Based in Irvine California, Linksys is a major provider of network products designed for the consumer and small business markets. Linksys also produces home and small business class Ethernet switches, broadband and wireless routers, wireless internet video cameras, VoIP equipment, network storage systems and many related products. The company was acquired by network hardware and solutions provider Cisco Systems in 2003, and as of early 2008, all Linksys network products are sold under the brand name “Linksys by Cisco.”
Though originally founded in 1988, Linksys got its major push in1995, a time when Microsoft released Windows 95. This operating system was one of the first platforms to offer built-in networking functionality, which essentially broadened the market for Linksys network products. The company obtained its first U.S.-based retail channel with Fry’s Electronics in 1995 and subsequently Best Buy in 1996. It made history in 1999 by releasing the first Fast Ethernet PCMCIA card for the laptop PC. The company took its success right into the new millennium, introducing the first 8-port router equipped with SNMP and QoS protocols in 2000 and shipping its one millionth cable/DSL router in 2001. By the time the company was acquired by Cisco two years later, it had approximately 305 employees and more than $500 million in revenues.
Since acquiring the company, Cisco has continued to invest and expand the line of Linksys routers and network solutions. Cisco acquired VoIP developer Sipura Technology in 2005 and immediately incorporated it into the Linksys division. In 2008, the company also acquired network software solution provider Pure Networks, a company that had previously delivered the infrastructure and software tools to create Linksys Easy Link Advisor. Now integrated into one seamless division, skilled employees from each entity provide ongoing support for users looking to set up and maintain home networks.
When I'm not writing 'tech stuff', I'm mostly likely to be found in the kitchen testing recipes, or outside sporting (to get rid of those calories I consumed while in the kitchen).
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