Allied Telesyn Adds Fiber Ready AT-8026FC Switch to Layer 2 Family; Latest Addition to AT-8000 Series of Switches is Aimed at Networks With 100Mbps Fiber Backbones

Business Wire, May 30, 2002

Business Editors, Technology Writers

BOTHELL, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 30, 2002

Enhanced Stacking(TM) Technology Can Create Virtual Stacks and

Eliminates the Need for Switches to be Physically Co-Located

Allied Telesyn, Inc. (www.alliedtelesyn.com), a world leader in network technologies for the access edge, today announced the third member of its AT-8000 series of Layer 2 managed switches -- the AT-8026FC.

Designed to offer an industry-leading solution to networks with 100Mbps fiber backbones, the AT-8026FC combines flexibility, feature richness and ease of use at a compelling price point.

The AT-8026FC is an entry level 24-port 10/100TX managed Layer 2 Fast Ethernet switch that includes two fixed 100FX uplink ports with SC connectors. With this configuration, the switch is ideal for customers who seek Fast Ethernet fiber backbone connections.

"Our customers have been calling for this particular variant ever since we launched the AT-8000 series last year," says James Mustarde, vice president of Direct Marketing. "Clearly the product family has struck a cord with the market and we intend to further extend its flexibility in the months to come."

Joins Expanding Family

The AT-8026FC joins two other switches in the AT-8000 series of scalable Layer 2 switches that are designed to help service providers, government agencies, education institutions and business of all sizes to build world-class networks while meeting aggressive price and performance requirements. Prices per port on the AT-8024, the AT-8026FC and the AT-8024GB are the most competitive in the industry, yet the AT-8000 series offers an unprecedented feature set.

Product        Configuration

AT-8026FC      24 x 10/100TX ports and two fixed 100FX (SC) ports
AT-8024GB      24 x 10/100TX ports and two GBIC expansion bays
AT-8024        24 x 10/100TX ports

The AT-8000 series offers a variety of configurations in a compact, one rackmount unit (RU) form factor. For networks migrating from unmanaged switches the AT-8024 with 24 10/100TX ports is an excellent, affordable choice. The next product in the AT-8000 Series is the AT-8026FC. Additional costs of 100FX modules are unnecessary with the AT-8026FC model. The third model in the AT-8000 Series is the AT-8024GB. This switch offers 24 10/100TX ports with the optional power of Gigabit Ethernet. Each AT-8024GB comes with 2 unpopulated GBIC bays. These GBIC bays can be populated with one of five types of fiber GBICs offered by Allied Telesyn.

Industry-Leading Feature Sets

Included at no additional cost in the AT-8000 series are features usually only found on high priced products. Common features across the product line include wirespeed performance, non-blocking architecture, and Enhanced Stacking(TM) technology. IEEE standards including 802.1p Quality of Service, IEEE 802.1Q VLAN tagging, IEEE 802.3ad Link Aggregation, IEEE 802.1d Spanning Tree and IEEE 802.3x Flow Control are part of the AT-8000 series standard feature set. Management features include Web Interface, SNMP and Telnet. Allied Telesyn MIBS can be exported to HP-OpenView for added flexibility in management options.

Enhanced Stacking(TM) Technology

All AT-8000 Series switches integrate Enhanced Stacking(TM) technology at no additional charge. Enhanced Stacking(TM) technology resides on each AT-8000 switch, eliminating the need for a dedicated server or workstation, and liberates network managers from repetitive, time-consuming tasks usually required for LAN deployment and management. Through the AT-8000 web interface or the familiar Telnet interface, enjoy the advanced features of the AT-8000 Series and monitor, manage, create, and delete VLANs, port security, port

trunking, and more on your Enhanced Stack(TM).

With Enhanced Stacking(TM) up to 24 interconnected AT-8000 Series switches on a broadcast domain can be managed by a single IP address. Whether you are using the AT-8024, the AT-8026FC, the AT-8024GB or a combination of these switches, up to 576 10/100TX ports and up to 48 1000FX ports can be managed simultaneously. For more flexibility, switches can be connected to an Enhanced Stack even if they are located in different closets, different rooms, or even different floors. Enhanced Stacking(TM) transcends physical walls because it is a function of the AT-8000 management software. Other stacking technologies are required to be physically linked together because the stacking function is based in the hardware and not the software.

Best of Breed Performance

The performance of AT-8000 series switches will exceed most network requirements. The AT-8024, AT-8026FC and AT-8024GB each house a 9.6 Gbps switch fabric that generates a powerful throughput of up to 6.5 million packets per second on all ports connected to the LAN.

Pricing and Availability

All AT-8000 switches are now available for shipment, with the following prices:

Product           US $List

AT-8026FC         $845
AT-8024GB         $995
AT-8024           $695

About Allied Telesyn, Inc.

Allied Telesyn, Inc. leads the world in network technologies for the access edge. Since the company's inception in 1987, Allied Telesyn has been developing IP-based network products for use in video, voice and data networks at the metro edge, in education, government agencies and across the enterprise. Allied Telesyn's access, aggregation and core transport technologies range from simple Ethernet adapters, hubs and media converters to robust multi-layer Gigabit Ethernet switches and routers, wireless systems, DTM and WDM transport solutions for delivering real-time voice, video and data. Allied Telesyn's comprehensive Net.Cover support programs are suited to meet the growing demands of today's switched broadband infrastructures. Website: www.alliedtelesyn.com