Accton Releases SwitcHub-8s Switching Hub.

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 9, 1995--Accton Technology Corporation today introduced the SwitcHub-8s (EH2002), a new workgroup connectivity solution designed to optimize data throughput when interconnecting departmental networks. The SwitcHub-8s is an 8-port Ethernet packet switching hub that uses both a parallel data path architecture and full duplex tasking. As a result, Ethernet networks can increase their throughput from 10 Mbps to 80 Mbps when used with Accton's new full-duplex EN166x Ethernet adapters.

The SwitcHub-8s was designed to give Accton customers the means to interconnect departmental workgroups and optimize network performance while protecting their current LAN hardware investment. Rather than forcing customers to migrate to ATM or 100BASE-T solutions to achieve faster enterprise throughput rates, Accton customers can utilize the parallel data paths in the SwitcHub-8s to achieve throughput rates from 40 to 80 Mbps with little or no change to their existing network hardware. The SwitcHub-8s protects the customers' current hardware investment, and supports scaleability to integrate into growing network infrastructures.

"With the release of the SwitcHub-8s we are now starting to extend our current line of workgroup computing technology to add products that bring workgroups together," said Scott Stanforth, Vice President of Marketing for Accton. "The SwitcHub-8s is not designed to compete with more expensive switching systems from Cisco, Bay Networks, or Wellfleet. It's really positioned to offer a less expensive and more scaleable approach to creating smaller enterprise networks."

The SwitcHub-8s has been designed for plug-and-play installation and is fully compatible with existing 10-BASE-T technology. No configuration software is needed; merely attach the cables to the ports and the internal dynamic switching architecture of the SwitcHub-8s associates the location of specific IP addresses with various ports. It comes with six front panel ports; five for 10BASE-T and a sixth to support either 10BASE-T, 10BASE2, or AUI. Two additional ports are also provided on the back of the unit to support 10BASE-T, 10BASE2, or AUI transceivers.

The SwitcHub-8s is a MAC layer device that behaves either like a circuit switch or a packet switch. Packet buffering is provided at each port so packet transmission cannot begin until permission has been granted, which eliminates packet collisions that can slow data throughput. The 64K buffer at each port stores packets for transmission if the destination port is busy. The SwitcHub-8s features a maximum filtering rate of 14,880 packets/second per port, and a maximum forwarding rate of 119,040 packets/second per port.

During cut-through operation, the SwitcHub performs on-the-fly switching, using address information in the header to forward packets to the destination port before it is fully received. The result is near-zero latency (less than 20 microseconds), since the SwitcHub doesn't store packet data unless the destination port is busy or permission isn't granted for some other reason.

A feature unique to the SwitcHub-8s is its ability to interconnect nodes operating at half duplex speeds to full-duplex nodes. Since the SwitcHub-8s operates internally at full duplex, it can accommodate either type of LAN connection.

When all eight ports are used at half-duplex, the SwitcHub-8s can quadruple network performance, delivering an aggregate throughput of 40 Mbps through four parallel data paths. When used with full-duplex network adapters such as Accton's new generation EN166x MultiPacket Accelerator (MPX2), the SwitcHub-8s can deliver throughput rates of up to 80 Mbps through eight parallel data paths.

The SwitcHub-8s also incorporates Accton's exclusive SmartWatch system. The front panel includes a full array of LEDs to make it easy to monitor network traffic and diagnose system failures. The LED indicators monitor the overall status of the switch, and there is an 8 X 8 LED matrix to monitor the activity level on each port.

The SwitcHub-8s is scheduled to ship this month for $2,995. It comes with a limited three-year warranty.

Accton Technology Corporation is headquartered at 1962 Zanker Road, San Jose, CA 95112; telephone [phone]; FAX: [phone].

CONTACT: Woolf Media Relations, Inc.

Tom Woolf, 415/508-1554