3Com Corporation Announces Availability of New Total Control 1000 Enhanced Data System.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

New System Boosts Port Density, Performance and Service

Delivery Capabilities on Flagship Platform

SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 7, 2000

3Com Corporation (Nasdaq:COMS), an industry leader in supplying access infrastructures and Internet protocol (IP) solutions to service providers around the globe, today announced it is shipping a new enhanced data system for its flagship Total Control(R) 1000 multiservice access platform. Four new card sets combine to deliver higher port densities, enhanced performance and expanded service capabilities in the Total Control 1000 enhanced data system.

Service providers using the Total Control 1000 enhanced data system can deploy a broad range of services -- dial access, virtual private networking (VPN), IP telephony, cable modem termination and current and 3G Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) wireless access -- on a single platform using a common set of authentication and billing services. The system supports a wide range of packet network connections including Ethernet, Frame Relay, Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) and X.25. The system gives service providers the ability to terminate voice, data and fax calls over analog, digital subscriber line (DSL) and Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) modems.

"Service providers are continually looking to offer new services and features to subscribers, and to do so without having to re-engineer their network with the introduction of each new service," said Todd Landry, vice president, product management, 3Com Carrier Networks Business. "Our Total Control 1000 enhanced data system allows them to do just that -- deliver new technologies and revenue-generating services via a single platform. With the new card sets, value-added features such as multicast, IPSec, class-of-service and virtual private networking can easily be added to an existing network."

Features of the New Total Control 1000 Card Sets

The new Total Control 1000 enhanced data system includes:

-- Total Control 1000 digital signal processor (DSP) multispan card sets
supporting up to four-times the density of current cards, and featuring
multiple interface options with the lowest power requirement and heat
dissipation of any high-density solution in the industry;

-- Total Control 1000 Digital Service Level 3 (DS-3) ingress card sets for time
division multiplexing (TDM) call aggregation into the system;

-- Total Control 1000 access router card sets, featuring a significant increase
in processing power and an independent, out-of-band encryption engine; and

-- Total Control 1000 network management card sets that host increased
processing power and storage.

The advanced design of the 96-port Total Control 1000 DSP multispan card set allows multiple modem sessions, ISDN processing and point-to-point protocol (PPP) co-processing on a single DSP -- delivering high-level functionality in a small space. The card set can process three E1 or four T1 spans (96 channels per card) within just one platform slot. In a fully populated Total Control 1000 system, up to 672 calls via T1 and up to 630 calls via E1 can be processed. Unlike a simple modem card, the DSP card set features a fully reprogrammable DSP engine that lets administrators reconfigure the system to implement new technologies and applications. The card set supports a wide range of trunk signaling and communications standards, including many T1/E1/PRI and SS7 intermachine trunks (IMTs).

The Total Control 1000 DS-3 ingress card provides customers with a cost-effective solution for terminating DS-3s rather than direct E1/T1 signals to Total Control 1000 DSP multispan card sets. Each set functions within the Total Control 1000 system to provide wide area network (WAN) ingress access via DS-3 connectivity. The DS-3 ingress card terminates a DS-3 span consisting of 28 individual T1 spans, breaks it down into 672 individual channels and forwards DS-0s to DSP multispan cards. In an upcoming release, 3Com Carrier Networks Business will offer an optional redundant DS-3 card set for increased protection against system failure and downtime. This solution will augment the power supply and router redundancy currently available within the Total Control 1000 system.

The Total Control 1000 access router card set works with the Total Control 1000 DSP multispan card set to process packet content of digital and analog connections and route up to 672 calls and maintain 2,000 VPN tunnel sessions with wire-speed encryption to various LAN/WAN interfaces. The access router card set supports a broad set of LAN and WAN protocols. It provides full access routing functionality; Quality of Service support with IP TOS bits; anti-spoofing security features; per-user firewalls with source, destination, application and protocol filtering; STAC compression; Routing Information Protocol (RIP) and RIPv2; Open Shortest Path First (OSPF); Multicast support with IGMPv2; PPP over Ethernet; and RADIUS and other user authentication support. Access router card sets can be configured to provide load sharing and redundancy for increased access router performance and enhanced availability. Support for simple network management protocol (SNMP) management, call activity logging and RADIUS accounting ensure a high level of oversight and control over network access activities. In addition, card sets support CHAP, PAP and MSCHAP security protocols and offer dedicated wire-speed encryption, including triple-DES and key handling services for dial access or subscriber aggregation services.

The Total Control 1000 network management card provides complete SNMP-based remote management of the Total Control 1000 system. The network management card includes robust chassis event and alarm reporting; configuration management; software download to chassis elements; chassis parameter storage; and rapid response to pre-configured chassis event. When integrated with the Total Control 1000 platform, the network management card enables operation support system (OSS)-based services such as resource management, service-level agreement (SLA) monitoring and bandwidth management. Based on next-generation hardware, basic input/output system (BIOS) and a real-time operating system, the network management card allows high capacity for trap and alarm traffic for the ever-increasing port densities and evolving call models for new, enhanced applications.

Enhanced Data Systems in the CommWorks(R) Architecture

Enhanced data systems are an integral part of the CommWorks(R) architecture, 3Com Carrier Networks Business' versatile solution for multiservice packet-based networking. The three-tier CommWorks architecture allows service providers to deliver narrowband enhanced data services, IP telephony, wireless data, and broadband access over a single converged network. The architecture consists of:

-- The Media Processing tier for universal connectivity through a

variety of network access options.

-- The Control and Network and Service Management tier for

universal signaling and control via protocol mediation, as

well as powerful network management, element management and

load-balancing services.

-- The Service Creation tier, which provides an open service

creation environment that leverages open interfaces and 3Com

strategic partners to enable rapid application and service

deployment.

Standards-based and designed with open interfaces throughout, the CommWorks architecture meets the telecommunications industry's need for a coherent architecture that allows the deployment of multiple services in a single, unified networking environment. The architecture streamlines the migration from today's analog networks to next-generation, packet-based converged networks.

About 3Com Corporation

3Com simplifies how people connect to information and services through easy-to-use, connectivity products and solutions for consumers and commercial organizations. The company also provides access infrastructures and IP services platforms for network service providers. For further information, visit www.3com.com or the press site at www.3com.com/pressbox.

Note to Editors: 3Com, CommWorks and Total Control are registered trademarks and the 3Com logo is a trademark of 3Com Corporation.