U.S. Robotics announces TotalSwitch Ethernet Switch; company expands reach to LAN switching, provides compelling price performance.SKOKIE, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 28, 1996--U.S. Robotics (NASDAQ NASDAQ in full National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations U.S. market for over-the-counter securities. Established in 1971 by the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD), NASDAQ is an automated quotation system that reports on : USRX) today announced its TotalSwitch Ethernet Switching A device that connects clients and servers to each other in an Ethernet network. See switched Ethernet. Hub, expanding the company's reach and bringing its price/performance strengths to the LAN switching
LAN switching is a form of packet switching used in local area networks. Switching technologies are crucial to network design, or to that minority of LANs that are used outside the home. market. The product is in part based on technology from the company's February acquisition of Acton, Mass.-based Amber Wave Systems, Inc. "With TotalSwitch, we provide many of the same advantages that have sold customers on our remote access technology," said Pete Chadwick, group manager, 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. Infrastructure Products, U.S. Robotics (U.S. Robotics, Inc., Schaumburg, IL, www.usr.com) A modem manufacturer highly regarded for its quality products. The company manufactures its own chipsets (data pumps) and often leads with innovations. Its HST protocol was a high-speed, reliable protocol before V. Network Systems Division. "U.S. Robotics is already well-known for connecting people to LAN-based information, such as the Internet, value-added networks and corporate LANs -- it's a natural extension for us to move further into the LAN. "We provide numerous communications solutions for small offices and branch offices -- remote access servers, modems, conference phones, handheld organizers and now LAN switches," added Chadwick. "You'll see more moves in this direction from U.S. Robotics as we continue to grow our product line toward providing more components of a complete communications and networking solution for organizations of any size." Key advantages to the TotalSwitch product: -- Modular Design In the context of systems engineering, modular design — or "modularity in design" — is an approach aiming to subdivide a system into smaller parts (modules) that can be independently created and then used in different systems to drive multiple functionalities. and "SoftSwitch" Architecture, for flexible configurations and upgradability to new technologies. -- Excellent Price/Performance Ratio In economics and engineering, the price/performance ratio refers to a product's ability to deliver performance, of any sort, for its price. For instance, if you have a whole day to travel 100 km, spending $50 to do the journey in two hours is a better price/performance ratio than , allowing companies to increase available bandwidth and improve LAN speed at a low cost. -- Multiple LAN Topologies: Total Switch supports six different Ethernet media, including 100Base-Tx. New TotalSwitch Includes 10 Mbps and 100 Mbps Technology Available to customers in June, TotalSwitch is a modular Ethernet switch which can be configured from 2 to 32 ports. It supports the following media: 10Base-T, 10Base-2, 10Base-5, 10Base-FL, 100Base-Tx and 100Base-Fx. Media types can be mixed and matched, and all connections are at wire speed. TotalSwitch also supports 802.1d spanning tree, and is manageable through SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) A widely used network monitoring and control protocol. Data are passed from SNMP agents, which are hardware and/or software processes reporting activity in each network device (hub, router, bridge, etc. . TotalSwitch and other U.S. Robotics LAN switching products will be manageable through U.S. Robotics SNMP-based management platform, Total Control Manager. An 8-port 10Base-T TotalSwitch configuration is list priced at $1,995. A full 32-port configuration is cost-effectively priced at $175 per port. For customers who have a need for 100 Mbps Ethernet capabilities, a 2-port 100Base-T card is $1,895. TotalSwitch will be sold through U.S. Robotics regular distribution channels. "Our goal is to provide the advantages of LAN switching technology at the price of a LAN hub," added Chadwick. "With TotalSwitch, we offer users much better performance at a comparable price." Customers who install TotalSwitch will see an immediate increase in the amount of bandwidth available in their Ethernet network. The typical Ethernet network has 20 to 50 users that share 10Mbps among them. With the TotalSwitch, these users can be spread across multiple LAN segments, each with 10Mbps of bandwidth. For additional bandwidth, customers can add 100 Mbps connections to servers and LAN backbones. And, unlike some switches which only support the attachment of single workstations, TotalSwitch supports up to 4096 addresses per system, allowing it to be a backbone for other hubs and switches. However, at a price/port of $175 or less, it is also designed for the customer wanting to give unrestricted 10Mbps access to each end user. U.S. Robotics is one of the world's leading suppliers of products and systems that provide access to information. The company designs, manufactures, markets and supports remote access servers, enterprise communications systems, LAN switching products, desktop/mobile client products and modems and telephony products that connect computers and other equipment over analog, digital and switched cellular networks, enabling users to gain access to, manage and share data, fax and voice information. Its customers include Internet service providers Internet service provider (ISP) Company that provides Internet connections and services to individuals and organizations. For a monthly fee, ISPs provide computer users with a connection to their site (see data transmission), as well as a log-in name and password. , regional Bell operating companies The Regional Bell Operating Companies (RBOC) are the result of the U.S. Department of Justice antitrust suit against American Telephone & Telegraph. History , inter-exchange carriers and a wide range of other large and small businesses, institutions and individuals. The company's fiscal 1995 sales were $889.3 million; sales for the first six months of fiscal 1996 were $819.3 million. CONTACT: U.S. Robotics, Skokie Lauri Lentz, 847/982-5230 (Media Relations) C. David Hall David Hall may refer to:
The process by which the corporation communicates with its investors. ) |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion