Xylan first to offer frame relay in a LAN switch.

CALABASAS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 9, 1996--Xylan Corp. Monday announced that its OmniSwitch and PizzaSwitch products are the first LAN switches to offer frame-relay access.

This is a major addition to Xylan's complete, integrated switched campus networks, including LAN switching, ATM switching, virtual LANs, routing, network management and now wide-area access.

Xylan anticipates three applications for its new capability:

-- Enterprise connections among major sites, at rates less than

those typically used for ATM. These would often use multiple

T1 or E1 circuits and are likely to make intensive use of

virtual LANs.

-- Enterprise connections from major campuses to regional

offices, especially those needing high-performance servers.

Here, the LAN switch replaces the hub and the router.

-- Carrier LAN Extension services, using cable-based T1 or E1

circuits, rather than expensive new DS-3, E3 or OC-3

connections. In many cases, the frame-relay-based service

will complement ATM-based LAN Extension services.

One of the primary benefits of integral frame-relay access is that VLANs -- which are rapidly becoming the dominant internetworking model in switched networks -- can now extend across the entire enterprise, facilitating intersite user mobility and workgroups.

This is a very highly featured frame-relay capability:

-- Two, four or eight serial interfaces per OmniSwitch module,

allowing as many as 64 frame-relay ports in a single

OmniSwitch;

-- Two or four serial interfaces per PizzaSwitch module,

allowing as many as eight frame-relay ports in a single

PizzaSwitch;

-- Any serial data rate up to E1 (2 Mbps) rates, on any or all

interfaces, using V.35, RS-232, X.21, RS-530 or RS-422/449,

configurable per port;

-- Hardware-based payload compression, using FRF.9, the Frame

Relay Forum standard for data compression, providing up to 4X

compression in many applications, and with dedicated

compression history tracked separately on up to 200 virtual

circuits;

-- Switched transmission, using Xylan's extensive virtual LAN

capabilities, including the ability to support multiple

virtual paths across a single Data Link Connection Identifier 

(DLCI);

-- RFC 1490 encapsulation, including Q.922 Annex A framing,

routed IP, IPX, ARP/InARP, BPDU, Ethernet, Token Ring and

FDDI;

-- RFC 1293 (inverse ARP) dynamic mapping of IP network layer

addresses to DLCIs, eliminating the need for static mapping

for routed IP traffic;

-- Automatic learning (gleaning), which maps IPX network layer

addresses to DLCIs, eliminating the need for static mapping

for routed IPX traffic;

-- Configurable DLCMI support, supporting all three standards

(ANSI T1.617 Annex D; ITU Q.933 Annex A; LMI revision 1.0);

-- Queuing based on Committed Information Rate (CIR), Committed

Burst Size (Bc) and Excess Burst Rate Size (Be), configurable

per DLCI, providing powerful per-DLCI throughput control;

-- Full support for FECN and BECN congestion control;

-- Network-management support of IAB RFC 1315 (Frame Relay MIB)

and RFC 1659 (Serial Port MIB);

-- Impressive hardware power, with two RISC processors, two

Motorola QUICC68360 processors, two STAC 9705 compression

processors, and 10 MB of RAM per fully configured OmniSwitch

module.

The new hardware and software is available on plug-in modules which can be added to any OmniSwitch or PizzaSwitch.

The two-port wide-area serial module (without compression) is model WSM-2-S, priced at $5,500; the four-port model is the WSM-4-SC, priced at $7,000; and the eight-port model is the WSM-8-SC, priced at $9,500.

The first OmniSwitch wide-area serial modules are scheduled to ship in October; the first PizzaSwitch wide-area serial modules are scheduled to ship in December. PizzaSwitch frame-relay prices will be announced later.

There is no charge for the frame-relay software.

With headquarters in Calabasas, Xylan is a leading provider of high-bandwidth campus switching systems. Its OmniSwitch and PizzaSwitch connect Ethernet, token ring, FDDI, CDDI, Fast Ethernet and ATM, at wire speed, with automatic any-to-any translation. Its AutoTracker virtual LANs are the most powerful in the industry.

Extensive ATM support includes LAN Emulation, IP Over ATM and ATM LAN Encapsulation. Xylan products switch at layer two and route at layer three, using IP and IPX. Its graphical network management runs on a broad set of standard management platforms. Extensive redundancy and reliability features are integrated into the products.

This news release includes forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, including the timely availability of new products and other risks detailed in the company's prospectus and report Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 1996.

CONTACT: Xylan Corp., Calabasas

John Mazzaferro, 818/878-4714

818/880-3505 (fax)

[e-mail]

Douglas Hill, 818/878-4518

818/880-3505 (fax)

[e-mail]

or

Tony Fisch Consulting

Tony Fisch, 818/501-6608

818/501-1303 (fax)