3Com Strengthens Leadership in Mid-Sized Networks With Ten Times the Speed of Traditional 10/100 Switches and Easy Layer-3 Upgrades.

Business/Technology Editors

SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 20, 2000

New e-Network Offerings Bring 3Com's SuperStack(R)

II Switch Installed Base of Over 97 Million connected devices to a

New Level of Speed and Performance -- Enabling Them to Capitalize

on the Power of E-Commerce

3Com Corporation (Nasdaq:COMS) today announced the arrival of its Gigabit over copper wiring solution (1000BASE-T SuperStack(R) II Switch 9100/downlink modules) and new SuperStack(R) II Switch Layer-3 routing module. Today's announcement underscores the need for simple, reliable and cost-effective e-Networks -- filling the void between e-commerce planning and e-commerce success.

According to Dell'Oro Group, through CYQ3/99, 3Com has shipped over 97 million fixed Ethernet ports. &uot;3Com's shared/switched SuperStack switch customer base is four times as large as our nearest competitor,&uot; said Charles Gallagher, director of LAN volume marketing, 3Com. &uot;When combined with 3Com's PathBuilder(TM) WAN (wide area network) solution and NBX(R) voice products, the new offerings provide a total converged solution to enhance our mid-sized product solutions while opening the doors to new and exciting opportunities for 3Com.&uot;

The new SuperStack II Switch 9100's Gigabit speeds (1000 Megabits per second) alleviate over-burdened, high-cost networks. This facilitates e-business/e-commerce applications by enhancing access to business-critical databases while cost-effectively eliminating congestion at high-traffic zones to improve the network's availability. These offerings easily connect into 3Com's current SuperStack II switch installations and immediately increase the network's performance without the costly disruption of re-cabling the workplace or the aggravation and downtime associated with a complete network overhaul.

3Com's new Layer-3 module provides robust Layer-3 switching at the same price point as -- or lower than -- competing vendor's Layer-2 offerings. The module simply slides into a SuperStack II switch expansion slot to provide IP routing services (the common language spoken between e-commerce applications) for 3Com's installed base of 10/100 Mbps stackable switches. Both offerings are designed to expand upon existing network investments without the need to redesign entire networks for next-generation applications.

Networks Must Evolve to Match Changing E-Business Dynamics

Today's mid-sized businesses are adopting new, bandwidth-intensive business-to-business or business-to-consumer applications along with installing robust Internet business applications to leverage the power of e-commerce. These costly applications leave limited funds available to upgrade the network's infrastructure in order to accommodate their chosen software.

Organizations seeking to adopt these e-business principles need an easy-to-upgrade, cost-effective solution to instantly boost the network's capabilities and match their new Web-based business direction. &uot;The implementation of new e-commerce applications can tax the speed of traditional 10/100 Mbps networks, causing slow responding systems,&uot; said Michael Speyer, Associate Director with the Yankee Group. &uot;Organizations seeking an e-commerce direction must also consider the network's ability to facilitate these new applications. Gigabit over copper (1000 Mbps) speeds offer an instant boost in performance to administer new e-business software without the added cost of re-cabling.&uot;

&uot;The e-commerce revolution and the applications necessary to achieve it are self evident,&uot; added Gallager. &uot;However, when companies turn on these new applications, they experienced a noticeable decrease in their networks performance. 3Com's new SuperStack II Switch 9100 and downlink modules offer the next-generation of performance, increasing the network's speed by a factor of ten. The new solution uses the same proven plug-and-play Ethernet technology the networking industry was founded upon -- with no costly upgrades necessary, unlike other vendors.&uot;

Designed to run over existing Category-5 cabling, 3Com's is offering the following Gigabit over copper workgroup products:

1.   100/1000 Mbps SuperStack II Switch 1000BASE-T downlink module.
     The new module provides a cost-effective migration path to
     copper-based Gigabit Ethernet. The downlink leverages the largest
     installed base of stackable switches, while attracting new
     customers with the added throughput to facilitate e-business or
     customer data.
2.   100/1000 Mbps SuperStack II Switch 9100. The new switch provides
     an aggregation point for the 1000BASE-T Downlink module. The
     high-performance switch is designed to boost the network's
     processing power for e-business/e-commerce data by a factor of
     ten compared with today's copper-based Fast Ethernet speeds of
     100 Mbps.

3Com is also announcing the shipment of its new SuperStack II Switch Layer-3 routing module. The module allows network managers to cost-effectively add powerful routing capabilities to their existing switched workgroups to boost intranet performance as well as relieving legacy routers from fast growing IP LAN traffic. The new module also offers seamless IP traffic routing between subnets and switch IPX, Appletalk and other protocols.

Products and Pricing:

1.   SuperStack II Switch 9100 - Planned to ship in April, the new
     switch supports Category-5 cabling, six 1000BASE-T ports and two
     1000BASE-SX (MT-RJ), wire-speed switching, port trunking, 802.3x
     flow control, broadcast throttling, 802.1p/Q traffic
     prioritization and multiple VLAN support respectively,
     protocol-based VLANs. US List Price: $4,995.
2.   SuperStack II Switch 1100/3300, 1000BASE-T downlink module -
     Planned to ship in April, the new module supports Category-5
     cabling, 802.1p/Q traffic prioritization and multiple VLAN
     support respectively, up to 3 modules per SuperStack II switch
     stacked configuration, resilient links, supported by Agent 2.4.
     US List Price: $455
3.   SuperStack II Switch Layer-3 routing module- Currently shipping,
     3Com's new Layer-3 routing module offers extensive
     standards-based routing protocol support (including RIP and OSPF)
     DVMRP (Distance Vector Multicast Routing Protocol) for optimized
     multimedia traffic delivery Slide-in module into the module
     expansion slot at the back of the SuperStack II Switch 1100,
     3300, 3300FX. US List Price: $1,995.

About 3Com Corporation

With over 300 million customer connections worldwide, 3Com Corporation connects more people and organizations to information and each other in more innovative, simple and reliable ways than any other networking company. 3Com delivers e-Networking solutions through information access products and network systems to enterprises, small businesses, consumers, carriers and network service providers. For further information, visit 3Com's World Wide Web site at www.3com.com or the press site at www.3com.com/pressbox.

3Com and SuperStack are registered trademarks and PathBuilder is a trademark of 3Com Corporation. All other company and product names may be trademarks of the respective with which they are associated.