Asante Technologies Announces NetStacker II 10/100 Hubs.

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 19, 1999--

An Affordable, Manageable Solution for

Higher Port Count Shared Networks

Asante Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:ASNT) announced today the release of NetStacker II, the company's new family of stackable 10/100 hubs in 12 and 24-port models with SNMP management options. NetStacker II offers schools and offices requiring more bandwidth on a limited budget an expandable and affordable solution, priced lower than comparable stackable hubs or switches from other leading manufacturers. The NetStacker II products, which will begin shipping late April 1999, will have an estimated street price starting at $449 for the 12-port model.

The NetStacker II units also offer more advanced stacking and management options compared to older designs. The 12 and 24-port units can be mixed and matched up to eight units high in a single stack. Any of the units can become the "master" unit with the addition of a management option module (MOM), eliminating the need to buy base and expansion or managed and unmanaged units separately. This design gives users complete flexibility to upgrade to management or higher port counts as necessary.

In addition, NetStacker's optional network management module comes with a distance extender port which overcomes the repeater and cabling distance restrictions that limit existing network configurations. This allows users to connect the NetStacker II to any Fast Ethernet device or daisy-chain several hubs over distances of up to 100 meters over copper wire or up to 2 kilometers (in full-duplex mode) over fiber optic cable.

Clint Bogard, Director of System Product Sales for Asante, had this to say about the NetStacker II, "We see a hole in the managed systems product market between 10Base-T equipment for $25 per port and switched 10/100 equipment for $90 per port. NetStacker II allows budget-conscious organizations, such as School Districts, to install three times the number of 10/100 network connections versus the same investment in switched 10/100 equipment. The NetStacker II also supports important enterprise features like stackability, manageability and support for 100Base-FX fiber uplinks, which have been lacking in many 10/100 hubs." He concluded, "While the NetStacker II family is expected to have broad appeal to customers looking for lowest cost, unmanaged, high port count 10/100 solutions, Asante expects the management option to be very popular as well."

Other Key Features

For high port count configurations, up to eight 12 or 24-port units can be stacked together via the stacking cable provided free with each hub. The new NetStacker II 12 and 24-port products support NWay Auto-negotiation on each port, and also support optional 100FX fiber connections via an MII option slot in the back of each unit for longer distances and reduced sensitivity to RF interference. Add SNMP management to the entire stack by inserting one Management Option Module (MOM) into any hub in the stack. The list price for the 12-port model is $625 and the 24-port model is $951, with estimated street prices at $449 for the 12-port and $675 for the 24-port models. Both are backed by Asante's five year limited warranty.

About Asante

Founded in 1988, Asante Technologies Inc. is widely recognized as a leader in providing high-performance LAN networking and Internet solutions for SOHO, education, pre-press and other small-to-medium enterprise markets. The company's Ethernet, Fast Ethernet and Gigabit products include switches, hubs and adapter cards, as well as network management software and Internet connectivity products. Asante's products are sold through an international network of distributors, value-added resellers (VARs), system integrators, and retail channels. For additional information, contact Asante at 800-662-9686 or 408-435-8388, or browse the company's web site at www.asante.com.