HP to Enter Fast-growing Switch Market; Company Extends AdvanceStack Architecture; Plans Multiple New Products.PALO ALTO Palo Alto, city, California Palo Alto (păl`ō ăl`tō), city (1990 pop. 55,900), Santa Clara co., W Calif.; inc. 1894. Although primarily residential, Palo Alto has aerospace, electronics, and advanced research industries. , Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 5, 1995--Marking its entry into the fast-growing switch market, Hewlett-Packard Company today introduced the first in a series of AdvanceStack 10Base-T and 100VG-AnyLAN switching products that the company plans to introduce over the next two years. The switch, the AdvanceStack 10/100 LAN (Local Area Network) A communications network that serves users within a confined geographical area. The "clients" are the user's workstations typically running Windows, although Mac and Linux clients are also used. Switch-16, is designed to improve network performance, integrate 10Base-T and 100VG users and interconnect workgroups. AdvanceStack switches further enhance the AdvanceStack architecture, announced last year, which comprises HP's AdvanceStack shared 10Base-T and 100VG hubs, AdvanceStack remote-site routers, AdvanceStack remote-access products and network-management products. Like the AdvanceStack 10Base-T and 100VG hubs, AdvanceStack switches will have an expansion slot A receptacle inside a computer or other electronic system that accepts a printed circuit board. The number of slots determines future expansion. See PC data buses. (hardware) expansion slot - A connector in a computer into which an expansion card can be plugged. for adding future functionality, such as routing and remote access. HP's industry-leading warranty comes with all products in the AdvanceStack line. "Our AdvanceStack products provide customers with maximum flexibility and reliability at a minimum price," said Gary McAnally, general manager at HP's Roseville (Calif.) Networks Division. "Network managers want products that are upgradeable, not disposable." FULL RANGE OF SWITCHES HP's 10Base-T and 100VG AdvanceStack switches will be divided into three classes -- workgroup, department and backbone. Workgroup switches A network switch designed for LAN traffic within an enterprise. Contrast with carrier-class switch. are the most basic of HP's proposed switches. Supporting one client per port, workgroup switches are primarily used to relieve traffic 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. in a workgroup by providing dedicated bandwidth -- 10 Mbps or 100 Mbps -- to individual users. Department switches provide dedicated bandwidth to multiple users on a LAN segment A section of a local area network that is used by a particular workgroup or department and separated from the rest of the LAN by a bridge, router or switch. Networks are divided into multiple segments for security and to improve traffic flow by filtering out packets that are not destined and can connect 10Base-T and 100VG workgroups together, as well as providing a dedicated high-speed pipe to a file server. Backbone switches are generally used to interconnect workgroups and connect to campus backbones. They provide intercampus routing, virtual LAN Also called a "VLAN," it is a logical subgroup within a local area network that is created via software rather than manually moving cables in the wiring closet. It combines user stations and network devices into a single unit regardless of the physical LAN segment they are attached to and capabilities, WAN to LAN routing and protocol routing. FULL RANGE OF PERFORMANCE Switches improve network performance by providing dedicated bandwidth to individual users, whereas hubs require that all users in a workgroup share bandwidth. Performance on a hub-based workgroup is like the flow of traffic on a freeway: Speed is directly related to the level of congestion. Shared 10Base-T is sufficient for basic workgroups using word processing word processing, use of a computer program or a dedicated hardware and software package to write, edit, format, and print a document. Text is most commonly entered using a keyboard similar to a typewriter's, although handwritten input (see pen-based computer) and and text e-mail An e-mail message that contains only unformatted ASCII text. Text e-mail may be the only option for wireless, handheld devices, but it was the traditional format for all e-mail before the Internet exploded in the mid-1990s. Contrast with HTML e-mail. . Switches provide individual users with dedicated bandwidth or, using the freeway example, they provide users with their own private lanes. 10Base-T switching relieves the traffic congestion found in heavily used networks running traditional office applications. Carrying the analogy a step further, shared 100VG is similar to driving a faster car on a freeway, and switched 100VG is similar to driving a faster car in a private lane on the freeway. Emerging applications such as multimedia, full-motion video Video transmission that changes the image 30 frames per second (30 fps). Motion pictures are run at 24 fps, which is the minimum frequency required to eliminate the perception of moving frames and make the images appear visually fluid to the eye. and groupware Software that supports multiple users working on related tasks in local and remote networks. Also called "collaborative software," groupware is an evolving concept that is more than just multiuser software which allows access to the same data. require shared 100VG. These same workgroups need switched 100VG for the pipe to the server and for interconnecting high-performance workgroups. U.S. PRICES AND AVAILABILITY HP AdvanceStack switches will be available through HP's worldwide network of authorized computer dealers, resellers and distributors. AdvanceStack 10/100 LAN Switch-16 (announced today) $6,495 Two-port 100VG switch module (announced today) 2,195 The 10/100 LAN Switch-16 is expected to be available in July and the 100VG switch module is expected to be available in November. FUTURE PRODUCTS Workgroup switch with slots for high-speed modules Next-generation department switch with slots for high-speed modules Backbone switch with slots for high-speed modules ATM module 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. module A leading supplier of 10Base-T stackable hubs, HP's Roseville Networks Division developed 10Base-T and network printing and co-developed 100VG-AnyLAN. HP's full line of networking products includes AdvanceStack routers, AdvanceStack 100VG hubs, AdvanceStack 10Base-T hubs, OpenView network-management applications, JetDirect print servers, 10Base-T and 100VG LAN Adapters. Hewlett-Packard Company is a leading global manufacturer of computing, communications and measurement products and services recognized for excellence in quality and support. HP has 98,600 employees and had revenue of $25 billion in its 1994 fiscal year. CONTACT: Hewlett-Packard Rhonda McGann, 916/785-4116 or Copithorne & Bellows for HP Lee Lenhard, 415/975-2206 |
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