Compaq Launches Netelligent Networking Product Line, Reduces the Cost and Complexity of Networking; New Networking Products Work in Heterogeneous Network Environments and Make Complete Client Server Solutions Available From Compaq.HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 26, 1996--Compaq Computer Corporation (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange : CPQ CPQ Compaq CPQ Conseil du Patronat du Québec (Canada) CPQ Configure-Price-Quote CPQ Conseil de Presse du Québec (Québec Press Council, Canada) CPQ Companion Parrot Quarterly ), the world's leading supplier of PCs and servers, today introduced the Compaq Netelligent(TM)networking product line -- a broad family of high-performance products targeted for use in branch and remote offices, workgroups, departments and small-to-medium businesses. The Netelligent product line represents the successful integration of technology and expertise obtained from Thomas-Conrad and NetWorth when Compaq acquired the two companies in 1995. The Netelligent line consists of more than 100 individual networking products designed for industry-leading price/performance and ease-of-use in heterogeneous networking environments. Heterogeneous environments are comprised of client, server and networking products from multiple vendors. With today's announcement, Compaq now offers portables, desktops, servers, network interface controllers, repeaters, switches and management software. This extensive line of client/server products and tools offers customers a single source for purchasing, support and service of complete, end-to-end client/server solutions based on industry standards. Netelligent products include managed and unmanaged switches and repeaters, which support both Ethernet and 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. technologies and come in stackable and stand-alone formats. The Netelligent line also includes Ethernet and Token Ring A local area network (LAN) access method developed by IBM. Conforming to the IEEE 802.5 standard, Token Ring uses a token ring access method and connects up to 255 nodes in a star topology at 4, 16 or 100 Mbps. controllers designed for use in a wide variety of industry-standard clients and servers. Today's introduction of the Netelligent line in North America North America, third largest continent (1990 est. pop. 365,000,000), c.9,400,000 sq mi (24,346,000 sq km), the northern of the two continents of the Western Hemisphere. and Latin America Latin America, the Spanish-speaking, Portuguese-speaking, and French-speaking countries (except Canada) of North America, South America, Central America, and the West Indies. includes four products being announced to the market, as well as the re-branding of Thomas-Conrad and NetWorth products currently on the market. The four Netelligent products being announced to the market include a 100/100 Fast Ethernet switch and three network interface controllers (NICs) for 10Base-T, 10/100Base-TX and Token Ring. These new products will be showcased at Networld+Interop in Las Vegas Las Vegas (läs vā`gəs), city (1990 pop. 258,295), seat of Clark co., S Nev.; inc. 1911. It is the largest city in Nevada and the center of one of the fastest-growing urban areas in the United States. (April 2 - 4) at the Compaq booth #3627. "Customers can now purchase high-performance, high-quality networking products with industry-leading price/performance value from Compaq," said Gary Stimac, senior vice president and general manager, Compaq Systems Division. "Our Netelligent products can be deployed in heterogeneous networking environments or as part of a total, client/server solution based on Compaq products. Either way, customers can now install and grow complex, client/server networks for a lower, total cost of ownership and they can do it easier than ever before." Stimac continued, "Every Compaq Netelligent product has been tested individually and in conjunction with Compaq clients and servers to assure maximum network performance and reliability. In addition to testing, we're using the industry-leading integration expertise we developed in our server business to make Netelligent products easier to install, easier to configure and easier to manage. In fact, in the near future, every Compaq client/server product, including Netelligent products, will be manageable from one Compaq management platform, Compaq Insight ManagerTM. Insight Manager is SNMP-based and works with other SNMP-based network management products such as Microsoft Systems Management Server Microsoft Systems Management Server (SMS) is a systems management software product by Microsoft for managing large groups of Windows-based computer systems. SMS provides remote control, patch management, software distribution, and hardware and software inventory. , HP OpenView HP OpenView was a Hewlett Packard product range consisting of an extensive portfolio of network and systems management products. In 2007 the entire HP OpenView portfolio was rebranded under the strengthened HP Software name. and Sun NetManager." The Netelligent line, introduced in North America and Latin America today, will be launched within Compaq's Europe, Middle East and Africa region within the next 30 days, followed later by Compaq's Asia/Pacific region. Netelligent(TM)5506 100Base-T Switch Compaq Fast Ethernet switching products provide cost-effective, reliable, high-performance solutions that meet customers growing demand for additional bandwidth and desktop to backbone integration. The Compaq Netelligent 5506 100Base-T Switch allows customers to benefit from Fast Ethernet connectivity and performance throughout a network without jeopardizing initial investments or requiring a network redesign. The Netelligent 5506 100Base-T Switch is an ideal solution for high-speed workstations, server farm connectivity and for linking workgroups together over a Fast Ethernet connection. The 5506 100Base-T Switch can be easily integrated into networks utilizing key technologies such as 10Base-T, 100Base-TX, and FDDI (Fiber Distributed Data Interface) Often pronounced "fiddy," it was a LAN and MAN access method that had its heyday in the mid-1990s. FDDI was an ANSI standard token passing network that transmitted 100 Mbps over optical fiber up to 10 kilometers. . This product provides Fast Ethernet networks with connectivity for up to six different 100Base-T hubs, hub stacks, or dedicated desktop applications -- such as servers or workstations -- and offers 100Base- TX, FX (ST), and FX (SC) interfaces. The 5506 100Base-T Switch comes in three configurations: o Six fixed 100Base-TX RJ-45 ports o Five 100Base-TX ports and one 100Base-FX port, with a single pair of ST fiber connectors o Five 100Base-TX ports and one 100Base-FX port, with an SC fiber connector The Netelligent 5506 100Base-T Switch also ensures continuous network operation through its modular power supply feature. Standard with each unit is a hot-swappable power supply module that is easily removed and replaced. An optional second power supply module can be added to provide dual- redundant power back-up for maximum network reliability. The 5506 100Base-T Switch is the only product currently available to feature an easily removable modular power supply. "Fast Ethernet has proven to be a superior technology for building networks that are more efficient, cost-effective and easier to manage," said Doug Pushard, vice president, Internetworking Products Group, Compaq Systems Division. For organizations seeking long-term bandwidth availability and cost-effective network expansion, Compaq now offers the most complete line of Fast Ethernet products on the market. The Netelligent 5506 100Base-T Switch supports up to 6000 Media Address Control (MAC) addresses per port. Each port contains 256K of memory buffer capacity to balance traffic loads and guarantee data delivery, and is capable of operating at either half or full duplex (Computers) arranged so that the information may be transmitted in both directions simultaneously; - of communications channels between computers; contrasted with The Compaq Netelligent 5506 100Base-T Switch performs with full wire speed forwarding, providing optimum performance regardless of data packet size. It also includes Congestion The condition of a network when there is not enough bandwidth to support the current traffic load. congestion - When the offered load of a data communication path exceeds the capacity. Management Control (patent pending) which enhances performance on busy networks. These features provide users with the performance required on today's fast networks without compromising the quality and reliability of data communications data communications, application of telecommunications technology to the problem of transmitting data, especially to, from, or between computers. In popular usage, it is said that data communications make it possible for one computer to "talk" with another. . Netelligent(TM) 10Base-T and 10/100Base-TX NICs Compaq Netelligent 10 T PCI (1) (Payment Card Industry) See PCI DSS. (2) (Peripheral Component Interconnect) The most widely used I/O bus (peripheral bus). and 10/100TX PCI network interface controllers (NICs) are low-cost, high-performance products designed and tested to perform equally well in a variety of PCI-based clients and servers. These are the first PCI- based controllers offered by Compaq to be sold for and supported in third-party platforms. Both of these products are now price leaders in their respective categories. Compaq Netelligent 10 T PCI and 10/100 TX PCI NICs are SNMP-manageable. They can also be managed via Compaq's Insight Manager v2.0, providing users easy set-up, use, and management on existing networks. The new NICs support a broad array of network and client operating systems. Driver support includes Microsoft(R) Windows NT (Windows New Technology) A 32-bit operating system from Microsoft for Intel x86 CPUs. NT is the core technology in Windows 2000 and Windows XP (see Windows). Available in separate client and server versions, it includes built-in networking and preemptive multitasking. , Microsoft Windows See Windows. (operating system) Microsoft Windows - Microsoft's proprietary window system and user interface software released in 1985 to run on top of MS-DOS. Widely criticised for being too slow (hence "Windoze", "Microsloth Windows") on the machines available then. 95, Microsoft Windows for Workgroups, Novell(R) NetWare(R),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) (R) OS/2(R), SCO (The SCO Group, Lindon, UT, www.sco.com) A leading vendor of Unix operating systems for the x86 platform. SCO had also offered Linux, but abandoned the line in the spring of 2003. The SCO Group is the combination of two companies: Utah-based Caldera, Inc. (R) Unix, Microsoft Lan Manager (1) A network operating system from Microsoft that runs as a server application under OS/2. It supports DOS, Windows and OS/2 clients. LAN Manager was superseded by Windows NT Server, and many parts of LAN Manager are used in Windows NT and 2000. See LAN Server. , and IBM Lan Manager. The design of the Netelligent 10/100 TX Ethernet PCI controller, which supports a common driver set, reduces the cost of owning and maintaining a high-performance adapter and offers an easy migration from 10Mbps to 100Mbps transfer rates. These dynamic auto-negotiating drivers allow the card to detect and automatically configure itself to 10 or 100Mbps network connections through its single RJ-45 connector. Plug-and-play features of the controller enable automatic configuration of memory and interrupt settings for enhanced ease-of-use and installation. The 10/100 TX PCI NIC (1) (Network Interface Card) See network adapter. See also InterNIC. (2) (New Internet Computer) An earlier Linux-based computer from The New Internet Computer Company (NICC), Palo Alto, CA. utilizes 32-bit bus-mastering technology to maximize system performance. In addition, it supports full-duplex capability, allowing two-way transmission between nodes and providing increased bandwidth of up to 200Mbps. These high-performance features provide users with faster data communications across the network and more available system performance during data communication sessions. The Netelligent 10 T PCI NIC is a low cost, high-performance adapter supported on a broad array of industry-standard clients and servers. This network interface controller shares many of the features of the Netelligent 10/100 TX PCI NICs: a common driver set; 32-bit bus mastering A bus design that allows the peripheral controllers (plug-in boards) to access the computer's memory independently of the CPU. It allows data transfers to take place between the peripheral device and memory while the CPU is performing other tasks. bus mastering - bus master technology; a single RJ-45 connector; plug and play features for ease of installation and use; SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) A widely used network monitoring and control protocol. Data are passed from SNMP agents, which are hardware and/or software processes reporting activity in each network device (hub, router, bridge, etc. manageability through software such as Compaq's Insight Manager v2.0 and broad support for network and client operating systems. The Netelligent 10 T PCI NIC also offers full-duplex capability allowing two-way data transmission at an aggregate rate of 20Mbps. Netelligent(TM) Token Ring PCI Network Interface Controller The Compaq Netelligent 4/16 TR PCI IBM UTP/STP network interface controller is an ideal, high-performance server controller where 100% IBM compatibility is required. This product can also be used as a 100% IBM-compatible client controller in environments where performance is the most important criteria. The Netelligent 4/16 Token Ring controller is supported in a wide variety of third-party platforms. Like other Netelligent networking products, this PCI-based NIC is easy to install and use and offers broad client and network operating system An operating system that is designed for network use. Normally, it is a complete operating system with file, task and job management; however, with some earlier products, it was a separate component that ran under the OS; for example, LAN Server required OS/2, and LANtastic required DOS. support. Driver support includes Novell ODI DOS and OS/2, NetWare 4.x Server, NDIS (Network Driver Interface Specification) A network driver interface from Microsoft. See network driver interface. NDIS - Network Device Interface Specification 2 DOS and OS/2, and NetBIOS interface. The Netelligent 4/16 Token Ring PCI NIC offers plug-and-play features for automatic configuration of memory and interrupt settings on system start-up. This controller also supports auto-speed sensing, enabling the card to automatically detect whether it should operate at 4 or 16Mbps. Full-duplex ready, the Netelligent 4/16 Token Ring PCI NIC allows two-way transmission for up to 32Mbps aggregate bandwidth through its single RJ-45 connector. This controller also supports 32-bit bus-mastering technology for significantly improved throughput and low CPU CPU in full central processing unit Principal component of a digital computer, composed of a control unit, an instruction-decoding unit, and an arithmetic-logic unit. utilization. In addition, the Netelligent 4/16 Token Ring PCI NIC includes a built-in Remote Program Load (RPL RPL - Reverse Polish LISP. Language used by HP-28 and HP-48 calculators. ) capability acting as a boot ROM A memory chip that allows a workstation to be booted from the server or other remote station. See remote boot. that lets a diskless workstation attach to a network using files the computer receives from the LAN server. Pricing and Availability The following prices are estimated selling prices. Reseller prices may vary. The Netelligent 5506 100Base-T Switch is priced at $5,567 and will be available in volume in June 1996. The Netelligent 10/100 TX PCI NIC is priced at $159 and will be available in volume in April 1996. The Netelligent 10 T PCI NIC is priced starting at $119 and will be available in volume in May 1996. The Netelligent 4/16 Token Ring PCI NIC is priced at $441 and will be available in volume in May. Service, Warranty and Distribution Netelligent products can be purchased from resellers and VARs and are supported by a three- year, limited warranty Limited warranty A warranty with certain conditions and limitations on the parts covered, type of damage covered, and/or time period for which the agreement is good. . Technical support will be provided through Compaq Technical Support Centers (TSCs) worldwide. Service will be provided through resellers and VARs on a local, regional or global basis. Global service requirements will be met by the reseller in conjunction with Compaq's global service and support provider, Digital Equipment Multivendor Customer Services. Company Background Compaq Computer Corporation (company) Compaq Computer Corporation - The largest US manufacturer and vendor of IBM PC compatible personal computers and servers. Compaq was started in 1982 by three ex-Texas Instruments employees. Quarterly sales $2499M, profits $210M (Aug 1994). http://compaq.com/. is the world's largest supplier of personal computers, offering desktop PCs, portable PCs, servers and options. The company reported 1995 worldwide sales of $14.8 billion. Compaq products are sold and supported in more than 100 countries through Compaq marketing partners and sold directly to customers through Compaq Direct Plus at 1-800-888-5858. Compaq provides 24-hour customer support and can be reached through the Compaq forums on America Online, CompuServe, Internet (http://www.compaq.com), and Prodigy, or by calling 1-800-OK-COMPAQ. Product information and reseller locations can be obtained by calling 1-800-345-1518. -0- Compaq, Registered U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Compaq and Netelligent are trademarks of Compaq Computer Corporation. Product names mentioned herein may be trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective companies. CONTACT: Compaq Computer Corporation Jerele Neeld, John Sweney 713-514-0484 or Miller/Shandwick Technologies Eric Grodziski, Dave Anderson 617-536-0470 egrodzis@millercom.com |
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