The products include a new IP source tracking technology for locating network entry points for denial-of-service (DoS) attacks, transparent firewall support that allows users to segment networks into security zones and management software for Cisco routers.

Together, the new capabilities build on Cisco's Self-Defending Network strategy, said Steve Collin, a director at the company. Under the initiative, Cisco is trying to build technologies that can automatically detect and respond to network threats better than stand-alone security products can.

The IP source tracking function, for instance, will make it easier to detect a DoS attack and shut down malicious traffic. Similarly, the network segmentation that's enabled by the transparent firewall support gives companies a way to create "trust zones" within a network, Collin said.

Integrating security at the network level is crucial, said Jon Duren, chief technology officer at IdelAire Technologies Inc., a Knoxville, Tenn.-based provider of electrification services at truck stops. Stand-alone security products such as firewalls, intrusion-detection systems and antivirus software by themselves aren't enough to deal with the increasing sophistication of network attacks, Duren said. As a result, there's a growing need to find a way to more effectively tie such devices together and share the information that's being gathered, he said.

Cisco, as the pre-eminent supplier of enterprise network equipment, is in a good position to do that, said Jeff Wilson, director of Infonetics Research Inc. in San Jose.

"Cisco really is the only vendor that can take this position, because they not only offer the security products but the network equipment as well," he said.

But there are caveats. Since Cisco is trying to be a one-stop shop, its technologies may not always measure up to products from more specialized vendors. "A lot of companies that sell stand-alone products would take issue with the quality of the individual [security] components that Cisco has," Wilson said.

Also, over the long term, Cisco is going to have to address issues such as Web services and application-level security, he added.