IDG's Network World Teams up with The Tolly Group to Develop a New Testing Program for Network Switches

Business Wire, Jan 26, 1999

FRAMINGHAM, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 26, 1999--

The new program -- The Tolly Group Switch Metric -- promises to become

the definitive industry performance benchmark.

Network World and The Tolly Group have joined forces to launch a new switch performance test that will serve as the definitive industry benchmark for network equipment buyers, the two companies announced today at ComNet in Washington, D.C.

Already many of the top networking vendors in the industry have expressed support for the program, including Alteon Networks, Anritsu, Cabletron (CS), 3Com (COMS), Extreme Networks, FORE Systems (FORE), Foundry Networks, Hewlett-Packard (HWP), IBM (IBM), Lucent (LU), Madge (MADGF), Neo Networks, Nortel/Bay Networks (NT), Performance Technologies (PTIX), Olicom (OLCMF) and Xylan (XYLN).

"It's a tough job buying a switch these days," said John Gallant, editor-in-chief and senior vice president of Network World, the nation's leading newsweekly for enterprise network computing. "When you're talking about devices with 50G bit/sec of capacity and dozens of Fast Ethernet and gigabit ports -- far more power than most buyers need today -- it's easy to get overwhelmed and assume that any choice will be a safe one for the future of your enterprise network."

That's where Network World and The Tolly Group come in. The companies have jointly developed a new network switch testing program designed to help vendors make better buying decisions. The Tolly Group Switch Metric will highlight raw switch performance along with a cost-per-gigabit/throughput metric to give buyers an in-depth look at the Layer 2 and Layer 3 switching markets and beyond.

"We are encouraging all switching vendors to participate in this benchmarking endeavor," said Kevin Tolly, president and CEO of The Tolly Group, a leading strategic consulting and independent testing firm in Manasquan, New Jersey. "The aim of The Tolly Group's Switch Metric is to provide network managers with a substantial base of authoritative, unbiased information about the cost/performance of key switch products, which buyers can use to make purchase decisions."

Unlike tests conducted elsewhere that have focused on single-topology Ethernet-based switches only, The Tolly Group's Switch Metric will be used to evaluate Fast Ethernet and Gigabit Ethernet switches, as well as ATM, token ring and FDDI switches. Performance tests will also be conducted on Fast Ethernet-to-Gigabit Ethernet, FDDI-to-Gigabit Ethernet and other cross-topology configurations.

"We'll take a switch's best throughput and divide it by the retail cost of the system to get a relative cost for each gigabit of throughput, analogous to the cost-per-MIPS metric used in benchmarking computer systems," said Gallant.

Switch Metric tests will be conducted on an ongoing basis, and the results, along with analysis and advice, will be presented on The Tolly Group's Web site and in Network World twice a year in special features articles. The first article is slated for May. Network World and The Tolly Group will also be working with a major trade show to showcase test results.

"We've invited the leading switch makers to participate in our new test program, and the early response from the top vendors in the industry is heartening," said Gallant. "And we expect even more vendors to commit quickly to the testing program."

Network equipment vendors can find more information about The Tolly Group Switch Metric at Network World Fusion (http://www.nwfusion.com) using Doc Finder #1235 and at The Tolly Group's Web sit at (http://www.tolly.com).

About Network World

Network World (http://www.nwfusion.com), is the nation's only newsweekly shaping the future of network computing in the enterprise. Through its publishing, education and online products and services, Network World empowers Network IS professionals with the knowledge to deliver the open applications and infrastructure required to meet their evolving business needs.

About International Data Group

Network World, Inc., is a division of IDG, the world's leading IT media, research and exposition company. IDG publishes more than 290 computer magazines and newspapers and 700 book titles and offers online users the largest network of technology-specific sites around the world through IDG.net (http://www.idgnet.com), which comprises more than 225 targeted Web sites in 55 countries. IDG is also a leading producer of 168 computer-related expositions worldwide, and provides IT market analysis through 49 offices in 41 countries worldwide. Company information is available at http://www.idgcorporate.com.

Network World and Network World Fusion are trademarks of International Data Group.

About The Tolly Group

The Tolly Group, based in Manasquan, NJ, is recognized worldwide for its expertise in assessing leading-edge technologies. For more information on The Tolly Group's services, visit its web site at http://www.tolly.com, email info@tolly.com, call 800-933-1699/732-528-3300, or fax.