CrossComm bundles full RMON implementation into ESS and Riser Switch prices.

MARLBOROUGH, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 29, 1996 -- CrossComm Corporation's Enterprise Products Division today announced that it is offering all nine groups of RMON at no additional charge on the company's ESS (Ethernet Segment Switch) and Riser Switch product lines.

"Most other switch manufacturers do not even implement all nine RMON groups," said Bob Dalias, Senior Director of Product Marketing at CrossComm, "and certainly no one else is offering the full RMON agent implementation at no additional charge. We would normally charge around $1000 per switch, so customers can now realize immediate savings. And this also translates to bottom-line savings on the cost of ownership of the network because having full RMON gives network managers very powerful tools -- including packet capture capabilities -- to help understand, trouble-shoot and increase their control over their networks. Being able to track performance trends, for example, can help network managers spot emerging problems before they throw a wrench into critical business operations. We feel this adds significant value to our high-performance ESS and Riser Switch products."

"RMON has proven itself as a cost-effective solution for monitoring shared LANs," agrees industry consultant John McConnell, president of McConnell Consulting. "Data from our studies indicates that organizations can double the number of LAN segments managed by each staff member when RMON is used. With switched networks becoming more prevalent, the use of RMON is no longer an option -- it becomes an imperative. Embedded monitoring saves staff travel time, gets the information needed for solving problems faster, and results in higher availability as well as reduced cost of ownership."

According to CrossComm customer Kevin Cummuta, Director of Information Technology at United States Cellular, "RMON is an essential component that we look for in evaluating switch products. It enables us to properly manage remote switches and workgroup LANs from a central site -- which is a critical capability when you want to keep your operations costs down."

"We're pleased to be able to offer the agent for full RMON in these switches," continued Dalias. "We have always been a major proponent of RMON in our products; it is a fundamental complement to our Integrated Network Management System (IMS), a graphics-based system built on Hewlett-Packard's OpenView, that we designed from the ground up to provide our customers with the highest levels of network management and the lowest cost of ownership. But customers who use any other standards-based RMON manager can also take advantage of the full agent implementation in these switches."

Pricing and Availability

The offer of the full implementation of RMON applies to CrossComm's Riser and Ethernet Segment Switches. Riser Switch prices begin at $16,795.00, while ESS (Ethernet Segment Switch) prices begin at $9,970.00. Prices include the full RMON implementation, and products are available this month.

The Riser Switch, with its fourteen 10BaseT ports and eight 100BaseT ports, enables network managers to micro-segment existing legacy LANs as well as to connect to high-performance servers or provide uplinks to workgroup switches. It also has a powerful embedded 33Mhz I960 RISC CPU, dedicated to managing virtual switched networks. The Ethernet Segment Switch is a cost effective and highly scalable alternative to traditional router backbone architectures, providing switched Ethernet, Full Duplex Ethernet, and both copper and Fiber-based Fast Ethernet. It can efficiently connect workgroup switches, older shared Ethernet hubs, and routers to provide the greater bandwidth necessary for today's high-intensity applications. It can also be used to front-end the packet-switching functions of congested router networks, streamlining operations by providing layer routing and topology management functions.

Both switch families feature distributed store-and-forward architecture, large buffering capacities, high port densities, and low latencies -- delivering mission-critical reliability down to the port level and greatly increasing overall network stability.

About CrossComm Corporation

CrossComm Corporation (NASDAQ/XCOM), founded in 1987, designs, develops, manufactures and sells high-performance intranet and networking solutions, enabling customers to integrate the benefits of ATM technology, while preserving their legacy LAN environments. The company also offers complete, high performance, scaleable LAN switching solutions that can grow as bandwidth demands increase. Worldwide headquarters are located at 450 Donald Lynch Boulevard, Marlborough, MA 01752. -0-

All CrossComm product names herein are trademarked by CrossComm Corporation. All other product or company names are trademarked by their respective companies.

CONTACT: Nancy Baptiste

CrossComm Corporation

508-229-5341

[e-mail]