Farallon Ships International Versions of Netopia ISDN Routers to Meet Global Market Demands.

ALAMEDA, Calif.,--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 16, 1996--Farallon Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRLN) today announced availability of its international versions of the Netopia ISDN Routers in Europe, Australia and Japan as part of its global strategy to provide valuable solutions to customers across multiple platforms and across the world.

Farallon also announced free upgrade features, including IPX routing and unique calling number authentication (CNA), that will significantly reduce Internet costs for customers who want to establish a Web server on their site without incurring the expense of a leased line. Farallon expects these new upgrade features will be available to customers in October.

The Netopia ISDN Router provides a unique combination of easy to set up, secure, high performance and cost-effective TCP/IP connectivity over ISDN.

The technology market is becoming more globalized and the Internet is serving as a baseline infrastructure for worldwide communications. Farallon is positioned for success in this global marketplace by offering solutions that meet the demands of international customers with strong distribution channels, country-specific product certification, local representation, multi-language documentation and international technical support.

With the Netopia ISDN Router, anyone on a local area network (LAN) can have complete remote connectivity from their computer, to send e-mail internally and externally, access databases from a remote branch site, or simply search for information on the World Wide Web. And, the Netopia ISDN Router provides shared, high-speed Internet connectivity for users on a LAN.

It is the perfect choice for a company wanting to link all its sites and remote users through a company Intranet over TCP/IP and ISDN by using the Internet as a wide area network (WAN) backbone.

Pre-packaged with everything needed for installation and configuration, the Netopia ISDN Router provides high-speed Intranet/Internet connectivity for Ethernet LANs supporting Windows, Windows 95, Windows NT and MacOS as well as Apple LocalTalk LANs. This makes it easy to add the routers to an existing network without requiring software or cabling changes.

It is an ideal solution for small- to medium-sized organizations or branch offices because of its ease of use, robust security and price/performance.

"While ISDN is more prevalent outside the U.S., the TCP/IP implementation can still be a daunting experience for workgroups to set up," said Didier Cop, vice president, International. "With the Netopia ISDN Routers, we are looking forward to bringing the industry's most robust, yet easy-to-use solutions to international markets."

New Upgrade Features

Calling Number Authentication (CNA):

-- Security Benefits: This feature works in conjunction with existing PAP and CHAP authentication to ensure that an incoming call originates from a known ISDN line at a particular location for increased security. When this capability is enabled, the Netopia ISDN Router rejects an incoming call if the caller's number doesn't match the "Calling Number" field in Netopia's "Connection Profile."

-- ISP Service Benefits: CNA allows ISPs to expand their service offerings to provide end users and companies with a low-cost virtual presence on the World Wide Web via on-demand web sites. Upon receipt of a signal from the ISP over the D channel, the customer's Netopia "wakes up" and automatically establishes an Internet connection via the CNA "call-back" feature when someone on the Internet wants to access the Netopia customer's Web site.

-- End-user Cost and Service Benefits: Full-time Web site hosting is now possible for Netopia customers at "on-demand" ISDN dial-up access costs.

IPX Routing:

As a standard feature in all of the Netopia routers, the dual support of IP and IPX routing enables customers to use the Netopia router for both IP protocol traffic (e.g. for Internet access) and IPX protocol traffic (for LAN-to-LAN routing or corporate telecommuter access) over ISDN.

To further lower remote LAN access costs, Farallon has incorporated comprehensive IPX spoofing support so that the ISDN connection can be terminated, while the router continues to "mirror" the remote IPX server to the local client to "virtually maintain" the connection.

Netopia ISDN Router Highlights

The Netopia ISDN Routers are equipped with an AUI and two 10Base-T Ethernet ports, TCP/IP, an ISDN "S/T" interface, and a LocalTalk port. Both models include Multilink PPP and 4:1 Stacker LZS compression for performance up to 512 Kbps.

In addition, the Netopia routers have the most versatile remote management/configuration with TFTP, XMODEM, and complete SNMP support as well as extensive security including pre-defined IP firewall filter, callback, PAP and CHAP. Unique features include automated TCP/IP set up and administration with DHCP and MacIP server, "quick start" configuration utility, bundled Internet Starter Kit (Model 440 only) of leading web browsers and IP stacks, and a PC Card (PCMCIA) slot for remote analog dial-in support and configuration.

The Netopia ISDN Router is also a convenient solution for LocalTalk users wanting to reach the EtherTalk segment of a LAN because of the built-in LocalTalk to EtherTalk gateway.

Additionally, advanced AppleTalk routing over ISDN is supported using the AppleTalk Updated-based Routing Protocol (AURP). AURP reduces ISDN line usage charges by efficiently managing AppleTalk over ISDN. This feature in itself often justifies the purchase of a Netopia ISDN Router.

Pricing and Availability

Australian and European versions are immediately available with TS013 Australian approval, EuroISDN approval for all European countries and 1TR6 certification for Germany. Farallon expects the Netopia ISDN Router to be available in Japan with JATE certification in Fall.

The Netopia ISDN Router comes in two models: Model 430 limits TCP/IP connectivity to five users but offers unlimited user connectivity for LocalTalk/Ethernet and IPX routing, while Model 440 supports unlimited users on TCP/IP and Ethernet networks. An upgrade from the five user to the unlimited user version is also available. The new upgrade features announced today are expected to be available to customers next month.

Netopia is covered by a one-year limited warranty. Please refer to Farallon distributors for pricing in local currencies. A list of Farallon's worldwide Netopia distributors is available on the company's Internet World Wide Web server at http://www.farallon.com or from Farallon Customer Service at 510/814-5000.

Farallon

Founded in 1986, Farallon Communications, Inc. develops, markets and supports complete, easy-to-use Internet connectivity solutions and real-time Internet/Intranet collaboration software. The Company's products are designed to increase the productivity and efficiency of Internet, Intranet and LAN users and to target small businesses, remote offices, home offices, mobile users, and schools that may not have access to sophisticated technical support.

Further information can be obtained via phone [phone], fax [phone], Internet [e-mail], or web http://www.farallon.com. Farallon products are available through distributors and resellers worldwide, as well as through licensing relationships with other computer vendors. Farallon has its headquarters in Alameda, Calif., and its European office in Paris.

This release contains forward-looking statements which involve risks and uncertainties. The Company's actual results could differ materially from the results discussed herein. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, those discussed from time to time in the Company's public reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, as well as those discussed in "Risk Factors" included in the Company's Registration Statement on Form S-1 as declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission on June 12, 1996 (Reg. No. 333-3868). -0-

Note to Editors: The Farallon logo design and Farallon are registered trademarks, and Netopia is a trademark of Farallon Communications, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective holders.

CONTACT: Farallon Communications, Inc., Alameda

Amal Abed, 510/814-5307

[e-mail]