3Com Applauds Ratification of IEEE 802.1p Standard; Approval to Accelerate Industry's Move to Converged Networks.

SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 11, 1998--

New Standard Delivers Prioritization for Business Critical Applications

and Paves the Way for Real-Time Network Services

According to global data networking leader 3Com Corporation (Nasdaq:COMS), the recent approval of the IEEE 802.1p standard will allow IT managers within small to large organizations to more effectively plan for the next generation of converged networks and deliver scalable, differentiated services that support their business applications. Available today in a broad range of 3Com networking solutions, the 802.1p standard is a method for classifying network traffic, from business critical applications such as SAP for order processing to latency-sensitive voice and video, allowing managers to quickly and easily establish network priorities.

3Com's support for 802.1p, a part of the newly revised IEEE 802.1D standard for bridges, extends from the desktop to the server in small or large business environments. Solutions that employ 802.1p can be tailored for the small or medium size business -- with simple installation, configuration and maintenance -- or for the large enterprise requiring new network-based services to increase network efficiency and overall business productivity.

Since the standard allows for interoperability with existing network devices, IT managers can establish policies and traffic priorities for the entire network or incrementally in workgroups, building backbones or data centers. In addition, the implementation of 802.1p is a critical part of 3Com's strategy to build policy-based networks that are fully automated, support multi-vendor environments and are scalable across the enterprise.

"As a key member of the IEEE 802.1D working group, 3Com has been driving the creation of 802.1p, and we're very pleased that the formal ratification process is complete," said Clint Ramsay, 3Com's vice president of large enterprise marketing. "This standard is a simple, easily implemented way to plan a network's growth and strategically add new networked multimedia services such as voice over IP and desktop video conferencing. It's also a key component for policy-based networks, ensuring that the most important business applications reach the right desk at the right time. Combined with high-performance technologies such as Fast Ethernet and Gigabit Ethernet, the new 802.1p standard should be an essential component of every enterprise's networking plans," said Ramsay.

IT managers can take advantage of IEEE 802.1p to differentiate between various business applications and set priorities to ensure application response time, improving productivity and increasing customer satisfaction. Some examples of these applications include financial transactions, order processing, network management, integrated voice and data, desktop video conferencing and distributed video training. In addition, the standard can help reduce time spent on network performance management, allowing the staff to focus on more proactive tasks such as capacity planning and implementing new technologies. 802.1p traffic can flow across existing network devices, avoiding the need to use proprietary prioritization schemes and allowing IT to gradually deploy converged networks in the core, the wiring closet, the server farm and the desktop as needed.

"802.1p is an important part of policy-based networking that will be especially significant to corporations and carriers as they move to a single, consolidated transport to carry different types of traffic such as voice and video," said Eric Hindin, director of Network Solutions Research and Consulting at Yankee Group, a market analyst research firm based in Boston, Mass. "It will also be invaluable in networks that handle a mix of mission-critical applications and others deemed less essential."

802.1P Available Today in 3Com Solutions

3Com today offers a wide range of devices that implement the 802.1p standard. These include:

--SuperStack(R) II Switch 1100 --SuperStack II Switch 3300 --CoreBuilder(tm) 3500 Layer 3 High-Function Switch --3Com Ethernet NICs with DynamicAccess(R) software

In upcoming months, 3Com intends to deliver 802.1p functionality in: -0-

     --SuperStack II Switch 3900
     --SuperStack II Switch 9000
     --SuperStack II Switch 9300
     --PathBuilder(R) Switch
     --DynamicAccess software for non-3Com NICs delivering 802.1p
     --DynamicAccess software Manager for policy management at
       desktops and servers
     --Transcend(R) Policy Manager and Server

-0-

3Com's Transcend Policy Manager and Server products will enable large enterprises to more easily and comprehensively enforce information delivery (class/quality of service), information access (security), and network equipment monitoring and configuration actions according to business rules (i.e., policies). From a single user interface, network managers will be able to set policies across the entire network, managing both 3Com and non-3Com devices that meet the 802.1p standard.

About 3Com

3Com Corporation enables individuals and organizations worldwide to stay more connected by communicating and sharing information and resources anytime, anywhere. As one of the world's preeminent suppliers of data, voice and video communications technology, 3Com has delivered networking solutions to more than 200 million customers worldwide. The company provides large enterprise, small and medium enterprise, carriers and network service providers, and consumers comprehensive, innovative information access products and system solutions for building intelligent, reliable and high performance local and wide area networks. For further information, visit 3Com's World Wide Web site at http://www.3Com.com or the press site at http://www.3Com.com/pressbox.

3Com, DynamicAccess, SuperStack and Transcend are registered trademarks and CoreBuilder is a trademark of 3Com Corporation.

    CONTACT: 3Com Public Relations
              Chuck Malkiel, 978/264-1768
              [e-mail]