HP Slashes Prices by up to 30 Percent on Networking Products; Offers Industry's Lowest Price for 10/100Mbps Layer 3 Switch; HP Switch Wins on Best Value and Performance

Business Wire, Sept 2, 1997

PALO ALTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 2, 1997-- Hewlett-Packard Company, a networking industry leader, today announced list price cuts of up to 30 percent on the HP AdvanceStack 10Base-T Hub-16U and the award-winning(1) HP AdvanceStack Switch 800T. With these price cuts, HP is offering the HP AdvanceStack Switch 800T, which recently won two "Network World" awards for best price and best performance, at the industry's lowest price for a 10/100Mbps Layer 3 switch.

"HP is aggressively cutting prices on its products to give customers powerful and affordable networking solutions," said Jan Bell, worldwide marketing manager for HP's Workgroup Networks Division. "HP will continue to offer customers more network for their money."

HP'S LOWEST-COST LAYER 3 SWITCH SOLUTION

The HP AdvanceStack Switch 800T, a Layer 3 switch with eight 10/100Base-T autosensing ports, now has a list price of only $2,199, a 30 percent reduction of the old price. The switch provides HP customers with IP multicasting, port-trunking and port-mirroring capabilities, along with powerful HP AdvanceStack Assistant management software.

"HP switch customers can take advantage of Layer 3 switching technology for a price competitive with most Layer 2 Ethernet switches," said Esmeralda Silva, senior analyst at International Data Corporation.

The HP AdvanceStack Switch 800T received awards in "Network World's" Aug. 11 100Base-T switch comparison. Switches from nine vendors, including 3Com, Bay, Cabletron, Cisco, Compaq, Fore, NBase and Network Peripherals, were evaluated. HP received a Best Buy Award for best price for performance and a Blue Ribbon Award for the best score in the overall performance evaluation.

In addition, regarding the HP AdvanceStack Assistant network-management software bundled with the switch, "Network World" said, "We found its drag-and-drop virtual LAN setup and on-screen help to be superb."

HP GIVES AWAY PORTS ON ENTRY-LEVEL HUB

The latest price cut for the HP AdvanceStack 10Base-T Hub-16U has brought the cost of this manageable 16-port hub down to that of many 12-port hubs -- in effect giving four ports away for free. The hub, a cost-effective solution for growing shared 10Base-T networks, is now list-priced at $419, or $26 per port. The hub comes bundled with HP AdvanceStack Assistant.

AVAILABILITY AND WARRANTY

HP AdvanceStack hubs and switches are available through HP's worldwide network of authorized computer dealers, resellers and distributors. All HP AdvanceStack products are backed by HP's award-winning customer support and an industry-leading warranty. -0-

SUMMARY OF LIST-PRICE REDUCTIONS

Product No.  Product Name      New Price   Current   Percent
                                            Price    Change
---------    ------------      ---------   -------   -------
HP J3245A    HP AdvanceStack     $2,199     $3,199     30
              Switch 800T

HP J2611B    HP AdvanceStack        419        519     19
              10Base-T Hub-16U

Price cuts are effective immediately.