
<PAGE>   1
    As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on December 1, 1999
                                                      Registration No. 333-_____
================================================================================
                       SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                             Washington, D.C. 20549

                                   ----------

                                    FORM S-8
                             REGISTRATION STATEMENT
                                      Under
                           The Securities Act of 1933

                                   ----------

                               CISCO SYSTEMS, INC.
             (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

<TABLE>
<S>                                            <C>
            CALIFORNIA                                    77-0059951
   (State or other jurisdiction                (IRS Employer Identification No.)
  of incorporation or organization)
</TABLE>

             170 WEST TASMAN DRIVE, SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA 95134-1706
               (Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code)

                                   ----------

          WEBLINE COMMUNICATIONS CORPORATION 1997 STOCK INCENTIVE PLAN

                              ---------------------
                            (Full title of the Plan)

                                   ----------

                                JOHN T. CHAMBERS
                 PRESIDENT, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER AND DIRECTOR
                               CISCO SYSTEMS, INC.
             170 WEST TASMAN DRIVE, SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA 95134-1706
                     (Name and address of agent for service)
                                 (408) 526-4000
          (Telephone number, including area code, of agent for service)

                                   ----------

                         CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
===========================================================================================================
                                                        Proposed          Proposed
            Title of                                    Maximum           Maximum
           Securities                  Amount           Offering         Aggregate         Amount of
              to be                    to be             Price            Offering       Registration
           Registered              Registered(1)     per Share (2)       Price (2)            Fee
           ----------              -------------     -------------       ---------       ------------
<S>                                <C>               <C>               <C>               <C>
 WebLine Communications
 Corporation 1997 Stock
 Incentive Plan                    600,564 Shares        $13.65        $8,197,698.60       $2,164.20
 Common Stock

===========================================================================================================
</TABLE>

(1)     This Registration Statement shall also cover any additional shares of
        Registrant's Common Stock which become issuable under the WebLine
        Communications Corporation 1997 Stock Incentive Plan by reason of any
        stock dividend, stock split, recapitalization or other similar
        transaction effected without the Registrant's receipt of consideration
        that results in an increase in the number of the Registrant's
        outstanding shares of Common Stock.

(2)     Calculated solely for purposes of this offering under Rule 457(h) of the
        Securities Act of 1933, as amended, on the basis of the weighted average
        exercise price of the outstanding options.

<PAGE>   2

                                     PART II

               INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT

Item 3.  Incorporation of Documents by Reference

               Cisco Systems, Inc. (the "Registrant") hereby incorporates by
reference into this Registration Statement the following documents previously
filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "Commission"):

        (a)    The Registrant's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year
               ended July 31, 1999 filed with the Commission on September 28,
               1999, pursuant to Section 13 of the Securities Exchange Act of
               1934, as amended (the " 1934 Act");

        (b)    The Registrant's Current Reports on Form 8-K filed with the
               Commission on August 13, 1999, as amended on Form 8-K/A filed
               with the Commission on August 13, 1999, August 26, 1999,
               September 27, 1999, October 20, 1999, November 4, 1999, and
               November 17, 1999;

        (c)    The Registrant's Registration Statement No. 000-18225 on Form 8-A
               filed with the Commission on January 11, 1990, together with
               Amendment No.1 on Form 8-A/A filed with the Commission on
               February 15, 1990, and including any other amendments or reports
               filed for the purpose of updating such description, in which
               there is described the terms, rights and provisions applicable to
               the Registrant's Common Stock, and

        (d)    The Registrant's Registration Statement No. 000-18225 on Form 8-A
               filed with the Commission on June 11, 1998, including any
               amendments or reports filed for the purpose of updating such
               description, in which there are described the terms, rights and
               provisions applicable to the Registrant's Preferred Stock
               Purchase Rights.

               All reports and definitive proxy or information statements filed
pursuant to Section 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the 1934 Act after the date of
this Registration Statement and prior to the filing of a post-effective
amendment which indicates that all securities offered hereby have been sold or
which de-registers all securities then remaining unsold shall be deemed to be
incorporated by reference into this Registration Statement and to be a part
hereof from the date of filing of such documents. Any statement contained in a
document incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference herein shall be
deemed to be modified or superseded for purposes of this Registration Statement
to the extent that a statement contained herein or in any subsequently filed
document which also is deemed to be incorporated by reference herein modifies or
supersedes such statement. Any such statement so modified or superseded shall
not be deemed, except as so modified or superseded, to constitute a part of this
Registration Statement.

Item 4.  Description of Securities

               Not Applicable.

Item 5.  Interests of Named Experts and Counsel

               Not Applicable.

Item 6.  Indemnification of Directors and Officers

               Section 317 of the California Corporations Code authorizes a
court to award, or a corporation's Board of Directors to grant indemnity to
directors and officers in terms sufficiently broad to permit indemnification
(including reimbursement of expenses incurred) under certain circumstances for
liabilities arising under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, (the "1933
Act"). The Registrant's Restated Articles of Incorporation, as amended, and
Amended and Restated Bylaws provide for indemnification of its directors,
officers, employees and other agents to the maximum extent permitted by the
California Corporations Code. In addition, the Registrant has entered into
Indemnification Agreements with each of its directors and officers.



                                      II-1
<PAGE>   3

Item 7.  Exemption from Registration Claimed

               Not Applicable.

Item 8.  Exhibits

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
Exhibit Number        Exhibit
- --------------        -------
<S>                   <C>
  4                   Instruments Defining the Rights of Stockholders. Reference
                      is made to Registrant's Registration Statements No.
                      000-18225 on Form 8-A, together with the amendments and
                      exhibits thereto, which are incorporated herein by
                      reference pursuant to Items 3(c) and 3(d).
  5                   Opinion and consent of Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison LLP.
  23.1                Consent of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, Independent
                      Accountants.
  23.2                Consent of Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison LLP is contained in
                      Exhibit 5.
  24                  Power of Attorney. Reference is made to page II-4 of this
                      Registration Statement.
  99.1                WebLine Communications Corporation 1997 Stock Incentive
                      Plan.
  99.2                WebLine Communications Corporation 1997 Stock Incentive
                      Plan-Form of Incentive Stock Option Agreement.
  99.3                WebLine Communications Corporation 1997 Stock Incentive
                      Plan-Form of Incentive Stock Option Agreement - Partial
                      Acceleration.
  99.4                WebLine Communications Corporation 1997 Stock Incentive
                      Plan-Form of Nonstatutory Stock Option Agreement.
  99.5                Form of Option Assumption Agreement.
  99.6                Form of Option Assumption Agreement - Full Acceleration.
  99.7                Form of Option Assumption Agreement - Involuntary
                      Termination.
</TABLE>

Item 9.  Undertakings

               A. The undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes: (1) to file,
during any period in which offers or sales are being made, a post-effective
amendment to this Registration Statement: (i) to include any prospectus required
by Section 10(a)(3) of the 1933 Act, (ii) to reflect in the prospectus any facts
or events arising after the effective date of this Registration Statement (or
the most recent post-effective amendment thereof) which, individually or in the
aggregate, represent a fundamental change in the information set forth in this
Registration Statement and (iii) to include any material information with
respect to the plan of distribution not previously disclosed in this
Registration Statement or any material change to such information in this
Registration Statement; provided, however, that clauses (1)(i) and (1)(ii) shall
not apply if the information required to be included in a post-effective
amendment by those clauses is contained in periodic reports filed by the
Registrant pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the 1934 Act that are
incorporated by reference into this Registration Statement; (2) that for the
purpose of determining any liability under the 1933 Act each such post-effective
amendment shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the
securities offered therein and the offering of such securities at that time
shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof; and (3) to remove
from registration by means of a post-effective amendment any of the securities
being registered which remain unsold at the termination of the WebLine
Communications Corporation 1997 Stock Incentive Plan.

               B. The undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes that, for
purposes of determining any liability under the 1933 Act, each filing of the
Registrant's annual report pursuant to Section 13(a) or Section 15(d) of the
1934 Act that is incorporated by reference into this Registration Statement
shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities
offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be
deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.

               C. Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the
1933 Act may be permitted to directors, officers or controlling persons of the
Registrant pursuant to the indemnification provisions summarized in Item 6 or
otherwise, the Registrant has been advised that, in the opinion of the
Commission, such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the
1933 Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for
indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the
Registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer, or controlling
person of the Registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or
proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in
connection with the securities being registered, the Registrant will, unless in
the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent,
submit to a



                                      II-2
<PAGE>   4

court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by
it is against public policy as expressed in the 1933 Act and will be governed by
the final adjudication of such issue.



                                      II-3
<PAGE>   5

                                   SIGNATURES

               Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as
amended, the Registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that
it meets all of the requirements for filing on Form S-8, and has duly caused
this Registration Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned,
thereunto duly authorized, in the City of San Jose, State of California on this
1st day of December, 1999.


                                        CISCO SYSTEMS, INC.


                                        By: /s/ John T. Chambers
                                           -------------------------------------
                                           John T. Chambers
                                           President, Chief Executive Officer
                                           and Director

                                      POWER OF ATTORNEY

               KNOW ALL PERSONS BY THESE PRESENTS, that each person whose
signature appears below constitutes and appoints John T. Chambers and Larry R.
Carter, and each of them, as such person's true and lawful attorneys-in-fact and
agents, with full power of substitution and resubstitution, for such person and
in such person's name, place and stead, in any and all capacities, to sign any
and all amendments (including post-effective amendments) to this Registration
Statement, and to file same, with all exhibits thereto, and other documents in
connection therewith, with the Securities and Exchange Commission, granting unto
said attorneys-in-fact and agents, and each of them, full power and authority to
do and perform each and every act and thing requisite and necessary to be done
in connection therewith, as fully to all intents and purposes as such person
might or could do in person, hereby ratifying and confirming all that said
attorneys-in-fact and agents, or any of them, or their or his or her
substitutes, may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue thereof.

               Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as
amended, this Registration Statement has been signed below by the following
persons on behalf of the Registrant and in the capacities and on the dates
indicated:

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
Signature                              Title                                          Date
- ---------                              -----                                          ----
<S>                                    <C>                                      <C>

/s/ John T. Chambers                   President, Chief Executive               December 1, 1999
- ---------------------------------      Officer and Director
John T. Chambers                       (Principal Executive Officer)


/s/ Larry R. Carter                    Senior Vice President, Finance           December 1, 1999
- ---------------------------------      and Administration, Chief Financial
Larry R. Carter                        Officer and Secretary
                                       (Principal Financial and Accounting
                                       Officer)


/s/ John P. Morgridge                  Chairman of the Board and                December 1, 1999
- ---------------------------------      Director
John P. Morgridge


/s/ Donald T. Valentine                Vice Chairman of the Board and           December 1, 1999
- ---------------------------------      Director
Donald T. Valentine
</TABLE>



                                      II-4
<PAGE>   6

<TABLE>
<S>                                    <C>                                      <C>

/s/ James F. Gibbons                   Director                                 December 1, 1999
- ---------------------------------
James F. Gibbons


/s/ Steven M. West                     Director                                 December 1, 1999
- ---------------------------------
Steven M. West


/s/ Edward R. Kozel                    Director                                 December 1, 1999
- ---------------------------------
Edward R. Kozel


/s/ Carol A. Bartz                     Director                                 December 1, 1999
- ---------------------------------
Carol A. Bartz


/s/ James C. Morgan                    Director                                 December 1, 1999
- ---------------------------------
James C. Morgan


/s/ Mary Cirillo                       Director                                 December 1, 1999
- ---------------------------------
Mary Cirillo


/s/ Arun Sarin                         Director                                 December 1, 1999
- ---------------------------------
Arun Sarin
</TABLE>



                                      II-5
<PAGE>   7

                                        EXHIBIT INDEX


<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
Exhibit Number        Exhibit
- --------------        -------
<S>                   <C>
  4                   Instruments Defining the Rights of Stockholders. Reference
                      is made to Registrant's Registration Statements No.
                      000-18225 on Form 8-A, together with the amendments and
                      exhibits thereto, which are incorporated herein by
                      reference pursuant to Items 3(c) and 3(d).
  5                   Opinion and consent of Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison LLP.
  23.1                Consent of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, Independent
                      Accountants.
  23.2                Consent of Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison LLP is contained in
                      Exhibit 5.
  24                  Power of Attorney. Reference is made to page II-4 of this
                      Registration Statement.
  99.1                WebLine Communications Corporation 1997 Stock Incentive
                      Plan.
  99.2                WebLine Communications Corporation 1997 Stock Incentive
                      Plan-Form of Incentive Stock Option Agreement.
  99.3                WebLine Communications Corporation 1997 Stock Incentive
                      Plan-Form of Incentive Stock Option Agreement - Partial
                      Acceleration.
  99.4                WebLine Communications Corporation 1997 Stock Incentive
                      Plan-Form of Nonstatutory Stock Option Agreement.
  99.5                Form of Option Assumption Agreement.
  99.6                Form of Option Assumption Agreement - Full Acceleration.
  99.7                Form of Option Assumption Agreement - Involuntary
                      Termination.
</TABLE>
