Prominet Integrates Gigabit-speed Routing Into P550 Cajun Switch.

MARLBOROUGH, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 29, 1997--

New Functionality Combines 18 Million Packets Per Second Of

Scalable, IP/IPX Routing With Industry-Leading 45.76 Gigabits Per

Second Of Backplane Capacity In Same Chassis

Prominet Corporation today unveiled its P550(TM) Cajun(TM) Switch with Integrated Routing, a new product that can direct internetwork traffic 10-100 times faster than more expensive software-based routers while providing more scalability than other hardware-based routers. This new technology provides the wire speed gigabit-scaled capacity required for Internet traffic, multimedia and client/server applications in the campus backbone.

With an unmatched backplane switching capacity of 45.76 gigabits per second (Gbps), the P550 Cajun Switch with Integrated Routing is the industry's highest-capacity multilayer switch, and has a wide range of features that give it the most flexibility, interoperability and fault-tolerance available.

Integrated Routing combines scalable, packet-by-packet, IP and IPX routing at wire speed with all the unrivaled Layer 2 switching capabilities of the P550 Cajun Switch in the same top-to-bottom fault- tolerant, 7-slot chassis. The P550 Cajun Switch with Integrated Routing performs the same Layer 3 functions as legacy software-based routers, but at gigabit speed. The P550 Switch also handles more aggregate network traffic than competitive offerings.

The P550 Cajun Switch with Integrated Routing lets network managers deploy IP/IPX routing that is completely standards-compliant and interoperable. It delivers its performance without requiring new software, configurations or protocols in other routers, switches or host computers. The P550 Cajun Switch with Integrated Routing answers the growing demand for scalable, flexible, gigabit-speed switching and routing as data-intensive multimedia applications proliferate, and as greater shares of traffic involve sites outside individual LAN boundaries.

Each 7-slot P550 Cajun Switch accepts new, multilayer (Layer 2/Layer 3) media modules that add 1.5 million or 3 million packets per second of routing capability for a total of up to 18 million packets per second. These packets transit an undersubscribed crossbar switching fabric designed to handle as much traffic as end users can deliver, unlike some competing systems whose switch fabrics are oversubscribed, resulting in packet loss or delay. The P550's new ASIC-based Packet Routing Engine performs classic packet-by-packet routing without resorting to shortcuts or proprietary "marketecture" schemes that still other competing products use. The new multilayer modules also are completely compatible with the P550's existing Layer 2-only modules. Network managers can now tailor the precise proportions of routing and switching performance they require in their campus networks, either at the center of the network or near the edge as required.

According to John Morency, a principal at The Registry, a Newton, Mass.-based consulting organization, "The P550 Cajun Switch with Integrated Routing gives network managers the most complete, multilayer Gigabit Ethernet solution available with exceptionally strong functionality. Prominet's clean, uncomplicated approach to switching and routing provides users with a host of options for constructing high-performance campus LANs."

"Integrated Routing is the planned next step in the progression of our powerful Cajun Switch Core Architecture, and allows us to provide our customers with a high-capacity, scalable and cost-effective multilayer solution," said Menachem E. Abraham, president and CEO of Prominet. "The P550 Switch with Integrated Routing gives users choices, and lets them deploy switching and routing - where needed and when needed - from the same compact, fault-tolerant platform."

Modular Architecture, Optimized for the Campus LAN

A new Multilayer Supervisor Module is the first building block that integrates routing into the P550 Cajun Switch. This module delivers the first 1.5 million packets per second of ASIC-based IP/IPX routing capacity, which by itself, is more routing horsepower than most routers currently on the market. Customers can then mix and match the following new media modules that provide up to 12 Gigabit Ethernet ports, 60 fiber Fast Ethernet ports or 72 10/100 Ethernet ports in a single P550 Switch, and scales to 18 million packets per second of gigabit-speed routing:

-- a 2-Port Gigabit Ethernet Module that adds 3 million packets

per second of IP/IPX routing capacity to the P550 Cajun Switch with

Integrated Routing;

-- a 10-Port Fiber Fast Ethernet Module that adds 1.5 million

packets per second of IP/IPX routing; and

-- a 12-Port 10/100 Ethernet Module that adds 1.5 million packets

per second of IP/IPX routing.

Prominet has optimized the P550 Switch with Integrated Routing for campus LAN traffic. Its Intelligent Cache technology maximizes the chance of addressing "hits," which increase the share of packets taking the "fast path" through the system. Each Multilayer Supervisor Module maintains a table of 16,000 routes that feeds the caches. Routing scales with media modules to support a total of 240,000 destination hosts or flows per system.

The P550 delivers full Quality of Service (QoS) support for multimedia through RSVP (Resource Reservation Protocol). It also lets managers fine-tune internetwork communications by performing policy IP filtering and prioritization based on source IP address, destination IP address, Layer 4 TCP/UDP port number, or IPX filtering and prioritization based on service name, service type, network numbers and MAC address of the sender.

The P550 Cajun Switch with Integrated Routing supports the full suite of IP protocols for unicast (OSPF, RIP and RIP2) and multicast (IGMP, MOSPF and DVMRP), as well as IPX (RIP and, in later releases, NLSP).

Web-Based Network Management

The power and capacity of the P550 Cajun Switch with Integrated Routing is matched by its versatile set of network management tools that help users manage the P550's extensive feature set quickly and easily, including: a Web-based server, a JAVA-enabled Element Manager System, a Command Line Interface, SNMP and Telnet.

The Web-based server manages a P550 from anywhere on the network via Netscape Navigator or Microsoft Internet Explorer, Versions 3.0 or higher. The Element Management System is a fully-integrated H-P OpenView snap-in application, and is available for Windows 95 and Windows NT. A highly-functional Command Line Interface is available through the front-panel console port or inband using Telnet.

Pricing and Availability

The P550 Cajun Switch with Integrated Routing will be available in the first quarter of 1998, and typical system pricing will range from $20,000 to $60,000, depending on configuration. Prominet will be demonstrating the P550 Cajun Switch with Integrated Routing at the company's Cajun Caf, booth number 1637, at Networld+Interop in Atlanta, October 8-10.

About Prominet

Prominet Corporation is a privately held startup company that designs, builds and markets a new generation of network center and high-performance workgroup LAN solutions that employ Gigabit Ethernet technology. The Marlborough, Mass.-based firm was founded in February 1996 by former executives of Chipcom Corporation, a fast-growing supplier of intelligent switching systems that was acquired by 3Com Corporation in October 1995. Prominet employs 60 people. Additional information about the company and its products and services can be accessed via Prominet's World Wide Web site at http://www.prominet.com .

Cajun, P550, Prominet and the Prominet logo are trademarks of Prominet Corporation.

CONTACT: Prominet Corporation

John H. Ricciardone

508/303-8885 (x234)

[e-mail]

or

Beaupre & Co. Public Relations 

Christine LeCompte

603/436-6690

http://www.prominet.com

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