Network General Announces Fast Ethernet Sniffer Analyzer; Network Management Tool Supports 10/100 Ethernet Speeds with Same Functionality and Interface

Business Wire, Sept 18, 1995

MENLO PARK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 18, 1995--Network General Corporation (NASDAQ:NETG), a leading network fault and performance management solutions provider, today announced the Fast Ethernet 10/100 Sniffer Network Analyzer, a network management tool that monitors and analyzes both 10 and 100 MB/s Ethernet networks.

This is the first analysis tool to provide visibility into new 100 MB/s Fast Ethernet networks, as well as 10 MB/s legacy Ethernet LANs.

"As experts in the 100Base-T technology arena, we're pleased to see Network General supporting 100Base-T networks," said Jean Young, product line manager at Grand Junction. "Network General's support will have a positive impact on the acceptance and use of 100 MB/s Fast Ethernet. As the popularity of Fast Ethernet technology grows, network managers need to know they can manage both legacy and future Ethernet networks."

"Network General incorporates Experience Technology into all of its products, based on a combination of our extensive protocol decode and expert analysis capabilities as well as 10 years of working relationships with leading networking vendors. We know how to help our customers with their transition into Fast Ethernet," said Les Denend, president and CEO of Network General. "We're providing a cost effective solution in one tool that enables visibility into both Ethernet speeds while remaining transparent to the network users."

Fast Ethernet is quickly becoming the technology standard to support bandwidth-intensive applications such as email, client/server applications, database and transaction processing applications. The Fast Ethernet Sniffer Analyzer minimizes network manager training time by providing the same interface and functionality as all Network General Sniffer products. The product provides seven layer decodes as well as auto-detect and auto-configure to automatically determine the speed of the Ethernet network being tested. Network General is working with Fast Ethernet vendors such as 3Com, Bay Networks, Cabletron, Cisco, Cogent and Grand Junction to provide open industry standards and ensure interoperability.

Pricing and Availability

Shipping in November 1995, the Fast Ethernet Sniffer Network Analyzer board and software are priced at $15,000, and the portable PC platform is $10,000. Distributed Sniffer System support for Fast Ethernet will be available 1H 1996.

About Network General

Founded in 1986, Network General Corporation (NASDAQ:NETG) is a worldwide leader in providing fault and performance management solutions for enterprise networks. Drawing upon its extensive experience in complex heterogeneous network environments, the company offers a suite of technologies, products and services designed to provide total network visibility for network equipment vendors, field service organizations and corporate IS managers. The company's Sniffer network analyzer is recognized as the de facto standard within this industry. Network General's products are sold through direct sales and reseller organizations in the U.S. and throughout the Americas, Asia and Europe. Network General supports the Certified Network Expert (CNX) program, an industry-wide certification program recognizing qualified expert network analyzers.

Worldwide headquarters are located at 4200 Bohannon Drive, Menlo Park, California, 94025. URL: http://www.ngc.com; Telephone: (415) 473-2000, or (800) SNIFFER (764-3337). -0-

NOTE TO EDITORS: Network General and Sniffer are registered trademarks of Network General. All other registered and unregistered trademarks above are the sole property of their respective owners. All specifications may be changed without notice.

CONTACT: Network General

Erin Bergamo, 415/473-2973 or erinb@ngc.com

or

Blanc & Otus

Kelly Ryan, 415/512-0500 or kryan@bando.com