CrossComm breaks price/performance barrier with new, next generation XLX ATM switch; New workgroup switch offers twice the performance at 40 percent less cost than market leader.

MARLBOROUGH, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 3, 1995--CrossComm Corp. (NASDAQ:XCOM) today introduced a new ATM Workgroup Switch it says will break the $1000 per port price/performance barrier, enabling organizations to implement high-speed ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode) workgroup solutions.

The new XLX ATM Workgroup Switch features an advanced design, based on next-generation technology, to offer users more outstanding performance features while keeping the cost lower than before possible.

"CrossComm continues to develop attractive solutions for the switching environment, first leveraging Ethernet switching technology, now with strategic partnering, to bring an innovative, aggressively-priced workgroup solution to the ATM marketplace," said Charlie Robbins, vice president of communications research at Aberdeen Group. "The XLX, part of the ClearPath product line, takes advantage of an ATM switching fabric integrated in a series of CrossComm XL packages -- addressing key migration, cost and packaging concerns for high performance workgroup implementation. The availability of XLX should prove an effective stimulus for increasing mainstream customer interest in ATM at the desktop level."

CrossComm's XLX ATM Workgroup Switch is a high-performance, ATM switch that can be used to build the high-bandwidth networks organizations are demanding as they move from the old hub-and-router configurations into the more advanced LAN switching and ATM-based technologies. Because of its low cost and versatility, the XLX ATM Switch is ideal as an ATM workgroup switch that offers high-performance connectivity to the desktop, and to super servers with ATM interface cards.

Delivering Twice the Performance for Workgroups at 40 Percent Less Cost

"The high cost associated with ATM restricted its use to the heavily-trafficked backbones of corporate networks," said Al Kotob, CrossComm's director of product management. "Many of the applications users have been clamoring for -- such as desktop video conferencing, Lotus Notes, remote medical diagnostics, full-motion video -- need the bandwidth only ATM can provide, but company management were more often reluctant to pay the price associated with it. With the introduction of our XLX ATM Switch, we can show that ATM is a cost-justifiable technology for workgroup LANs. At five Gb/s switching capacity, and a cost of under $1,000 per port, customers can begin to migrate to ATM more quickly, and to use it in areas they did not think would be economically feasible before now. Other ATM Workgroup offerings, such as the FORERunner ASX-200WG or the Cisco LightStream 100, only offer a speed of 2.5 Gb/s -- and they cost about $1,684 and $2,619 per port, respectively."

Reaping Benefits of Next-Generation Technology

CrossComm's XLX ATM Switch takes advantage of an ATM chip set highly integrated in silicon. The non-blocking architecture offers both Virtual Path (VP) and Virtual Connection (VC) switching, supporting 14,000 VCs. Multicast and broadcast capabilities are built in, providing queues for each port to enable simultaneous handling of four priority levels of traffic. Extensive and centralized port buffering and queuing -- where all 32K buffers might be used by a single busy port -- provides much more efficient use of buffer memory for congestion management, and improves network integrity. The distributed architecture design ensures no single point of failure, delivering overall mission-critical reliability.

In addition to providing higher degrees of performance and reliability at lower price points today, the second-generation technology enables CrossComm to provide other important customer benefits for the future. "As ATM standards are just evolving, most first-generation products will not be compliant with the new standards without significant hardware changes," said Kotob. "We have designed-in investment protection; since the XLX is software-programmable, as the standards change, you can just download new software to upgrade." Because the XLX is part of the ClearPath product line, users reap the benefits of integrated routing and LAN/ATM switching in the same integrated platform.

Because of its adherence to industry standards and high degree of interoperability, the XLX ATM Workgroup Switch can be used as a front end to very large ATM backbone switches, such as those offered by GDC, IBM, FORE, Cascade and others. It can also be used as a "mini backbone" -- connecting workgroups to other XLX Workgroup Switches, or to edge routers and switches.

ClearPath -- Strategy Supported by Leading-Edge Products

The XLX ATM Switch is a major milestone in CrossComm's delivery of products based on its ClearPath philosophy. ClearPath is the industry's first fully integrated communications and networking strategy that provides IT professionals with a smooth transition from hub- and hub router-based networks to the next generation LAN switching and ATM environments. ClearPath products -- integrating LAN switching, ATM, routing, and LAN hubs within a single, fault-tolerant platform -- offer complete, high performance, modular solutions that can continue to grow as bandwidth demands increase.

Pricing and Availability (U.S. list prices)

The XLX-1200 ATM Switch modules (12 ports, OC3, multimode) are priced at $11,950 and will be available 60 days ARO.

About CrossComm

CrossComm Corp. (NASDAQ:XCOM), founded in 1987, designs, develops, manufactures and sells high-performance networking solutions that assist organizations making the transition from today's networks to next-generation LAN switching and ATM-based networks. Worldwide headquarters is located at 450 Donald Lynch Boulevard, Marlborough, Mass., 01752. -0-

All CrossComm product names herein are trademarked by CrossComm Corp. All other product names are trademarked by their respective companies.

CONTACT: CrossComm Corp.

Al Kotob, 508/229-5384

or

Media Boston International

Cynthia Mollus or Michele Nadeem, 617/266-5969