SMSC Introduces USB-based Port Replicator Solution for Notebook Designers.

HAUPPAUGE, NY--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 4, 1999--

Standard Microsystems Corporation (SMSC) today announced the industry's first complete solution for USB-based port replicator designs. SMSC's solution removes the parallel port, serial port, mouse, keyboard, joystick connectors, and modular floppy disk drive from the system case, offering the flexibility to restore these functions as needed and the option to add new USB peripherals without changing system software. This solution allows the notebook system designer to reduce system cost, complexity, and power consumption.

SMSC's USB port replicator solution uses either the USB97C100 USB Peripheral Controller or the USB97C102 Enhanced USB Peripheral Controller with Five-Port Hub, an industry-standard SMSC I/O controller, software licenses for WDM-compliant drivers, and firmware for Windows 98 systems. In addition to supporting traditional I/O connections, SMSC offers USB solutions for other port replicator functions, such as audio and 10BASE-T Ethernet.

SMSC's multi-endpoint USB peripheral controllers are uniquely suited to support the multi-device requirements of integrated port replicator designs. In addition, SMSC's controllers enable maximum performance for multi-device, high-bandwidth applications. "To obtain this level of performance, the USB bus's total bandwidth must be efficiently utilized. SMSC's USB controllers accomplish this through the use of our patented dynamic memory management architecture. This architecture dynamically allocates data buffers within a 4K byte internal memory and removes the internal microcontroller unit (MCU) from the data path, thereby eliminating a bottleneck present in most competing USB peripheral controller solutions," stated Henry Wurzburg, Director of SMSC's Connectivity Strategic Marketing and Systems Engineering.

SMSC's port replicator software is available immediately for license on a per-use basis and is provided at no charge, in most cases, with the purchase of its USB peripheral controllers. Evaluation and software development boards, a monitor/debugger for the development system, and a programmers reference manual are also available.

About SMSC

Standard Microsystems Corporation is a worldwide supplier of metal-oxide-semiconductor/very large scale integrated (MOS/VLSI) circuits for

the personal computer, peripherals and embedded systems marketplace. SMSC has a leading position in input/output (I/O) circuits for PCs, with over 100 million units shipped and, additionally, supplies circuits for PC connectivity and local area networks.

Standard Microsystems is based in Hauppauge, New York and maintains offices worldwide, including locations in North America, Asia, Europe and Japan. SMSC operates engineering design centers in San Jose, CA; Westborough, MA; Hauppauge, NY and Austin, TX. More information about the Company is available on the World Wide Web at http://www.smsc.com.

Standard Microsystems is a registered trademark and SMSC is a trademark of Standard Microsystems Corporation. Product names and company names are the trademarks of their respective holders.