Bay Networks' New BayStack 450 Switch Outperforms 3Com SuperStack II Switch 3300 and Intel Express 510T Switch in Recent Tolly Group Evaluation.

SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 5, 1998--

The BayStack 450 Switch Delivers on Backplane Capacity Promise, Unlike Competitive Offerings

Bay Networks(R), Inc. (NYSE:BAY) today announced that the recently introduced BayStack(tm) 450 Switch outperforms the 3Com SuperStack II Switch 3300 and Intel Express 510T Switch in a recent 10/100 stackable switch performance test conducted by The Tolly Group, a strategic consulting and independent testing organization.

The test focused on backplane capacity and throughput over Fast Ethernet for all three stackable switches.

"The BayStack 450 Switch outperformed the SuperStack II Switch 3300 and the Intel 510T Switch in steady-state throughput tests," said Kevin Tolly, president and CEO of The Tolly Group. "In addition, the tests revealed that the BayStack 450 Switch delivers on its backplane capacity promise."

Preliminary documentation of test results from The Tolly Group test (available in the 'press room' at http://www.tolly.com) demonstrated that the BayStack 450 Switch: -0-

--   Delivered highest Gbit/s data throughput performance at 2.4
     Gbit/s compared to 3Com's 1.4 Gbit/s, and Intel's 0.4 Gbit/s and;

--   Provided the best packet per second (pps) throughput at 3.0 mpps,
     compared to 3Com's 1.3 mpps and Intel's 0.6 mpps.

-0-

The Tolly Group benchmarked the actual backplane capacity for all three stackable switches in the single switch configuration. The BayStack 450 Switch performed at 2.4 Gbit/s on 24 full-duplex Fast Ethernet ports using 1,518 byte frame size traffic. The test results for the BayStack 450 Switch were limited only by number of ports and not backplane capacity. In contrast, 3Com advertised 2.1 Gbit/s backplane speed but delivered only 1.4 Gbit/s of actual capacity, both with and without flow control. This is an estimated 56 percent of advertised capacity. Similarly, Intel advertises 2.1 Gbit/s but provided only 0.4 Gbit/s, or 16 percent of advertised capacity.

Further, The Tolly Group tested each device on 24 full-duplex Fast Ethernet ports using 64 byte packets in order to measure aggregate maximum packets per second. Again, the BayStack 450 Switch outperformed the 3Com and Intel switches by a wide margin with 3.0 mpps. The Intel 510T Switch passed 0.6 mpps of aggregate frames per second and performed at 16.7 percent of theoretical maximum. The 3Com SuperStack II 3300 Switch, while somewhat better, delivered 1.3 mpps, a 36 percent of theoretical maximum. The complete results will be available in test summary, document No. 8286 on August 31, 1998 on The Tolly Group web site.

"The Tolly Group tests illustrate that the BayStack 450 Switch is the best-in-class performance switch in its category, with industry-leading backplane capacity," said Lloyd Carney, executive vice president and general manager of Bay Networks' Business Products Group. "With the introduction of the BayStack 450 Switch, Bay Networks is now offering the industry's most affordable, enterprise-class Ethernet switching solution. The combination of BayStack 450 Switches in the wiring closet and Accelar(tm) Routing Switches in the backbone, creates the most compelling price/performance solution on the market today."

About the BayStack 450 Switch

BayStack 450 Switches are 10/100/1000 Ethernet switches featuring fail-safe stackability, optional Gigabit Ethernet uplinks, and advanced software features. BayStack 450 Switches are designed to provide high-density, high-performance switching for Enterprise wiring closets, and to provide fail-safe scalability and advanced traffic management capabilities for rapidly growing networks in demanding environments.

BayStack 450 Switches also include application intelligence features such as VLAN trunking, priority queuing, and IGMP snooping, for an enterprise-class integrated solution with Bay Networks' Accelar Routing Switches. Together, BayStack 450 Switches and Accelar Routing Switches also provide network resilience with redundant Multilink Trunking, Linksafe redundant uplink ports, and advanced management with RMON on every port, complete integration into Optivity(R) network management software, and web-based management.

BayStack 450 Switches come in 24 and 12 port configurations, each with a modular Media Dependent Adapter (MDA) slot, as well as a cascade stacking module slot.

About The Tolly Group

The Tolly Group, based in Manasquan, NJ, is recognized worldwide for its expertise in assessing leading-edge technologies. For more information on The Tolly Group's services, visit its web site at http://www.tolly.com, email [e-mail], call 800/933-1699, 732/528-3300, or fax [phone].

About Bay Networks -- Where Information Flows(tm)

Bay Networks, Inc. (NYSE:BAY) is a leader in the worldwide networking market, providing a complete line of products that serve corporate enterprises, service providers and telecommunications carriers. The company offers frame and ATM switches, routers, shared media, remote and Internet access solutions, IP services and network management applications, all integrated by Bay Networks' Adaptive Networking strategy. With headquarters in Santa Clara, Calif., Bay Networks markets its products and services around the world, providing 7x24 support coverage. For additional information visit the company's World Wide Web site at http://www.baynetworks/news.com or call 800-8-BAYNET.

This release, other than historical financial information, contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. These statements may differ materially from actual future events or results. For instance, factors which could cause results to differ from future events include the timing of customer orders, the rate of adoption of new technologies in the data networking market, and competitive pricing actions, among others. Readers are referred to the documents filed by Bay Networks with the S.E.C., specifically the most recent reports on forms 10-K and 10-Q, which identify important risk factors which could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements.

Bay Networks and Optivity are registered trademarks of Bay Networks, Inc. BayStack, Accelar and 'Bay Networks Where Information Flows,' are trademarks of Bay Networks, Inc. Other brand and product names are registered trademarks or trademarks of their respective holders.

    CONTACT:  Bay Networks
               Neha Mirchandani, 408/495-2489
                [e-mail]
               Ellen Roeckl, 408/495-3083
                [e-mail]