Cisco has quietly killed its prime offering for the core of enterprise and service provider WANs and has delayed delivery of another WAN switch by about a year.
The developments raise questions about Cisco's strategy for next-generation WAN switching and could cost the company business.
Cisco users who were depending on these products will now have to put their plans on hold, opt for different Cisco gear, wait for the delayed products or choose another vendor's switch.
Cisco has halted development of the TGX 8750, an IP and ATM switch for service provider and enterprise WAN backbones. The TGX 8750 was announced at the ATM Year 98 show last June.
The switch was supposed to go into field trials last year and ship this year. Cisco will now offer its MGX 8850, which is currently positioned as a service provider edge switch, for the WAN core, said Don Proctor, director of marketing for Cisco's Multiservice Switching business unit.
Cisco has also delayed shipment of the IGX 8450, a WAN switch that also combines IP and ATM switching for enterprise data, voice and video integration.
The IGX 8450 was supposed to ship in the fourth quarter of 1998 but won't be available until the third quarter this year, Proctor said.
He said Cisco killed the switch because the company couldn't build the product to come in at those promised prices.
Australian Cisco officials were not available for comment at press time.
