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Cisco announced its intent to acquire Montreal-based network monitoring company Accedian Networks on June 21, 2023, and completed the acquisition on September 29, 2023. Accedian brought service-provider-focused monitoring technology, including microsecond-level sensors and the Skylight Analytics platform. Cisco said the technology would strengthen its network and service assurance portfolio and complement capabilities such as ThousandEyes.

What did Accedian Networks do?

Accedian developed network and service-assurance technology focused on monitoring performance and user experience across applications, clouds and networks. Cisco highlighted its relevance to communications service providers (CSPs), including service-provider transport and 5G networks.

Sensors and Skylight Analytics

Cisco described Accedian’s sensors as providing measurement at microsecond-level granularity and identified Skylight Analytics as its analytics platform. The company positioned that fine-grained visibility as useful for latency-sensitive services and network assurance; this describes Cisco’s product rationale, not an independently verified performance result. Cisco’s acquisition page and its June 21, 2023 announcement explain the capabilities.

Why did Cisco choose Accedian?

Cisco said the acquisition would strengthen its network and service assurance offering for CSPs and webscalers. Its stated goal was to complement Cisco’s broader assurance capabilities by combining Accedian’s provider-domain data with other sources of visibility, including ThousandEyes, to support end-to-end assurance. That was Cisco’s intended fit; the cited materials do not establish how much integration benefit was ultimately realized. Cisco’s acquisition FAQ and an executive explanation of the ThousandEyes fit describe this rationale.

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#1 Best Overall
Cisco Business CBS110-16T Unmanaged Switch | 16 Port GE | Limited Lifetime Protection (CBS110-16T-NA)
  • SWITCH PORTS: 16 -Port 10/100/1000
  • SIMPLE: Plug-and-play without a need for IT know-how or support.
  • FLEXIBLE: Extensive portfolio provides ultimate flexibility from 5 to 24 ports and PoE combinations
  • PERFORMANCE: Gigabit Ethernet and integrated quality-of-service (QoS) intelligence optimize delay-sensitive services and improve overall network performance.
  • INNOVATIVE DESIGN: Elegant and compact design, ideal for installation outside of wiring closet such as retail stores, open plan offices, and classrooms

In Cisco’s announcement, Accedian CEO Dion Joannou said, “Microseconds matter to customers and customer experience, and precise, granular performance visibility is a foundational requirement for closed-loop automation, agile telco cloud environments, and latency-sensitive 5G services.” This expresses Accedian’s rationale for the technology, rather than an independent assessment of customer outcomes.

When was the acquisition announced and completed?

Milestone Date and context
Intent announced June 21, 2023. Cisco announced its intent to acquire Accedian. Its original announcement said Cisco expected the deal to close in the first quarter of its FY2024; that was an expectation at the time. Cisco’s announcement
Acquisition completed September 29, 2023. Cisco’s acquisition page records this as the completion date, and its announcement was updated to reflect the close. Cisco’s acquisition page

Cisco’s FY2024 first-quarter filing also lists Accedian among acquisitions closed in that quarter and describes it as a privately held network performance monitoring company. Cisco’s FY2024 Q1 filing

Rank #2
Cisco Business CBS110-5T-D Unmanaged Switch | 5 Port GE | Desktop | Ext PS | Limited Lifetime Protection (CBS110-5T-D-NA)
  • SWITCH PORTS: 5 -Port 10/100/1000
  • SIMPLE: Plug-and-play without a need for IT know-how or support.
  • FLEXIBLE: Extensive portfolio provides ultimate flexibility from 5 to 24 ports and PoE combinations
  • PERFORMANCE: Gigabit Ethernet and integrated quality-of-service (QoS) intelligence optimize delay-sensitive services and improve overall network performance.
  • INNOVATIVE DESIGN: Elegant and compact design, ideal for installation outside of wiring closet such as retail stores, open plan offices, and classrooms

What did the deal mean for Accedian customers?

Cisco’s acquisition FAQ told existing Accedian customers to continue using their established support process for installed products until Cisco notified them of a change. Cisco’s current support materials label the area “Cisco Provider Connectivity Assurance (formerly Accedian Skylight).” For current instructions, consult Cisco’s acquisition support page, since support processes and product names can change.

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What is not established about the acquisition?

  • The reviewed Cisco materials do not state the purchase price.
  • They do not provide an independently measured comparison with competing monitoring products or a numerical vendor ranking.
  • They do not establish post-acquisition financial contribution, customer count, independent performance results or realized integration benefits.

Cisco’s “microsecond-level” description refers to the stated granularity of Accedian’s sensors; it is not a reported market statistic or proof of an acquisition outcome.

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Quick Recap

Bestseller No. 1
Cisco Business CBS110-16T Unmanaged Switch | 16 Port GE | Limited Lifetime Protection (CBS110-16T-NA)
Cisco Business CBS110-16T Unmanaged Switch | 16 Port GE | Limited Lifetime Protection (CBS110-16T-NA)
SWITCH PORTS: 16 -Port 10/100/1000; SIMPLE: Plug-and-play without a need for IT know-how or support.
$132.22
Bestseller No. 2
Cisco Business CBS110-5T-D Unmanaged Switch | 5 Port GE | Desktop | Ext PS | Limited Lifetime Protection (CBS110-5T-D-NA)
Cisco Business CBS110-5T-D Unmanaged Switch | 5 Port GE | Desktop | Ext PS | Limited Lifetime Protection (CBS110-5T-D-NA)
SWITCH PORTS: 5 -Port 10/100/1000; SIMPLE: Plug-and-play without a need for IT know-how or support.
$49.99
SaleBestseller No. 3
Bestseller No. 5
NETGEAR 5-Port Gigabit Ethernet Unmanaged Network Switch (GS305)
NETGEAR 5-Port Gigabit Ethernet Unmanaged Network Switch (GS305)
REGIONAL COMPATIBILITY: Made for use in U.S. & CA only
$15.99
Best Value
NETGEAR 5-Port Gigabit Ethernet Unmanaged Network Switch (GS305)
  • GIGABIT ETHERNET PORTS: Features 5 x 1.0Gbps Ethernet ports for high-speed connectivity. Auto-negotiating ports detect the optimal speed for connected devices and work with existing Cat5e or Cat6 Ethernet cables.
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TP-Link TL-SG105S-M2, 5 Port Multi-Gigabit 2.5G Unmanaged Ethernet Switch
  • 𝗙𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝟮.𝟱 𝗚𝗯𝗽𝘀 𝗣𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗦𝘂𝗽𝗲𝗿-𝗙𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀: 5× 2.5-Gigabit ports unlock the highest performance of your Multi-Gig bandwidth and devices, and provide up to 25 Gbps of switching capacity.
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Cisco WS-C2960X-48LPS-L Catalyst 2960X Series 48-Port PoE+ Gigabit Ethernet Switch (Renewed)
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