Larscom announces EtherBridge -- a high-speed, low-cost bridge for remote LAN interconnection.

SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 13, 1995--Larscom Inc. today announced a high-speed, low-cost remote Ethernet bridge -- EtherBridge, optimized for emerging high-speed LAN interconnection applications, whether implemented by carriers as a native LAN service or by end-users as part of their enterprise networks. Features of EtherBridge include one 10Base-T LAN port, one WAN port providing throughput up to the full Ethernet wide-speed of 10 Mbps, compatibility with industry standards for bridging functions and advanced management capabilities, including SNMP. The company will first demonstrate the product at the upcoming Networld + Interop show in Las Vegas, Nevada, March 28-30, 1995.

LAN interconnection is by far the most significant application for new network connections. As a way of adding value to their offerings, most major network service providers are in the process of implementing LANservices which provide 10Base-T Ethernet interfaces to MANs and WANs. Many users find these services attractive because the service provider has management responsibility for the MAN/WAN transport and access equipment.

"EtherBridge is uniquely suited to its particular applications," said Paul Strudwick, Larscom's vice president of marketing. "Until now, carriers and users alike had two choices: a proprietary bridge/repeater with limited functionality, or a high-end bridge/ router with unneeded functionality and much too high a cost. EtherBridge provides exactly the performance and features required, and at a very attractive price."

EtherBridge supports industry bridging standards (allowing it to interoperate with other vendors' bridges and routers), offers packet monitoring and filtering, and provides sophisticated management options such as extensive reporting on bandwidth utilization. Proprietary bridge/repeaters, on the other hand, just pass on all packets they receive, and thus function simply as repeaters.

Though price may be EtherBridge's primary advantage over high-end routers, it is not the only one: whatever aggregate throughput Brouters might claim, they generally cannot match EtherBridge's full wire-speed throughput for a single LAN-to-WAN connection.

To meet customers' varying management needs, EtherBridge provides full SNMP support (MIBs 1213 and 1493, plus private extensions), with in-band access via the LAN and WAN ports and out-of-band access through a pair of RS232 (SLIP) ports. EtherBridge can also function as a terminal server for access to an SNMP-capable DSU such as Larscom's Mega-T or Access-T45. In addition, a menu-driven terminal interface offers a powerful alternative or supplement to SNMP. EtherBridge will be available in summer 1995, at a list price of $3,700.

Larscom is a leading provider of high-speed digital network access equipment. Its products cover a wide range of transmission rates and services, including full and fractional T1, E1, T3 and E3, as well as SMDS, ATM and frame relay. To help ensure optimum network performance, Larscom products feature advanced monitoring, diagnostic, and management functions, including SNMP. Located at 4600 Patrick Henry Drive, Santa Clara, Calif. 95054, Larscom is a wholly owned subsidiary of Axel Johnson Inc. Stamford, Conn.

CONTACT: Larscom Inc.

Ursula Burger, 408/988-6600 or 408/986-8690 (fax)

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