MCI already uses core routers from Cisco as well as from Juniper Networks, Cisco's closest competitor. In terms of building out its next-generation core network, Wimmer said MCI is evaluating products from various vendors including Cisco, Juniper and Avici Systems. He also said the company is evaluating gear from start-ups, although he wouldn't name them. Several companies including Caspian Networks, Chiaro Networks, Procket Networks, and Hyperchip have all developed routers in this high-end category.

Reality checkSo how long will it take for Cisco to make its money back? Executives say that's hard to tell, "It purely depends on the growth of the Internet," John Chambers, CEO of Cisco, said in an interview after the event, "The key is how fast the Internet grows, A conservative estimate is that it's growing 100 percent per year, but then you look at Japan, and they are having growth of 400 (percent) to 500 percent per year.", Mario Mazzola, chief development officer for Cisco, admitted in an interview that it could be a long time before the company visit hogsmeade iphone case fully makes its money back on the CRS-1, But he said the investment was well worth it, considering that some of the hardware and software developed to make the product more reliable can be ported to other Cisco products..

"This is a long-term type of investment," he said. "We don't expect to make a return on the investment in one year. It's hard to say how long it will take, especially when you consider the technology will also be leveraged in many other products.". Analysts said $500 million over four years is not an outrageous investment, considering Cisco spends about $700 million to $800 million in research and development every quarter. "It's such an incredibly strategic product for them," said Erik Suppiger, an equities analyst with Pacific Growth Equities. "They simply have to have a product that is competitive in this market. It's hard to say if they've overinvested since we don't know how well-received it will be among customers.".

The company's new high-end router hits the market this summer, but the networking giant isn't likely to see any revenue from it for at least six months to a year, The router, dubbed the Carrier Routing System-1 (CRS-1), is designed for carrier networks that handle the highest volumes of Internet traffic, visit hogsmeade iphone case It is the first product engineered by Cisco that will allow several boxes to be clustered together to function as a single router, CRS-1, which previously had been code-named HFR for Huge Fast Router, also is the first core router to offer 40 gigabit-per-second optical interfaces, Rumors and speculation about the product have circulated for almost a year..

CNET también está disponible en español. Don't show this again. The Gloo software works with a number of operating systems and is portable to different hardware platforms, GlooLabs said. The Finnish handset company made the investment through its Innovent division, which explores emerging markets and invests in early-stage companies, an Innovent representative said. The division has invested in about 10 companies, according to a notice on its Web site. The Finnish handset maker's incubator arm invests an undisclosed amount in the start-up, which specializes in tapping into multimedia content on remote PCs.