3Com announces industry's first end-to-end Gigabit Ethernet system and breakthrough prices for Gigabit-ready switches.SANTA, CLARA CLARA Clairemont Amateur Radio Association , Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 7, 1997-- Product breadth, superior migration and intelligent system software combine to build 10/100/1000 Mbps scalable Ethernet networks for emerging advanced applications Taking an early lead in the Gigabit Ethernet An Ethernet standard that transmits at 1 Gbps. Used mostly to connect high-end workstations and servers as well as for network backbones, Gigabit Ethernet transmits full duplex from point to point using switches and half duplex in a shared environment (CSMA/CD) using a hub. market -- forecasted to grow from approximately $61 million in 1997 to $977 million by 2000-(a) -- 3Com Corp. (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) ) today announced the industry's first complete Gigabit Ethernet system solution. Comprised of five new offerings, the system will support bandwidth-intensive, delay-sensitive applications by providing complete solutions across the full "bandwidth hierarchy" of shared 10 megabit-per-second (Mbps) through switched 1 gigabit-per-second (Gbps) Ethernet speeds. 3Com also announced new, breakthrough pricing for its suite of market-leading SuperStack II stackable switches, starting at just $99 per port for desktop switching. 3Com, the first vendor to break the $100 per port price barrier, is pioneering the widespread deployment of affordable switching technology for the entire price- sensitive edge of the network. In addition, 3Com today announced its intent to provide industry-leading Gigabit Ethernet and 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. wire-speed 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. routing solutions that will support more than 30 million packets per second in the first half of 1998. "With our new Gigabit Ethernet products and new pricing for SuperStack II Switches, 3Com continues its leadership in building advanced, scalable Ethernet systems," said Ron Sege, senior vice president, 3Com Systems. "3Com is driving down the cost of desktop switching, which customers need to support delay-sensitive and bandwidth-intensive applications, such as corporate intranets and multi-media over the internet. Lower costs will drive ubiquitous switching, necessitating higher capacity `backbone' networks, such as Gigabit Ethernet, to aggregate higher-speed switched desktop traffic. 3Com has the only complete solution to address these emerging requirements for this fast-growing market." With more than 2 million Gigabit-Ready 3Com switch ports already installed on its SuperStack II Ethernet and Fast Ethernet stackable switches, and 32.5 percent-(a) share of the stackable systems market, 3Com expects to drive the market transition to widespread desktop switching and, in turn, next-generation Gigabit networks. This represents enormous potential, as the entire 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. (10/100/1000 Mbps) market is estimated to grow at 29.4 percent per year, from $6.8 billion in 1997 to $8.8 billion in 1998.-(a) Leading the industry in end-to-end Gigabit Ethernet switching 3Com's new system will uniquely provide Gigabit speeds at virtually every network point to ensure unrestrained switched LAN performance. The new products will include High-Function and Boundary Switches and a new network interface card (NIC (1) (Network Interface Card) See network adapter. See also InterNIC. (2) (New Internet Computer) An earlier Linux-based computer from The New Internet Computer Company (NICC), Palo Alto, CA. ) for backbone, wiring closet The central distribution or servicing point for cables in a network. See MDF and wire center. and server connectivity. Leveraging customers' previous investments in 3Com equipment, the new products will work with existing 3Com SuperStack II and CoreBuilder switches and EtherLink NICs. New, industry-leading capabilities will include asynchronous transfer mode See ATM. (communications) Asynchronous Transfer Mode - (ATM, or "fast packet") A method for the dynamic allocation of bandwidth using a fixed-size packet (called a cell). See also ATM Forum, Wideband ATM. ATM acronyms. Indiana acronyms. (ATM) and Gigabit Ethernet coexistence co·ex·ist intr.v. co·ex·ist·ed, co·ex·ist·ing, co·ex·ists 1. To exist together, at the same time, or in the same place. 2. , switched FDDI-to-Gigabit Ethernet connectivity, performance migration from virtually any LAN technology, and the ability to control network bandwidth. The new products will also be the first to combine the benefits of Gigabit Ethernet -- simpler and lower-cost next- generation network capacity -- with robust, software-based system functions. Powered by 3Com's TranscendWare intelligent software, 3Com's new products address the three key challenges customers face today: scaling network performance, introducing and monitoring global policies, and supporting next-generation applications. TranscendWare intelligent software will provide advanced functionality -- such as Fast IP switching Switching TCP/IP packets at high speed. Ipsilon's IP Switch started the trend and various vendors followed suit with different approaches, including Cisco's tag switching and 3Com's Fast IP. The goal was to switch IP packets faster than traditional router-based layer 3 forwarding. , Class of Service and Quality of Service, end-to-end 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. (remote monitoring (protocol) remote monitoring - (RMON) A network management protocol that allows network information to be gathered at a single computer. Whereas SNMP gathers network data from a single type of Management Information Base (MIB), RMON 1 defines nine additional MIBs that provide a ), and Service Level Agreements (SLAs). 3Com's new products will include: -- SuperStack II Switch 9000 SX (available Q3CY97), U.S. list price: $19,995 -- SuperStack II Switch Gigabit Ethernet Module SX (available Q3CY97), U.S. list price: $2,995 -- CoreBuilder 7800 Gigabit Ethernet Interface Card (available Q4CY97), U.S. list price: $18,000. -- CoreBuilder 5000 Gigabit Ethernet Module (available Q1CY98), U.S. list price: $5,000 -- Gigabit EtherLink PCI (1) (Payment Card Industry) See PCI DSS. (2) (Peripheral Component Interconnect) The most widely used I/O bus (peripheral bus). NIC (available Q3CY97), pricing not yet available Low-priced Gigabit-ready switches facilitate support for advanced applications By lowering the cost of desktop and workgroups (i.e., segment) switching, 3Com will make the power of intranets and multimedia computing affordable for virtually all users, while providing the required migration to higher-performance Gigabit Ethernet. New pricing includes: -- Dedicated Ethernet to the Desktop with the SuperStack II Desktop Switch (24 port). U.S. list price from April 1: $2,475 ($99/port). -- Ethernet segment switching with SuperStack II Switch 1000. Five 24 port switches bundled for the cost of four at $17,000 ($136/port). Available now until May 31. U.S. list price per unit: $4,250 ($170/port). U.S. list price on 12 port model from April 1: $2,495 ($192/port). -- Fast Ethernet switching for connecting workgroups or desktop switches to server farms with the SuperStack II Switch 3000. Three 12 port switches bundled for the cost of two at $13,990. ($389/port). Available now until May 31. U.S. list price on 12 port model from April 1: $6,995 ($583/port). U.S. list price on 8 port model from April 1: $3,995 ($500/port). 3Com Corp. has helped more than 50 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 scaleable architecture to meet the present and future connectivity needs of today's users. With research and development on three continents, 3Com is one of the data networking industry's largest and fastest growing companies. 3Com's innovative marketing, engineering, sales and support simplify communication, optimize network reliability and protect customer investments. For further information on this announcement, visit 3Com's World Wide Web site: http://www.3com.com . -0- 3Com, EtherLink, and SuperStack are registered trademarks and CoreBuilder and TranscendWare are trademarks of 3Com Corp. All other names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders. -(a) Indicates Dell'Oro Group figures. 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 Maureen Liberty, 508-490-5859 maureen_liberty@3mail.3com.com or Julia Kisch, +44 (0) 1442 438273 julia_kisch@3mail.3com.com |
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