Asante Enhances Ethernet Adapter Family; Addresses Migration To New PC & Macintosh Machines With New PCI & NuBus Cards; Makes Deep Cuts In FriendlyNet Pricing.SAN JOSE San Jose, city, United States San Jose (sănəzā`, săn hōzā`), city (1990 pop. 782,248), seat of Santa Clara co., W central Calif.; founded 1777, inc. 1850. , Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 7, 1995--Following the release last month of its 10/100 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. adapter card See adapter and expansion board. for PCI-based IBM (International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, NY, www.ibm.com) The world's largest computer company. IBM's product lines include the S/390 mainframes (zSeries), AS/400 midrange business systems (iSeries), RS/6000 workstations and servers (pSeries), Intel-based servers (xSeries) PC-compatible and Macintosh computers, Asante Technologies, Inc. today announced an update to the card for Windows 95 and Windows NT, as well as the addition of 10/100 NuBus and 10BASE-T PCI cards to the company's extensive adapter card product line. Additionally, a significant price reduction was announced today on Asante's FriendlyNet(TM) adapter -- reflecting the company's aggressive push to capture the market by offering customers the lowest-priced AAUI (Apple AUI) Apple's version of the Ethernet AUI connector. See AUI and 10Base5. AAUI - Apple Attachment Unit Interface 10BASE-T adapter available for Macs with built-in Ethernet support. FriendlyNet's list price has been cut 40 percent to $49. Asante expects FriendlyNet to be priced under $40 at retail. Asante said the timing of the new adapter cards reflects its strategy to keep pace with the trend toward "next-generation" Ethernet networking, a migration to the PCI bus in both the IBM PC-compatible and Mac markets, while also addressing the current installed base of older-bus computers. Historically, Asante has supported most popular bus types, including EISA (Extended ISA) Pronounced "ee-suh." A PC bus standard that extends the 16-bit ISA bus (AT bus) to 32 bits and provides bus mastering. ISA cards can plug into an EISA slot. , ISA (1) (Instruction Set Architecture) See instruction set. (2) (Interactive Services Association) See Internet Alliance. (3) (Internet Security and Acceleration) See .NET. , and NuBus, and will continue to offer customers the adapters they need until making the transition to newer machines. Market analysts expect PCI cards to have a notable impact on the Ethernet market over the next two years. IDC, for example, expects Ethernet revenues to grow by 21 percent to $2.3 billion this year as PCI (1) (Payment Card Industry) See PCI DSS. (2) (Peripheral Component Interconnect) The most widely used I/O bus (peripheral bus). adapters begin to represent a larger percentage of overall shipments (May 1995 report). "Asante's adapter family mirrors the heterogeneous companies our customers work in -- supporting everyone from people whose systems remain unchanged for years at a time to those who push computer technology to the absolute cutting edge," said Paul Smith, vice president of marketing at Asante. "Taking advantage of our exceptional engineering group, Asante is committed to provide innovative, affordable, and easy-to-use adapter solutions that deliver on our customers' needs." Asante's new 10BASE-T PCI card, called AsanteNIC(TM), uses 32-bit bus mastering to dramatically increase network throughput over that of ISA, EISA, and NuBus cards. PCI provides up to three times the processing speed of other buses when transferring large files across the network. AsanteNIC is designed to support both IBM PC-compatible and Power Macintosh computers, providing a single card with drivers for both platforms -- including ODI, NDIS (Network Driver Interface Specification) A network driver interface from Microsoft. See network driver interface. NDIS - Network Device Interface Specification , and Open Transport drivers. Asante said the initial release of the card, which is shipping now, supports only IBM PC-compatibles. This will be followed by a second release of AsanteNIC in the fall to add the Mac driver, coinciding with Apple Computer's release of the new low-cost PCI Macintosh machines. AsanteNIC is priced at $179 list and is expected to have a retail price of about $139. The NuBus card -- called AsanteFAST 10/100 Adapter for NuBus -- is a high-speed adapter that connects NuBus-based Macs, including Quadras, Mac IIs, and most Power Macintosh computers, to both 10BASE-T and 100BASE-TX networks. Targeted at workgroups using speed-intensive programs, such as desktop publishing, pre-press and graphics, Asante's NuBus card offers companies an effective way to migrate their 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. networks to 100Mbps Fast Ethernet as extra bandwidth is needed. Customers in these markets typically need an effective way to share, transfer and print multimegabyte files. Like its PCI counterpart, the NuBus card also provides support for NWAY(TM) Auto-Negotiation, ensuring the adapter not only automatically negotiates the network connection without user intervention but also disables any port where an incompatible connection is attempted. The AsanteFAST NuBus card, priced at $399 list and an estimated retail price of about $349, is expected to ship in the fourth quarter. Asante will showcase the card at the upcoming MacWorld Expo in Boston, August 8-11, along with the AsanteFAST 10/100 Adapter for PCI and AsanteFAST 100 Hub, Asante's new 12-port stackable Fast Ethernet hub, released July 17. Asante will be located at booth No. 5664 of the World Trade Center and in the Apple Pavilion. Asante today also disclosed plans to release an update to the AsanteFAST 10/100 Adapter for PCI by September. The update, which will be available free-of-charge to customers who have already purchased the product, provides driver support for both Windows 95 and Windows NT (server). About Asante Founded in 1988, Asante Technologies Inc. (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 : ASNT ASNT American Society of Non-destructive Testing ASNT American Society for Neural Transplantation ASNT Astrological Association of North Texas (Dallas - Fort Worth Metroplex) ASNT Application Sharing Nt ) designs, manufactures and markets a full line of high-performance products for Ethernet networks, including IBM PC-compatible and Macintosh adapter cards, intelligent and non-intelligent hubs, and network management software. Asante products are available worldwide through a network of North American North American named after North America. North American blastomycosis see North American blastomycosis. North American cattle tick see boophilusannulatus. and international distributors. CONTACT: Asante Technologies, Inc. Jennifer Cochran Doettling, 408/435-8401, ext. 282 jdoettli@asante.com or Hi-Tech Communications Dawn Harris, 415/904-7000 x212 |
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