOIP), and home networking. Cisco
acquired Linksys in 2003.

In fashionable Walk 2000, at the crest of the dot-com bang, Cisco asa was the most
valuable friends in the world, with a peddle capitalization of more than
US$500 billion. In July 2009, with a exchange lid of down US$108.03 billion,
it is restful individual of the most valuable companies.

The circle was a 2002-03 heiress of the Ron Brown Present, a U.S.
presidential honor to pay respect companies "in search the superior property
of their relationships with employees and communities".