3Com Raises the Bar on Token Ring Switching Price Performance; The Tolly Group Report Cites 3Com's SuperStack-II Switch 2000 TR Performance Superior to Bay Networks, Madge, and IBM Solutions; 3Com's Newest Token Ring Switching Solution also Offers Significantly Lower Per-Port Price than Competitive Offerings

Business Wire, Nov 14, 1996

SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 14, 1996--Global data networking leader 3Com Corporation (NASDAQ: COMS) today announced that recent tests performed by The Tolly Group found that the 3Com SuperStack II Switch 2000 TR offers lower cut-through latency than the competitors tested, effectively supports source route and transparent environments and offers comparable or better frame processing.

The 3Com solution also has a significantly lower per-port price than the competitive solutions. As a key component of the 3Com's market leading SuperStack II stackable system, the SuperStack II Switch 2000 TR further supports 3Com's commitment to the Token Ring switching market, which will surpass $2 million in revenue by 1999, according to Dell 'Oro Group forecasts.

"3Com has pushed the envelope in developing the first next generation Token Ring switch," said Scott Lindsay, Director of Marketing at 3Com. "The SuperStack II Switch 2000 TR has been engineered to support all environments as well as both cut-through and store-and-forward switching modes, without sacrificing top-of-the-line performance in frame processing and latency.

"And, because the Switch 2000 TR utilizes 3Com's own internally developed ASICs, this is all able to be accomplished while being priced under $700 per port -- which is less than half what perceived market leader Bay Networks charges for a comparable solution."

Testing Highlights

The Tolly Group testing, which was completed in October 1996, evaluated the performance of the 3Com SuperStack II Switch 2000 TR against the Madge Smart Ringswitch, IBM 8272 NWays Token-Ring LAN Switch Model 108, and Bay Networks' Centillion 100. The Tolly Group's test demonstrated that the SuperStack II Switch 2000 TR delivered unmatched cut-through latency and throughput that was comparable or better than the competitive offerings tested.

Further tests on 3Com's Token Ring switch demonstrated that the unique Flow Control feature can substantially reduce the number of input frames lost when an output port is oversubscribed. Flow Control balances the bandwidth of the client ring to that of the server ring which results in higher productivity and efficiency on Token Ring LANs because packet loss is eliminated.

"The features of 3Com's SuperStack II Switch 2000 TR are impressive," said Kevin Tolly, President of The Tolly Group. "3Com is making strides offering switching features that are important to Token Ring buyers today. The comprehensive features, high performance and very competitive price should put the Switch 2000 TR on the short list of any network manager considering the move to Token Ring switching."

In addition to the superiority demonstrated in the Tolly Group tests, the SuperStack II Switch 2000 TR is also the only Token Ring switch that supports five remote monitoring (RMON) groups. (Events, Alarms, Statistics, History, Token Ring) all of which are built into the switch at no extra cost.

These RMON features allow for generation of traps and statistical monitoring to enable troubleshooting of the attached networks and, when combined with existing RMON agents in 3Com's shared media solutions, gives a complete system RMON management solution without burdening the switch with full RMON collection.

For a copy of the Token Ring switching tests visit either The Tolly Group's web site at http://www.tolly.com or 3Com's web site at http://www.3Com.com.

About 3Com

3Com Corporation has helped more than 36 million people gain access to critical information through high-speed networks. Designed to serve large enterprises, service providers, small offices and homes, 3Com products provide a scalable architecture to meet the present and future connectivity needs of today's users. With research and development on three continents, 3Com is one of the data networking industry's largest and fastest growing companies. 3Com's innovative marketing, engineering, sales and support simplify communication, optimize network reliability and protect customer investments. For further information, visit 3Com's World Wide Web site at http://www.3Com.com or call 800/NET-3COM. -0-

Note to Editors: 3Com is a registered trademark of 3Com Corporation. SuperStack is a trademark of 3Com Corporation. Other product names are the property of their respective owners.

CONTACT: 3Com

Rich Black, 408/764-8486

Richard_Black@3Mail.3Com.com