Bay Networks Introduces Industry's Lowest Cost, Full-Featured Personal Router For Internet and Small Office/Home Office Network Access.

SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 2, 1997--

Nautica 200 Provides High-Performance, Easy-to-Use IP ISDN 

Networking Solution Without Requiring Network Expertise

Further strengthening the access cornerstone of its Adaptive Networking strategy, Bay Networks,(R) Inc. (NYSE:BAY) today announced the new Nautica(TM) 200 personal router -- a full-featured, small office/home office (SOHO) networking solution that provides high-speed remote network access for up to four users in both Internet and corporate intranet environments. The high-performance Nautica 200 access router offers a rich feature set, including digital and analog integration, simple configuration and management via the new Nautica Configuration Wizard tool and the NauticaWatch(TM) monitor for Windows 95, as well as multi-vendor interoperability, compression and dial services, at the industry-low list price of $595 (U.S.).

The ISDN-based Nautica 200 router enables SOHO businesses, power surfers and telecommuters to access Internet or corporate intranet resources more easily and cost-effectively than other competitive SOHO router solutions. The Nautica 200 router is an ideal solution for remote site users who choose ISDN connectivity as a cost-effective alternative to a permanent connection into a corporate network or Internet service. By supporting Ethernet, ISDN Basic Rate Interface (BRI) and dual analog ports, the Nautica 200 router maximizes remote connectivity while minimizing infrastructure costs.

"As part of our Adaptive Networking strategy, we are committed to providing our customers high- performance, low-cost SOHO access solutions that optimize existing infrastructure investments and enable the migration to IP networks," said Brad Noblet, vice president and general manager of Bay Networks' router product and technology division. "The IP-based Nautica 200 SOHO router underscores this strategy by delivering the lowest cost, full-featured personal router for telecommuters, small offices and Internet access -- without requiring any knowledge of networking. Nautica 200 users can now benefit from the router functionality found in a large office but at a small office price."

The Nautica 200 SOHO router features one 10BASE-T Ethernet interface, one ISDN BRI interface, and two analog Plain Old Telephone Service (POTS) ports for simultaneous support of such devices as a phone, fax or modem. By supporting two POTS devices, the Nautica 200 router enables users to consolidate all office devices over a single ISDN BRI line, saving the costs associated with a separate telephone/fax line. Alternatively, the Nautica 200 router can combine both ISDN BRI B-channels into a single logical 128 Kbps connection to handle peak traffic periods.

In addition, the Nautica 200 router includes the Bay Networks Nautica Routing Services (NauticaRS(TM)) software which supports TCP/IP, the LAN protocol of choice for online access, and ISDN, the most popular WAN option for high-speed intermittent connections. Bay Networks NauticaRS enables the Nautica 200 router to maximize investment protection in multivendor environments by supporting standards-based protocols and services. The Nautica 200 router interoperates with all Bay Networks BayRS,(TM) Remote Annex(TM) and MSX(TM) products and is fully interoperable with equipment from other vendors such as 3Com, Ascend, Cisco, and Shiva using PPP/MP/BACP/CCP standards.

NauticaRS also offers increased flexibility with support for Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol (PPTP) and enhanced performance throughput with fully standards-compliant data compression. NauticaRS compression enables the Nautica 200 router to increase the amount of data that can be carried across an ISDN line. Support for STAC, CCP and MPPC ensures compression interoperability in a wide range of remote access environments, from third-party routers and remote access concentrators to Microsoft Windows NT servers.

Remote connectivity and availability are ensured via NauticaRS Dial Services support, which includes Dial-on-Demand and Bandwidth-on-Demand for the Nautica 200 router. Dial-on-Demand provides digital connections on an as-needed basis, allowing on-demand access to remote resources in keeping with the traffic needs of telecommuters and small offices. The Nautica 200 router provides Bandwidth-on-Demand via Multilink PPP to deliver additional bandwidth across an ISDN link during peak usage periods.

Also, NauticaRS support for Virtual Private Network (VPN) Telephony Dialing reduces costs for corporate customers by passing traffic over the VPN rather than the public network. This feature ensures that the VPN is always used when telephone calls are made from the Nautica 200 router's POTS interface by automatically inserting the correct VPN dial string prior to the dialed telephone number.

Easy Set-Up, Configuration and Management

The Bay Networks Nautica 200 personal router provides many features that simplify configuration and enable SNMP-based network management capabilities. Designed for easy set-up and configuration, the Nautica 200 router features the Nautica Configuration Wizard -- a two-tiered, intuitive Windows 95-based graphical user interface that simplifies installation for novice and advanced users. After loading the Windows 95 Wizard application automatically from its CD-ROM, PC-literate users can be operational with a few keystrokes and do not need expertise in traditional networking.

The Nautica 200 router also offers powerful monitoring facilities with NauticaWatch -- a Windows-based application that allows users/IT managers to easily monitor the operation of their Nautica 200 routers from their Windows 95/NT desktops. Bay Networks NauticaWatch application provides real-time indications of status and activity, through a simple, easy-to-understand, pop-up window.

In addition, SNMP-based management systems, including HP OpenView, Tivoli NetView for AIX and Sun Microsystems' Solstice Domain Manager, can manage the Nautica 200 router. The product also can be configured and managed from any local or remote ANSI-standard terminal or from a PC on the network using Telnet. For experienced users and/or existing Bay Networks installations, the Nautica 200 router supports the Bay Command Console (BCC), Bay Networks' management interface for local asynchronous terminal and remote Telnet access. This solution is ideal for network environments where the installation, management and maintenance of the remote routers is performed from a central site.

Pricing and Availability

The Bay Networks Nautica 200 personal router will be available in September 1997, and is priced at $595 (U.S.).

About Bay Networks

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, California, 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.com or call 800-8-BAYNET.

This release, other than historical financial information, may consist of 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 rate of adoption of new technology, competitive pricing actions and marketing programs, 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. -0-

Bay Networks is a registered trademark and Nautica, NauticaWatch, NauticaRS, BayRS, Remote Annex and MSX are trademarks of Bay Networks, Inc. Other brand and product names are registered trademarks or trademarks of their respective holders.

CONTACT: Bay Networks, Inc. FitzGerald Communications, Inc.

Matthew Burke Laura Fischman

508-916-1320 617-494-9500 ext.226

[e-mail] [e-mail]