3Com Corporation and PictureTel Extend Their Partnership in Multimedia Computing with the New SuperStack II Desktop Switching/PictureTel LiveLAN Bundle; Affordable videoconferencing to the desktop for production networks with the SuperStack II desktop switch and the PictureTel LiveLAN Starter Kit.SANTA CLARA Santa Clara, city, Cuba Santa Clara (sän`tä klä`rä), city (1994 est. pop. 217,000), capital of Villa Clara prov., central Cuba. , Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 25, 1996--3Com Corporation (NASDAQ NASDAQ in full National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations U.S. market for over-the-counter securities. Established in 1971 by the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD), NASDAQ is an automated quotation system that reports on : COMS COMS 3Com Corporation (stock symbol) COMS Certified Orientation and Mobility Specialist COMS Continuous Opacity Monitoring Systems COMS City of Manchester Stadium (UK) ) and PictureTel Corporation (NASDAQ: PCTL PCTL Percentile PCTL Prioritized Candidate Target List ) have strengthened their strategic alliance by providing a new solutions bundle to deliver affordable multimedia computing services to the desktop. 3Com will offer customers a new product bundle featuring four of its new, SuperStack II desktop switch products which deliver a bandwidth boost to support a full range of LAN (Local Area Network) A communications network that serves users within a confined geographical area. The "clients" are the user's workstations typically running Windows, although Mac and Linux clients are also used. services including multimedia or intranet applications at the industry's lowest price of $120 per port. Also included in the bundle is a SuperStack II switch 3000 TX Fast Ethernet An earlier name for 100Mbps Ethernet. See 100Base-T. (networking) Fast Ethernet - A version of Ethernet developed in the 1990s(?) which can carry 100 Mbps compared with standard Ethernet's 10 Mbps. It requires upgraded network cards and hubs. switch, plus a PictureTel LiveLAN starter kit (Release 2.0) valued at $2,795 at no additional cost. The LiveLAN starter kit incorporates two desktop units to help users introduce videoconferencing technology to their network. The total price of this desktop switching bundle that provides up to 108 users with dedicated 10 Mbps bandwidth is just $18,375. The offer builds on 3Com's existing partnership with PictureTel that provides a combination of 3Com network interface cards with PictureTel's LAN-based video conferencing See videoconferencing. (communications) video conferencing - A discussion between two or more groups of people who are in different places but can see and hear each other using electronic communications. software and low-cost upgrades to full videoconferencing. 3Com's EtherLink III and Fast EtherLink PCI (1) (Payment Card Industry) See PCI DSS. (2) (Peripheral Component Interconnect) The most widely used I/O bus (peripheral bus). network interface cards are a natural platform for advanced, high-bandwidth applications; when combined with PictureTel's conferencing technology, they allow for high-quality LAN data and video conferencing over shared Ethernet Refers to the traditional Ethernet topology in which all stations share the total bandwidth of the network. Whether connected via a common cable (10Base5, 10Base2) or a hub (10Base-T), transmission is on a first-come, first-served basis. , switched Ethernet An Ethernet network that is controlled by a switch instead of a shared hub. The switch cross connects all clients, servers and network devices, giving each sending-receiving pair the full rated transmission speed. , and Fast Ethernet networks. In addition the embedded cooperation between 3Com network interface cards and switches enabled by PACE technology and desktop configured VLANs ensures optimized support of video traffic. "3Com pioneered the drive towards switching to the desktop with the new SuperStack II desktop switch, unlocking the power and performance of intranets and multimedia computing. By combining 3Com's strengths in building high performance workgroup solutions with the special expertise of PictureTel, the industry's leading LAN conferencing specialist, we are now extending our leadership in this area. Together, 3Com and PictureTel can meet the growing demand for LAN conferencing technology by delivering powerful, high-bandwidth solutions for production networks," commented Steve Carter Steve Carter may be:
"The powerful combination of 3Com's leadership in the workgroup switching market with our own expertise in video conferencing makes this an excellent opportunity to bring the business benefits of LAN videoconferencing to an even wider audience. With the new 3Com/PictureTel bundle, MIS Managers responsible for networks of all sizes have a highly effective and affordable way to bring videoconferencing to their organization," said David Andonian, vice president of PictureTel's Personal Systems Division. Launched in October, 3Com's new SuperStack II desktop switch scales network performance to provide an immediate bandwidth boost while helping customers to protect their existing desktop investment within the security and familiarity of the Ethernet environment. It incorporates 3Com's PACE technology to offer high quality real-time multimedia support on standard Ethernet connections. 3Com's PACE technology is the only technology available today that eliminates repetitive collisions on switched Ethernet connections, and ensures fair access for both ends of the wire by removing the Capture Effect of Ethernet. In addition to minimizing both latency and jitter A flicker or fluctuation in a transmission signal or display image. The term is used in several ways, but it always refers to some offset of time and space from the norm. For example, in a network transmission, jitter would be a bit arriving either ahead or behind a standard clock cycle throughout the switched LAN infrastructure, PACE technology also allows for prioritization of important multimedia traffic over standard file transfer and e-mail traffic. 3Com's PACE technology makes multimedia LAN-based applications viable for today's Ethernet-attached PCs, without requiring the upheaval of a complete technology change. The SuperStack II desktop switch also includes embedded RMON (Remote MONitoring) Enhancements to the management information base (MIB) structure used by the simple network management protocol (SNMP). In 1991, RMON added comprehensive network monitoring capabilities. on every port, is fully manageable using 3Com's Transcend network management software, and incorporates technology enhancements such as AutoSelect VLAN See virtual LAN. VLAN - Virtual Local Area Network support and LAN security. A plug-and-play Ethernet solution, the SuperStack II desktop switch requires no changes to be made to the desktop, PCs, NICs, cabling, drivers or PC configurations and end stations retain their Ethernet connections. PictureTel's LiveLAN 2.0 is part of PictureTel's LAN-based H.323 standards-ready family of products that provide video conferencing over an enterprise local area network (LAN), intranet and the Internet. By operating on top of existing protocols (IPX (Internetwork Packet EXchange) The network layer protocol in the NetWare operating system. Similar to the IP layer in TCP/IP, it contains a network address and allows messages to be routed to a different network or subnet. ,IP), LiveLAN packets can be routed without any modifications to existing LAN/Intranet infrastructures. Also included in the LiveLAN starter kit is Live Manager, which monitors and manages the amount of bandwidth allocated for LiveLAN calls throughout a network on a segment by segment basis. The new 3Com/PictureTel bundle (part number 3P16902PVC PVC: see polyvinyl chloride. PVC in full polyvinyl chloride Synthetic resin, an organic polymer made by treating vinyl chloride monomers with a peroxide. ) is available now only in the USA until Feb. 18, 1997. As part of this promotion customers will be offered, by PictureTel, upgrades from LiveLAN 2.0 to LiveLAN 3.0 (available the end of Q1 1997) for a price of only $595. 3Com Corporation has helped more than 40 million people gain access to critical information through high speed networks. Designed to serve large enterprises, service providers, small offices and homes, 3Com products provide a scalable architecture to meet the immediate and long term connectivity needs of today's user. With research and development on three continents, 3Com is one of the data networking industry's largest and fastest growing companies. The company's innovative marketing, engineering, sales and support simplify communication, optimize network reliability and protect customer investments. For further information, visit 3Com's World Wide Web site at http://www.3Com.com or call 800/NET-3COM. PictureTel Corporation is the world leader in developing, manufacturing and marketing a full range of visual communications solutions. The company's products serve videoconferencing needs from the desktop to the boardroom. PictureTel also markets network conferencing products and a comprehensive portfolio of enterprise-wide services. Additional PictureTel information is available on the Internet at www.picturetel.com. PictureTel videoconferencing eliminates the barrier of distance, enabling people to be Anywhere Now. -0- Note to Editors: 3Com, Transcend and EtherLink are registered trademarks and SuperStack and PACE are trademarks of 3Com Corporation. PictureTel is a registered trademark of PictureTel Corporation. LiveLAN, Live Manager and Anywhere Now are trademarks of PictureTel Corporation. All other names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders. CONTACT: 3Com Public Relations public relations, activities and policies used to create public interest in a person, idea, product, institution, or business establishment. By its nature, public relations is devoted to serving particular interests by presenting them to the public in the most Julia Kisch, +44 (0)1442 278273 julia_kisch@3mail.3com.com or PictureTel Corporation Kevin Flanagan, 508/292-5178 flanagank@pictel.com or The Weber Group, Inc Eric Eddy, 617/520-7025 eeddy@webergroup.com or Copithorne & Bellows Diane Parazin, 617/450-4300 diane.parazin@cbpr.com |
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