SAN JOSE, Calif. — On the surface, there doesn’t seem to be much of a connection between the servers that run corporate data centers and a handheld video camera you use to film family vacations. Yet both have somehow become part of the master plan at Cisco Systems Inc.

After growing into one of Silicon Valley’s most prominent companies by selling behind-the-scenes computing products, Cisco is now expanding aggressively, using its hefty financial resources to go on the attack while other companies are just trying to survive.In recent weeks, Cisco said it will start selling servers, opening a new rivalry with longtime partners like Hewlett-Packard Co. and IBM Corp. Cisco also agreed to pay about $590 million in stock to pick up Pure Digital Technologies, which makes the popular Flip camcorders.

Cisco has not been spared by the recession. Its profit declined 27 percent in its last quarter, which ended in late January, and it reported flat earnings in the previous period. It is slashing more than $1 billion in expenses, partly by cutting back on travel and freezing hiring.

Yet it also has $29.5 billion in cash and investments, a solid reputation, a network of product resellers and thousands of sales employees — assets that the company hopes to exploit.

Even if Cisco doesn’t stumble, Cisco’s rivals will try to use the breadth of its goals against it.

Mike Banic, vice president of marketing for the switches business at Juniper Networks Inc., a Cisco competitor, said it appears Cisco is focusing more on moving into adjacent markets and less on innovations in its core business.

“Based on what customers are telling us, we are seeing they’re becoming a bit distracted,” Banic said.

Even so, Banic said Juniper remains wary of Cisco. “We never underestimate them,” he said.

Mark McKechnie, a Broadpoint AmTech analyst, sees another challenge for Cisco — the potential to spark conflict with its partners by moving onto their turf.

This could happen with Cisco’s entrance into the server market, where it will compete against Hewlett-Packard and IBM. Those companies have long resold Cisco’s networking equipment to go along with their servers and computers, but may not be as keen to do so now. Ganthier cautioned Cisco to make sure it wants to be in servers for the long haul.

“This is not a market for the faint of heart,” he said.

• Rachel Metz