3Com Expands Transcend Network Management Solution to Simplify Management of Complex Networks; New Enhancements Incorporate RMON2, Innovative Data Collection, And Enterprise Traffic Management.

SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 29, 1996--Global data networking leader, 3Com Corporation (NASDAQ:COMS) has dramatically expanded its Transcend Network Management solution to enable network managers to more efficiently manage their entire networks as an integrated business system, increasing efficiency over current methods of managing each network device separately.

The enhancements -- new RMON and RMON2 hardware and software products; the full integration of probes and the Transcend Traffix Manager application from recently acquired AXON Networks; and distributed RMON (dRMON) data collection -- dovetail into 3Com's strategy to provide network managers with the industry's most complete set of tools to fully monitor and manage today's rapidly growing, increasingly complex networks.

These additions are key to 3Com's three-part Transcend Networking framework for making networks easy-to-use, or "transparent" to users, as well as simpler and more cost effective to design and manage. Transcend Networking framework includes hardware and software solutions for: (1) scaling the performance; (2) extending the reach; and (3) managing the growth of enterprise networks.

"3Com is bringing Transcend Network Management to fruition," said John McConnell, president of McConnell Consulting, Inc. "A long period of building an infrastructure of embedded intelligence, distributed monitoring and a management framework is paying off with sophisticated products that hit the target for network administrators."

New Product Announcements: Management Applications and Data Collection

A complete network management solution must offer easy-to-use, robust network management applications and comprehensive, enterprise-wide data collection. Today, 3Com has announced new offerings in both of these areas, strengthening its network management solution for customers:

New Management Applications

-- Transcend Traffix Manager application -- 3Com will ship this August the Transcend Traffix Manager RMON2 application, which works in conjunction with RMON2 probes to provide a true system-wide view of all network traffic. Traffix Manager's intuitive user interface displays end-to-end communications patterns and clearly details how client/server applications are using the network. The network manager can focus on the traffic for a particular workgroup, VLAN, subnet or organization, supporting tuning of the network based on real usage patterns. Traffix Manager has a list price of $7,995. (For more information, please see the Transcend Traffix Manager Fact Sheet.)

-- Transcend LANsentry application -- Transcend LANsentry is an RMON client application that enables network managers to view traffic and critical statistics on remote LAN segments. The best-of-class graphical user interface provides network managers with a simple way to view complex data gathered by distributed RMON agents. Included within Transcend Enterprise Manager, LANsentry is also now available as a standalone application. The LANsentry application will ship from 3Com in September with a list price of $4,495 for UNIX, $1,995 for Windows.

New Data Collection Products

-- Transcend Enterprise Monitor Series 500 RMON/RMON2 Probes -- 3Com will ship this August the Transcend Enterprise Monitor Series 500 probes. The 500 Series probes are a family of high-performance probes that enable network managers to collect valuable statistics, capture data, set alarms, and examine packets on remote segments from a central management platform. (For more information, including pricing, please see the Transcend Enterprise Monitor Series 500 Fact Sheet.)

-- New modules for the SuperStack II Enterprise Monitor. The SuperStack II Enterprise Monitor (announced in June 1996) is the first RMON/RMON2 probe to be integrated within a multi-function stackable system. Announced today are two new media modules: a 2-port Token Ring Module (U.S. list price $2,895) and a 10/100 Fast Ethernet Module (U.S. $3,895) that supports both full-duplex and half-duplex. (For more information, please see the SuperStack II Enterprise Monitor fact sheet.)

Transcend Traffix Manager, the Series 500 probes, and the SuperStack II Enterprise Monitor together create the industry's most comprehensive RMON2 solution. 3Com's RMON2 solution also includes the ONcore) integrated system's Advanced Ethernet Network Monitor Card and Ethernet RMON Multiprobe card for ONcore and ONline System Concentrator. RMON2 provides insight into traffic and applications usage that helps the network manager optimize current network resources, set network policies, and make sound decisions regarding capacity planning, network growth and department bill-back by amount of usage.

"3Com has long realized the importance of complete network management and we are excited to be expanding the company's unique Transcend Network Management strategy to help network managers move closer to self managing networks," said Roy Johnson, vice president and general manager of 3Com's Network Management Division. "With the integration of the AXON products completed so quickly, we've truly brought 3Com to the forefront of network management. We are fortunate to leverage 3Com's, and Chipcom's, long-standing relationship with AXON."

dRMON Data Collection

These new data collection products expand the networking industry's most comprehensive data collection solution: 3Com's distributed RMON (dRMON). dRMON is a cooperative solution based on industry standards that allows affordable, full-time, enterprise-wide network monitoring of traffic, segments and devices for both switched and shared environments. dRMON spreads RMON data collection across multiple devices, which minimizes network management work load and maximizes customers', choice and flexibility in deploying RMON. With dRMON, RMON data can be collected by embedded agents, probes, and on 3Com's XL network interface cards (as part of 3Com's DynamicAccess features), providing full RMON on shared and switched networks, including full-time, full RMON support in 100Mbps environments. (For more information, please see the 3Com Network Management Fact Sheet on dRMON.)

Business Management and Operations Management 

With today's announcement, 3Com leads the industry in enabling network managers to move up the management hierarchy to perform business management in addition to operations management, where 3Com has traditionally been the industry leader. Operations management allows network managers to monitor the health of their network segments and perform device configuration and fault management.

Business management is enabled by 3Com's RMON2 solution, which allows network managers to view the network in terms of application and network resource utilization rather than as individual devices. This higher level view arms network managers with the information needed to perform network tuning and planning based on an understanding of the real business use of the network. Network managers can answer questions that the end user is asking such as: "who is using the order processing server?" or "is Lotus Notes usage growing?" This type of information will enable network managers to maintain the service levels agreements to which they are committed.

3Com Corporation has helped more than 32 million people gain access to critical information through high speed networks. Designed to serve large enterprises, 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, 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. -0-

Note to Editors: 3Com, Transcend, LANsentry and ONcore are registered trademarks of 3Com Corporation. SuperStack, dRMON, AXON, ONline, Traffix and DynamicAccess are trademarks of 3Com Corporation. All other trademarks belong to their respective organizations.

CONTACT: 3Com Public Relations 

Dan Foley, 508/264-1768

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