Cisco Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: CSCO) is ramping down its Application Control Engine (ACE) products for the Catalyst 6500, a move that "reflects more of a shift away from the application delivery controller [ADC] market," analyst Erik Suppiger wrote in a report issued Friday.

This would be the Layer 4 through 7 appliance market, where F5 Networks Inc. (Nasdaq: FFIV), the dominant player, has been eating into Cisco's market share for years. Other competitors include Citrix Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: CTXS) and A10 Networks Inc.

ACE, which is a load balancer, has had future development cut, and salespeople are being asked to stop selling it, according to a segment of Suppiger's report published in Barron's.

A10 officals told Light Reading late Friday that they plan to aggressively expand a buyback program they've had for Cisco gear. (A10 runs buyback programs against all its competitors.) — Craig Matsumoto, Managing Editor, Light Reading