(CS) Cabletron's SPECTRUM Enterprise Manager is first to meet analyst's requirements; SPECTRUM is the only product to meet all of Decisys 'Essential Requirements' for enterprise management platforms.

ROCHESTER, N.H.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 23, 1996--Cabletron Systems (NYSE:CS) announced today that its SPECTRUM management platform has met all of the "essential" criteria set forth in a newly-published buyer's guide on enterprise management platforms. SPECTRUM is the first product to meet all of the requirements.

The buyer's guide, entitled "A Brief Guide to Selecting an Enterprise Management Platform," was published earlier this month by Decisys Inc. a Sterling, Va.-based network consulting firm. The white paper outlines "essential requirements" for large-scale enterprise management platforms, including scalability, traffic management, and personnel resource requirements.

"We wrote the white paper not as an evaluation of products, but to set forth some of the features and characteristics that users should look for in a large-scale enterprise management platform," said Tim Wilson, senior consultant at Decisys. However, it is true that SPECTRUM is the only platform so far that meets all of the requirements we outlined."

"This study confirms what we already knew -- that SPECTRUM is the best platform for managing large enterprises," said Patricia Chrystycz, director of network management marketing for Cabletron. "Based on the Decisys criteria, we feel we are the clear winner in this market."

The Decisys white paper outlines eight "essential requirements" for large-scale enterprise management platform:

-- Server-to-server distributability -- the ability to link multiple platform servers as peers to increase scalability

-- Support for very large networks -- the ability to manage more than 5,000 nodes as a single domain.

-- Support for many operators -- the ability to route filtered data to 25 or more specialized netowrk and systems operators

-- Sophisticated filtering -- the ability to filter management data so that the operator is presented with only the most pertinent information

-- Automated event correlation -- the ability to automatically separate "cause" event data from "symptom" event data

-- Connectivity to local management systems -- the ability to gather data from workgroups or end systems via intermediate systems or agents

-- Availability on Windows NT as well as Unix -- the ability to operate in environments with which the user is already familiar

-- Platform "memory" and reasoning capabilities -- the ability to "remember" how previous problems have been solved and automatically suggest solutions based on that memory

SPECTRUM is the only platform that meets all eight criteria in a currently-available product:

Requirement    Cabletron       HP        IBM/Tivoli    SunSoft SunNet
               Spectrum     OpenView     SystemView       Manager

Server-to-
  server          x            x
distribution

Manages more
 than 5,000       x            x
 nodes in a
   domain

Supports more
  than 30         x            x              x               x
 operators

Sophisticated
  filtering       x            x              x               x

 Automated
   event          x      Through third-               Through third-
correlation              party software               party software

Connectivity to
    local         x            x              x               x
  management
   systems

Availability on
  NT and Unix     x            x

   System
"memory" and      x                                       Limited
  reasoning

Reprints of the Decisys white paper can be obtained from Cabletron as well as Decisys. To obtain the white paper from Cabletron, contact Betsey Winckler at 603/337-2588.

Cabletron Systems is the recognized leader in providing high-performance intranetworking solutions, including LAN and ATM switches and advanced network and systems management software. Under its Synthesis product framework, Cabletron markets products throughout the world for linking and managing enterprise-wide networks.

With corporate headquarters in Rochester, N.H., Cabletron employs over 5,700 people worldwide. Cabletron's common stock is traded over the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol CS. Over the last four quarters, the company has reported record revenue of $1.1 billion. -0-

Cabletron's World Wide Web site can be reached on the Internet at http://www.ctron.com. Cabletron, SPECTRUM and SPECTRUM Enterprise Manager Version 4 are trademarks or registered trademarks of Cabletron Systems. All other products or services found in this document are identified by the trademarks or service marks of their respective companies or organizations.

CONTACT: Cabletron Systems

Dennis Drogseth, 603/337-2568

[e-mail]